STE3 Hop 6: Orange Beach AL to Port Saint Joe FL

176 miles via AL 161, AL 182, FL 292 and US 98. Cumulative tow miles: 1083. Truck miles: 281. Cumulative truck miles: 1501.

Jett hated this route. I chose it because it was mostly on US 98 which I liked a lot, based on my experience on more southerly sections. It also cut about 40 miles off the route initially suggested by Google. So range was not an issue, but time was – this route was about 4.5 hours long, approximately 15 minutes longer than the suggested route. I decided to take it, knowing that it would have a lot of traffic lights. It certainly did. Jett was just about jumping out of her skin after about 100 red lights.

But I still liked the route. Major portions of it were very scenic as it hugged the coastline. And even the cities were interesting. I had never been to Pensacola or Panama City Beach. It was a long trip, but an interesting one.

I enjoyed our two nights in Orange Beach, too. I was drawn to the area because it is where my mother came the only times she went south in the winter. She seemed to like it very much, so I wanted to see it.

My impression? Both Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are beautiful beach towns. The beaches are white and wide – and, in November, virtually deserted. Gulf Shores seems like more of a community, a real town. It has some nice restaurants and shops, including The Diner where we had a very fine dinner on the second night. My shrimp and grits was delicious. Recommended.

I took a day trip along the shore east of Gulf Shores. I didn’t learn a lot other than the area had a lot of RV parks, mostly very small (which we wouldn’t consider for a winter stay as it would just be too cold), a lot of beautiful white sand beaches and some very nice beach houses that would be a fine place to spend a week or two in the summer.

Our home in Orange Beach was the Pandion Ridge RV Resort, a new RV park conveniently located between Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. The facilities were among the finest we have seen – wide concrete pads on very long pull-though sites, a beautiful office and pool and very nice bath houses and laundry rooms. The staff was very professional and the landscaping was beautiful. We would stay here again, no question.