Spring Break 2006, Part 2

On Sunday March 19, 2006 we rose early, ate breakfast, and took off for Fort Morgan. The boys and I really enjoyed our self-guided tour. As we waited on the Mobile Bay Ferry, I fixed a quick lunch in the back of the jeep. We had a great time traveling across the southernmost part of Mobile Bay on the ferry over to Dauphin Island. Not counting the wait, the actual trip across the bay took about 30 minutes.

We toured the Esutarium at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. After that we drove across the island on Bienville Road. We drove over to the western side of the island. There are still numerous beach homes that were damaged or destroyed by Hurrican Ivan in 2004. Some progress has been made as there are a few new homes and a few repaired homes along the route.

We stopped on the western side of Dauphin Island and walked over to the western beach. The sand, sea grass, and environment in general there are simply beautiful. The boys found countless hermit crabs in that area. Sunday's weather was extremely windy out on the island but mostly sunny and temperatures were in the lower 70's. This was much better weather than back home where it was raining most of the day with temperatures in the mid 40's.

After leaving the western beach of Dauphin Island, we had a little time left before needing to get back to the ferry for our return trip to Baldwin County. We drove over the causeway into southern Mobile county, driving through the fishing villages of Coden and Bayou La Batre. The azaleas were in bloom in Baldwin and Mobile counties. The azaleas in these areas were huge and colorful. For some reason the town of Bayou La Batre has always intrigued me. I guess it has to do with the name, the fact it seems so different from my part of Alabama, and the fact it was mentioned in the movie Forrest Gump. We saw a cemetary there named "Oddfellow Cemetary". It may seem odd, but we pulled over there and I took the boys' picture in front of a few beautiful azaleas. According to the boys, two "nosy old ladies" were spying on us.

After visiting the cemetary, we drove back to the ferry boarding area. While we waited for the ferry, we tossed the football around a little while. Again, the ferry ride was really fun. We saw beautiful birds, waves, beaches, the NOAA weather buoy at Dauphin Island, Fort Gaines, Fort Morgan, natural gas rigs, boats, and many other interesting sights.

After arriving back at Fort Morgan, we drove to the campsite, took showers, and went out to eat at Hazel's in Orange Beach. We looked around at a souvenir store, came back to the tent, and watched a video before going to sleep in the tent. More later...