3/29/07 We Visit Dauphin Island, AL

First order of business today was add a state to our travel map. Here is Bob adding Alabama to places we've been. Take note on the sidebar of this site that a map has been added. The first "states map" shows the states we've been to prior to our full timing adventure. The second will show the additional states we've visited since we left Delaware. (look how tan he is, makes you sick doesn't it?) Today we went to Dauphin Island which is located 33 miles from Mobile, Alabama, 130 miles to the east of New Orleans, Louisiana. First stop was to get something to eat as we arrived at lunchtime. There didn't seem to be many restaurants so we picked the first decent looking one. Lunch at Barnacle Bill's it is! I'd have to take exception to their claim of having the "Best Food on the Island". Heaven help the residents of Dauphin Island if this true. Bob seemed to enjoy the fish dish he had but my grilled chicken over salad greens and veggies left a lot to be desired. Warm salad doesn't just do it for me.

Note to Bob's fishing buddies:

Bob caught this fish and a taxidermist was on site so we had it stuffed and donated it to Barnacle Bill's since we didn't have a wall big enough in the 5th wheel to place it.

If you believe that one see me about a bridge we have for sale.....

Just down the road from the restaurant are some condo's for rent. Our first thought was wow....skinny little places arent' they?

and then we turned the corner.....

Now how much room can there be in these things?

This place was pretty devastated by Hurrican Rita, the one that came through after being hit by the edge of Katrina. Below is a picture of what is left of a beach house.

There is a lot of building going on though and some have been rebuilt. Here is an example of how high on stilts they are being built now. Its sad to see all the empty lots where probably what were at one time very nice homes. All thats left are the pilings.

After touring this island from one end to the other it was time to go home. We decided to go home by way of ferry. Here are some pics from that area.

These cement "things" in the water are WADS, which stands for Wave Attenuation Devices. These were placed here to protect the marsh and submerged oyster beds. This artificial reef is engineered to reduce the impact of boat activity and storm events. When standing on the pier and looking at the WADS we could see hermit crabs in their natural habitat rather than for sale in a wire cage on some boardwalk. Nature at its best!

Below is the ferry coming in that we will get on. We'll be on it for 45 minutes and I keep telling myself, "you will not get seasick, you will not get seasick".

ALL ABOARD!

While on the ferry Bob counted over 30 of these oil rigs in the portion of the Bay that we could see.

Well, we had another awesome day in our adventure here on Dauphin Island. We're glad we came to see what this island had to offer. We did find a nice campground so this is on our list of places to return to. Not during hurricane season of course!

When we got back to the campground we found that one of the campers was having mechanical problems and needed a tow truck for their car. Imagine their surprise when this showed up!