Good bye Gulf Shores

Well into packing now - spent a couple hours on the beach though as the sun came out and into a cloudless sky. The beach patrol police (additions to the life guards) stopped by on their 4 wheeler to ask if  "YOU GUYS STILL HERE?" They were super friendly and when they found out we fished told about patrolling the fishing pier yesterday and seeing 3 rods get broken from guys trying to reel in Spanish Mackerel. WE know there was a school of huge fish in the area as a new state record for them was caught on Friday - 68 pounds and about 5' long - and they are tough!  See below for the picture of the fish
Anyhow, will get the rest of our stuff packed and into the van today so that we can leave at a decent hour tomorrow..

Here's a picture of the 68# Spanish Mackerel caught by the kid in the yellow shirt

Last Saturday morning

Well packing has begun and we're in the thunderstorms - very mild but a fitting so long to Gulf Shores. Expect that by the time noon rolls around the sun will be out and it should be very warm - probably 80 by mid afternoon.
Went back to Cobalt for their very impressive and abundant  buffet - Biscuits and gravy to die for. Will find something to do until mid afternoon
Not sure how we accumulated all this stuff but we did. Hope it will all fit. If it does, there won't be any room for things to move around.

Terry in the mouth of the souvenir  shop

Another nice day

Upper 70s and lowering humidity - what more could you ask for. Well to start with, a lot less weed then we were faced with this morning -there was so much that we broke the lines trying to get the stuff reeled in. So we quit and began the job of finding a place for all the new treasures that we're bringing back. I have a couple of really nice garden ornaments - wonder if they will last longer then the gnome?
Then we had the biggest disappointment of the trip - as we were getting things moved about the van to begin loading, we realized the zip lock baggie with some  old coins that I kept on the console was gone. Apparently while we were enjoying the area, someone decided to take them. Left all kinds of other stuff - GPS, fillet knife, kites etc which lead us to believe it was probably kids and the coins were more use then the other stuff.
Oh well.
So fishing equipment and bikes are all loaded and ready to go - this will give us a couple days of around town driving to make sure they are all buttoned down snuggly and don't create a bothersome rattle.
Had to have a huge ice cream this afternoon to feel better though.

Here's the mouse that roared - entire dunes protected just for them

Terry waiting for  a bite

My goodness, it's cooling off - good thing we're leaving.

Boo-Hoo - almost over

Just knew it had to happen and sure enough, today is our last day - tomorrow will be devoted to cleaning and packing - then we're on the road on Sunday early!!!!
Last night we went to ANOTHER restaurant - called FLIPPERS - on the water (naturally) and again it was great. They had 2 guitarists who played a set of blues, then a set of Willie, then a set of Garth etc for all the time we were there. They had switched to calypso as we were leaving - tried to get a photo but for the first time left the camera at the condo.
Here are a couple photos that didn't belong in any order but I thought you might like them anyhow.

The marina at Flippers

Sunset from Flippers

The sand box and climbing tower at LuLu's (Jimmy Buffet's sister) - our favorite place to play and have a margarita - didn't show the parents coconut bar just to the left (so they can watch the kids?)

More fishing pictures

Thursday found us on the beach fishing - it was a good day for us and we caught many whiting - no pompano which we were trying for but a steady bite that kept us busy and having fun.  Check out the video below -

Waiting for the bite - good action today with air temp 77 degrees and water temp 75!

Terry doing a great job fishing - note the correct hold and bare feet

Bob gets to hold the fish for pictures - that's a whiting

Fishing the Gulf

Started the day fishing the Gulf - set up with some bait rigs (remembered to bring the rigs this time) and before I had the 2nd one set up, we had a whiting on the beach. And that's pretty much how the morning went - one fish right after another. Had a slight disaster when one of the lines got tangled with another while Terry was trying to rescue a rod that almost got dragged into the waves. So as I was untangling them, the sand spike washed into the surf - nuts!
Fortunately we had a couple spikes so we were still able to catch fish. Now we were releasing all the fish we caught considering we'll be on the road Sunday - but before we realized it, other fishermen were coming over to "chat" - actually to find out what we were doing to catch so many fish - that felt really good,
So now we may go back tomorrow with our strategy to see if it really works - different rigs (more sensitive) and fresher shrimp could make a difference - if only the bad weather they've predicted holds off.

WAITING FOR A FISH

NUFF SAID

Even the mice have rights in Alabama

This is our view at brunch at Cobalt 

28 Days in Alabama

Cannot believe that we've been here for 28 days. And as usual, they are going by faster everyday. We'll be on the road again before we know it.
Started the day at the Cobalt Restaurant for their $9 buffet - really good after an auspicious start (the waitress suggested we wait until they had a chance to refill the trays). When we did get there it was fantastic. Scramble eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, fruit dish, scones and a couple other things. Yum - should have found this place ages ago.
Then home for a 11 mile bike ride - love the fact there aren't any hills and today the winds were barely blowing so going out or back was fun.
Then onto the beach to soak up some sun (temp was 79) and watch some folks feed the laughing gulls.
Tonight we start working on the leftovers - not bad considering there aren't all that many.

A sand volcano

You can dig them up (they are held together with salt) and then they collapse

The gulls get the leftovers

The view from our deck as the paragliders take off 

Oh heck - relaxing after another tough day in the sun on the beach - Is that wine?

2nd trip to Dauphin Island

We journeyed to Dauphin Island again - this time with just our bikes. The cost is only $10 for 2 of us round trip. Got there and biked a while before finding a new eating place. See the pictures below to see the size of the Po-boy and Terry's BBQ. The beach picture was nearing the end of the island. We walked out on what used to be a fishing pier for about 300 yards and at the end, still had another 400 yards to the water. The Feds are dredging up the sand and planting the dunes at a cost of One Million dollars a mile.

On board credit card scanning

Terry and the life ring

My oyster Po-Boy  (small) Can't see the pile of fries

Terry's BBQ that had to weigh a pound! Note the fires

Now this is a beach! Look closely to see the tip of the island over a mile away. Looking the other way was a little longer. Fellow said that the next hurricane could change it completely

Tuesday AM on the beach

The beach was absolutely quiet at 9AM on Tuesday - even the laughing gulls were just sitting about . The water here is absolutely as clear as the best vodka - I've tried to get a picture that shows that but haven't been able to so far

Waiting for someone to show up with bread breakfast

Just barely a surf and lots of space for everyone

Fort Morgan Alabama

Today we visited Fort Morgan, at the tip of the island and established to protect Mobile Bay,. Built after the war of 1812,  It was proven to be out of date during the Civil war when Admiral Farragut stormed into the bay and even after one of his first ships hit a mine (at that time called a torpedo) and he shouted his famous words -"DAMN THE TORPEDOS - FULL SPEED AHEAD!"
As with everything else we've seen here, Alabama has done a wonderful job in providing access to everyone with extremely well done presentations.
Ended up at TACKY JACK"S for lunch and our first helping of Royal Red Shrimp - delicious..

The lighthouse lens at the Fort Morgan museum

One of the many displays

The gang ready to blast off

The fort is immense

The entrance to the main part of the fort

ONe of the display rooms - the loading room

LUNCH Royal red shrimp and Super Nacho's

Take a bigger bite Bob

All the houses are set up on pilings for obvious reasons

Yes that's Terry at the pool with her hat on - we were extremely careful not to get burned (Bob was taking a nap)

Last Monday AM in Gulf Shores

A busy day on the beach - note the huge waves!

Cannot believe that we're into our last week here at Gulf Shores.  Can't ever remember a place that had so much to offer. As many of the locals say, it's the best kept secret anywhere. And I believe it.
Off to Fort Morgan where there were a number of battles over the years - going back to the Civil War - interestingly enough, there are many signs posted that there is no metal detecting allowed anywhere in or around the Fort.
But here is a picture I took this morning as I walked onto our beach - like a tropical island

A view westerly along the beach at 9:30AM

The beach is never crowded - in fact mostly empty

Sunday bike ride photos

The beginning of the Back Country trail - about 15 miles of  trails

A small slice of the devastation caused by a recent fire

The water tower sign

A quiet interlude on a chair swing

A hunter along the trail

Photos from Saturday trip to Dauphin Island and Bellingraph Gardens

The line up for the Dauphin Ferry

Picture out the window on the ferry

Whew what a tee set ujp

Terry on the Audubon trail

Part of the Goat Tree

Man the best ribs ever

The entrance to Bellingarph Gardens 

Huge beautiful flowers everywhere

One of the many stops along the way

The Tiger on the Lion