Vacation Adventures Part Four!

Two months later and we're finally finishing our vacation blog....
Last full day at the beach and we decided to spend the whole day actually at the beach. Dad bought a canopy to set up at the beach to use for shade, so we decided to set it up and spend the day down at the beach. Setting it up was a lot more troublesome than we thought it would be since it was a cheap kind. We followed the directions putting the poles together, then throwing the roof on top, then trying to erect it. We were doing ok until we tried to raise it up. The wind would start grabbing the top, blowing it causing the poles to come undone. We tried to fix those poles, then the poles on the other side would come undone. When we tried to fix those, the poles in the middle would come undone and the roof would try to blow away. Eventually Joe figured this was a lost cause and gave up and put it away. While putting it away a gentleman from Missouri walked up and thanked us for his entertainment. He said he was watching us to see how far we would go before giving up. He said the day before, his brother's family had tried to put the same kind of canopy together but didn't give up so soon. Eventually they got it together, then a big wind gusted and sent the canopy tumbling down the beach. He said we made the smart move by giving up early. This gentleman then offered us the use of one of his spare beach umbrellas and he set it up in front of the ocean. How nice of him. It's good to know that there are still nice people in the world.
It was a nice day. Joe brought down the inflatable raft and floated in the surf. Amber tried to read her book on the beach, but kept getting distracted because she thought Joe was going out too far. Which he thinks he wasn't. It was really fun. Maybe next year Amber will go out on the raft with him. The rest of the day we just relaxed at the beach, at the pool, and the hot tub. We enjoyed a nice seafood dinner at a restaraunt with mom and dad.
Last day... the trip home. We came home the scenic way, taking the ferry across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island. While we were waiting for our ferry, we toured Fort Morgan at the very tip of the penninsula. It was considerably smaller than Fort Pickens but had the same combination of Civil War and WWII technologies. Pretty much a miniture version of Fort Pickens. The ferry was fun, a good experience for Amber who had never been on a ferry before. We got to see all the oil and gas rigs in the bay as we passed them. And we watched the seagulls and pelicans as they fished in the ferry wake. Before we knew it we had arrived at Dauphin Island. We drove around the tip of the island and saw Fort Gaines and the Dauphin Island sea lab. Joe went there when he was in sixth grade with his school class. Ahh memories...
Driving back home we once again went off the beaten path and drove through Alabama's blackbelt area. We went to Old Cahawba, site of Alabama's first capital and now a ghost town. Of course we got there right as they closed, so we couldn't see a couple of the more interesting ruins since they were behind padlock barbed-wire topped fences. Holy cow! Why do they need such security for a few pieces of old stone? I guess it's a testament to the area and the crime rates. Nearly out of gas, we stopped a passerby to ask him the quickest way to Selma, and he gave us directions in exchange for a Jehovah's Witness pamphlet. Too bad we didn't have a Book of Mormon to give him at the time.
Driving through Selma was interesting... we kept our doors locked the whole time. We found the historic bridge where a famous civil rights march took place and took a picture of it, then ran back to the car and locked the doors behind us. Hate to sound like a racist, but we felt like we were in the ghetto the whole time. We got gas and got out of there and headed home. It was a nice scenic drive, driving along the back-road highways. We hit the interstate just south of Birmingham, ate yummy Cracker Barrel for dinner and came home. Can't wait to go back to the beach again next year!