Day 47- Dauphin Island AL

 I write this from a beach I didn’t know about in a state I would’ve never visited, and I am struck by the beauty of the white beach, the dunes, and the whisper of wind drying my hair. This trip has opened up just a sliver of the country to me and I am grateful.

Our stay last night at Shepherd State Park was a wonderful respite after a sketchy stay in Poplarville. We enjoyed a lot of laughter after dinner, mainly aimed at staying up till a respectable 8 o’clock bedtime. The night was cool enough to squelch the mosquitoes although it did little to deter the raccoon who tried to carry off our pizza boxes.

We woke up to find that same raccoon head ransacked Ann and my front packs. Kudos to him for getting both the bungee closure and the zipper open. I find the zipper difficult and my hands are stronger than his. Maybe. He didn’t do much damage, but he did tear open my roll of quarters. Perhaps he had laundry to do.

Our route today took us past the port of Pascagoula and we were impressed with the shrimp boats lined up.

At about the 8 mile mark we stopped at the Oak Mart for coffee and a P break, only to find the bathroom sported no less than seven signs, in both English and Spanish, letting us know it was for employees only. We are not sure how you can have seating and serve food and not have a bathroom. But it didn’t look like a place to argue about it.

It wasn’t far after that that we hit the Alabama state line. This is state number six!

We took a stab at making a human letter sign that said Alabama, but you can’t be good at everything.

We rode the coastal connector into Bayou LaBatre. Neither Matt nor I had ever been to a Waffle House, so in we went for a weeks worth of fat and cholesterol. So worth it.

I had an interesting encounter on the way to the Waffle House. There was a Satsuma orange stand set up at the end of someone’s driveway. I pulled in and Carl followed. A very elderly man came up in a golf cart. I asked him about individual oranges, and he tossed one to each of us. When I asked about payment, he said, “You’ll be good advertising for me.“ We thanked him, and no sooner had we done so, someone pulled into his driveway looking to purchase a steam engine he had in his front yard. Guess he was right!

Our route took us next to Bay Fort Park which was closed, but we didn’t think they meant us so we scooted in for our first good luck at the golf. I never get tired of white sand. We also got a glance at the 3 mile dolphin island bridge.

I liked the bridge better from far away than I did from close up.

It bore a scary resemblance to the bridge in a nightmare I used to have as a child. In the nightmare, we drive to the top and find out too late that there was no other side. I’m happy to say that this bridge was complete.

We stopped at the far side of the bridge at The Pelican Club for an end of the day beer, then peddled on a bike path for the next 3 miles. The campground is lovely and has walking paths right to the beach. I took a quick walk and met a family with a number of small children who made me miss my grandkids. They are on their way to Florida to visit grandparents. We all enjoyed the rainbow that appeared out of nowhere.

And the sunset was absolutely spectacular. What a way to end a great day.

Things I learned today:

•  An English muffin will toast faster on the griddle if you put an egg on it to weigh it down.
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