*Dauphin Island Trip 2015* {Part 2}

Read {Part 1} first by clicking here.Nana bought each of her grandbabies a bucket and a “shu-bl” (shovel) because that is what my Granddaddy also did for me. Aren’t making memories like this the BEST?!Emry Jane’s opinion of the ocean changed by the minute. Sometimes she would shriek happily each time a wave touched her. Other times she would scowl at them. This is Nana, EJ and her green shovel, attempting to enjoy the ocean.Dalton is, apparently, not a water person. It is interesting what you learn about your siblings during  a week at the beach. We managed to get him in the ocean ONE time, but usually, whether on the beach or at the pool, he looked like this. Savannah and Papa helped Noah build this big hole in the sand for him (and then Eli) to play in! On Wednesday, our clan made a trip to Gulf Shores via the ferry. This was Tommy, Noah and the twins’ first time on a ferry! Also, be sure to put the parking brake on while on the ferry… Noah pointed out that our car was rolling slightly back and forth, so Tommy quickly went to put the parking brake on! (The ferry attendants tell you to do this via the PA system but, if your windows are up in your car, you cannot hear this!) Noah LOVED the ferry! We saw lots of pelicans and sea gulls and other boats (and ugly oil rigs) during our trip across the bay!A family photo-op while on the ferryWhile in Gulf Shores, we stopped for coffee (a must after an early morning ferry ride!) and a trip to the beach. Apparently, there is a purple flag which means “dangerous marine life” and it was flying high when we arrived. Dangerous marine life could mean several things (like a shark in the shark’s house) and, for us, it meant JELLY FISH, which greatly depleted our eagerness to swim in the ocean. Boy, was I bummed! The whole reason that I wanted to go to Gulf Shores (besides the ferry for Noah) was to swim in the clearer water. Since Dauphin Island is a barrier island, the water is darker (similar in color to the Atlantic) than other parts of the gulf. Gulf Shores is usually so nice and clear. I guess it was pretty clear because you could CLEARLY see the JELLYFISH. Ugh. Also, we forgot all those shovels and pails back on DI, so our beach excursion lasted about 30 minutes. We had lunch at the Hangout, which I had never been to before. Noah learned how to do backflips on a trampoline (with ropes attached to him) while waiting for our food. He also got to play in some foam while waiting for our food at the Hangout. When we returned to DI, we moved into this awesome little house right on the beach. By “right on the beach” I mean, the ocean went under the back deck during high tide. The front view wasn’t too shabby either! That’s the inter-coastal waterway where we went boating multiple times 🙂Mr. Eli “In To EVERYTHING” managed to get the rubber part off Allie’s dog bowl and walked around with it as his sash. That’s his proud face, folks!The best thing about the house ON the water were all the HUGE shells right under our beach house. We took Noah and found all these awesome shells on the first night. Noah’s pointing out the dolphins behind the shimp boat. I got about 20 minutes to “me time” with my mom’s Kindle one sunny afternoon. A Daddy and his Princess lounging on the deckThis man of mine got his fishing license and borrowed equipment from my uncle so that he could fish from our back deck at night. It was most definitely his favorite part of our whole trip. This is the first fish he caught, but, over the course of our last two days, he caught a bunch of catfish and speckled trout! He is already talking about coming back down to this exact house with his fishing buddy Adam!Freckie the crab miraculously survived his night (and most of the next day) in the bucket AND his 8 foot fall to the ground when Noah decided to “let him go” but dumping his bucket of sand out from the desk. Tough crab. Noah and my cousin Evan with Freckie the crabThe first fish that Noah helped reel in!Can you tell that they caught a whole bunch of fish and were super proud?!Even Eli wanted to fish 🙂 Must be a boy thing.

Continue reading {Part 3} by clicking here.