Back to the Bay at Fairhope

We do a lot of our shopping in Fairhope as the stores are nicer and afterwards, or beforewards, you can take some time at the Bay. Fairhope considers the park and the pier as a "Town Square." It is a comfortable place. The wide spot that looks like the end of pier is a restaurant and it is only the halfway point.

This is looking across Mobile Bay at what are, I think, shipyards to the south of the city downtown.

This fellow kept diving but finally allowed a snapshot. I got frustrated later on the day not being able to ID what kind of duck it was. Many times I fished with them on northern lakes. I egret to admit this old coot is getting to be a bit of a loon.

Its all happening at the Zoo.. . .

Pleasant 70 degree day seemed appropriate for a visit to the zoo. Alabama Gulf Coat Zoo (http://www.alabamagulfcoastzoo.com/) is right in the heart of Gulf Shores. To be truthful, yes, even if truth is out of fashion, we had our doubts, as almost all zoos can be a guilt trip. My photos do not included caged animals as I find it depressing and the images in my opinion are worthless. This place has a lot of cages, they try their best but. . .

This African tortoise was a bit standoffish

but then said good morning.

The admission person suggest a 2 buck cup of feed. The animals you are allowed to feed surprisingly seem to recognize the container.

This zoo is a rescue facility (about which see their website). The fellow below is a "rescue" gator. I have heard rescue animals make the best pets but socialization for some requires patience and understanding.

This character just walked out of his hut and demanded to be photographed.

This lady said "Take your stupid picture." That is a rough translation from the Australian.

Finally, this duck along with two chums followed us through the final quarter of the zoo mostly because Denise fed them. One duck held back and seemed uninterested in food. I tried and he took the food from my hand which the others would not do. Then he got up and showed he had a broken wing. Later a brown pelican came to us at a fence and stuck his bill through for  a handout. He had a broken wing. You have to balance the good and the bad I suppose.

Farragut damned the torpedos and apparently disregarded the Fort.

You are looking across the entrance to Mobile Bay from the top of a wall enclosing Fort Morgan. The vessels that plowed these waters included European as well as American warships, commercial shipping, and the odd pirate looking for commercial shipping.

As a barrier to unwanted vessels there were forts constructed. The last of these was Fort Morgan, a contemporary of Fort Pickens shown in a previous post.

The arched casements and even a battery of "hidden" guns (late 19th century) dominate the fort's interior as is the case at Fort Pickens.

Fort Morgan is a State of Alabama park and apparently does not have the resources to do the things the National Park Service can, such as display a wide range of artillery. Below is a 32 pound gun on a Barbette carriage. I do not remember an example of this at Fort Pickens.

Also there is a 155mm gun of World War One vintage. Two of these were installed in World War Two and apparently were the last active artillery at the fort.

If military instillations don't provide enough of a lesson in human silliness than the photo below shows one of many rigs that decorate the Bay. I have to believe that the number of these marvels foretells another environmental disaster. What is the next plateau above obscenely rich?

This Heron seemed to hint that he would be happy if people would go away.

From the Beach to the Restaurant

Back to the beach on a sunny 70ish day and one of my new friends was there. I think this is the same guy who I photographed previously although they all look alike. They seem to spend all their time dodging waves and poking in the sand for whatever. Unique among the shore birds this critter will stop for your photo and when you look for him again he will be about a foot from your feet looking at you.

Denise having finished collect seashells, we passed through Gulf Shores at lunch time (perfect planning) and stopped at our new favorite Fish River Grill #3. (http://fishrivergrill.com) For complete disclosure, #2 is in Foley and #1 is in Fairhope. We have been to the one in Foley and it supports the claim that the menu is the same at all locations.

I am selective about endorsements/recommendations unless paid gobs of money. In this case however, if you are in Baldwin County Alabama, you could do worse. A ten buck lunch gets you a non-heart smart sandwich (burger or whatever) with fries. In addition, you get a small (4 oz,) cup of "swamp soup" (chicken base with collards, beans and ham) and a piece of cake for dessert. In the past it has been a lemon cake but yesterday it was pecan. It brags it is the place locals eat. This may be a rare case of truth in advertising. A tad more expensive than the sandwiches is a good seafood menu. We had the shrimp once (on special) and we were not disappointed.

Weather Cleared, Left Harbor, so to speak.

We avoided mixing with holiday shoppers and travelers and then winter (south Alabama style) arrived. Reverting to our northern genetics, we "denned up" until the wind, rain, and cold moved on. OK, there is cold and there is cold and 40/25 degrees is balmy in Wyoming but for wind and rain this area bows to no one.

We HAD to do some shopping in Florida so we combined that with a visit to Fort Pickens, the sentinel of Pensacola Harbor. The fort, finished in 1832, is a brick pentagon in outline but the overall military post presents a timeline of seacoast artillery and coastal defense through World War Two. As the fort is six miles from the Park gatehouse, you drive along the open coast of white sand and get some understanding of what isolation must have been like.

The original fort walls enclose "tunnels" like these which housed everything. There are deeper branches for gunpowder and such.

Thanks to wonderful events like the Civil War which spurred improvements in weapons that made brick forts obsolete, Fort Pickens saw changes such as detached artillery positions and defensive engineering construction.

This six inch gun was placed in 1976 to show what was supposed to have been in 1946, a job not completed.