On Friday the 8th, we left for vacation with Laura’s Dad to meet the rest of her family on the beach at Dauphin Island, Alabama. It has become a family tradition and this was the 5th year we have gone. Laura’s brother rents a house on the beach on the Gulf of Mexico on a small island about 40 miles south of Mobile.
We usually take two days to get down there because it is a 12 hour drive with no stops. When I was younger, driving 12 hours was easy, but not now.
Our first stop was in Weatherford. Laura’s Dad has talked about a Car Museum/Restaurant for years and has wanted to go for a long time. The place is called Vintage Grill and Car Museum. We saw some old cars and some historically unique ones. I highly recommend going and the food is good also.
Our overnight stop was in Minden, Louisiana. It is just East of Shreveport, and close to the halfway point of our journey. The hotel we stay at treats us well and the breakfast is good too. The reason I like it is the cost. While we were there, we met some nice people that were having a school reunion for Minden Webster High School, which from my understanding closed in the 70’s. I was really impressed with the community the alumni of Webster High have and the love they showed each other.
On Saturday, we ventured on to Dauphin Island. We got there in the evening so we didn’t do much that day. On Sunday we played in the ocean some and saw a small shark. Laura’s Dad said that is was only about 18 inches long. I didn’t see any more the rest of the week, but we did see plenty of Dolphins. We went to Mobile to go to shopping for food on Monday. One of the traditions we have developed is each family unit picking a night of the week to cook for the rest and the last night having leftovers. Our night was Monday, which was a good decision, we got that “responsibility” out of the way and enjoy the rest of the week. On another note, Mobile has more traffic than I prefer, and someone thought I should drive. The only stress of the week was getting around a large city and not knowing any streets.
On Wednesday, Laura’s brother and sister-in-law rented two jet-skis (sea doos). We rode these out for a few hours. On one of the trips I took one, my goal was to ride it as far out as I could. I think I got 3 miles out. The water was calm further out, and I wanted to go further, but I did not know what time it was, and wanted others to get a chance to ride. Riding out to the horizon with nobody around was calming. I saw some dolphins and crabs floating at the surface, but no sharks.
Thursday morning some of us got up early to go to Fort Morgan, which has a significant history. There have been battles at Fort Morgan dating back to the War of 1812. The Fort was constructed between 1833 and 1834. To get to Fort Morgan from Dauphin Island, we have to take a ferry. It got pretty hot that day. Laura’s niece has two kids, a daughter that is almost 4 and a son that is almost 2. While we were walking to the fort, we had to walk down a street, through tall grass, and on uneven sidewalks for probably half a mile. To healthy adults, it is easy, but for toddlers, it can be arduous. When we started the trek, Laura asked the 4 year old if she wanted to hold her hand. Her response to Laura was, “I want to hold Uncle Jamin’s hand.” I think my wife is jealous because of the attention I get from children. Several mornings when she would walk downstairs, Laura would be asked by a 4 year old, “Where’s your friend?” Not “Good morning Laura,” or an invitation to play. Somebody wanted my attention and my time. There have been several times on my Sabbatical that I have been reminded of the analogies in the Bible, especially in the Gospels of “little children.” Uncle Jamin may be a mythical legend, and when the nieces and nephews get older, I may be boring and lame, but now I will give kids the attention they ask for and spoil them. That was the main factor in buying a 2 pound jug of Utz Cheese puffs that I am still trying to finish 2 weeks later as I type this.
Thursday evening, we went back to Mobile. Again I was chosen to drive. Mobile has a minor league baseball team, the Bay Bears, which is the Double A affiliate for the Angels. I bought tickets for 4 of us, Laura, her Dad, our Brother-in Law, and me. The parking lot was fairly sparse. The tickets I bought were good seats and only $9 a piece. After the first out of the top of the first inning, two of the interns/hostesses came over to us and told us we were chosen for the “best seats in the house” promotion. My first thought was “we have good seats, and there aren’t alot of people here, so we could move down a section and be on the first row.” They moved us to Suite 2, which is Directly behind the visitors dugout. We had an air-conditioned room with a tv and a couch and a bar to eat at. I spent the whole game outside in the box seats in front of the suite because I love baseball more than comfort. We had a hostess take our orders so we would not have to go to the concession stand. We were treated really well that night. If you ever go to Mobile during baseball season, check out the Bay Bears.
On Friday we rested more and ate leftovers as some of the family left, including the kids. The last 24 hours or so at the beach were quiet. We cleaned up Saturday and stopped to eat breakfast together and headed home. The 3 of us, Laura, her Dad, and I decided to come back in one day, and got back at about 2 in the morning. I drove all but 100 miles, which wore me out and I skipped a nap for the first time on Sabbatical.