After our stay in Milton, Florida, we continued on to Dauphin Island in southern Alabama. It is a small island connected to the mainland by a bridge. We chose this destination because of its walking trails and its wildlife. It’s a very quiet place with very little action. But it is a great place to camp, cook dinner over fire, walk on nature trails and go to the beach (not in the water, though, as it is cold and has a not so appealing brown color).
Giant steaks and corn on the grill – never fails 🙂
We took the lake loop walking trail one day and saw lots of wildlife. The island is a large bird sanctuary with a large variety of birds. On our walk we saw a large heron and some beautifully coloured small birds (we are not birders;-)).
The lake was very beautiful and we saw two different types of turtles in the water – one of them a soft-shell turtle, which is actually quite rare.
We had lunch at a small pier overlooking the lake, and we sat and watched the turtles swim by while we enjoyed our sandwiches.
Just a few meters from the lake, on a boardwalk through the woods, Line walked only 30 centimeters past a snake. We are not really sure as to which kind it was and whether or not it was poisonous, but we managed to film it and take some pictures – so if you know which kind it is, please write a comment.
The lake loop walk ended at the very wide beach, and we stayed there a couple of hours. The weather was nice and our boys enjoyed running around playing airplanes (again! – it’s their favorite game at he moment) while Line and Jesper got a chance to read. They also befriended a couple of dogs and spent the better part of half an hour throwing a ball to them. It was neck and neck who had to give in but finally even the younger dog had to take a rest – Noah, however, could have kept going for at least another hour.
When we got back to our campsite, we started talking to a nice American couple next to us, and ended up cooking dinner at their site and grilling marshmallows together after dinner. We all very much enjoyed their company and Noah loved the fire and their dog.
Fort Gaines
At the eastern tip of Dauphin Island there is a fortress called Fort Gaines. It played an important role in the battle for Mobile bay during the civil war, and we went there one afternoon to see the cannons and walk on the walls. It is situated only 500 meters from the campground we were staying at.
The entry there was 20 USD (not paying for Vitus), which we concluded was a bit overpriced. But the boys enjoyed running around inside the walls (kind of like a huge playpen 🙂 ) and we also learned a bit through the small museum it featured.
But the boys’ favorite was to climb the only cannon in there without a “no climbing” sign on it.
Still, our best memories we take with us from Dauphin Island are of the nights making fires, swirly bread (snobrød), lovely grilled dinners, the tranquility, and the company of our neighbours.
If there is a fire somewhere – chances are that Noah is close.
The kids also very much enjoyed having a playground very close to our site, which meant that they could run around freely. Noah has even gotten so big that we can ask him to take Vitus to the bathroom – it’s a great help and it makes them both so proud.
USS Alabama
On our last day camping in Dauphin Island we took the 45 min. drive to Mobile to visit the USS Alabama. It was an unexpected great experience – so much so that it ended up as a blog post on its own.
Noah and Line’s morning walk
On the morning of our departure from the island Noah and Line got up early and went for a walk around the lake. Being together all the time the boys really enjoy some time alone with one of us.
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Nicolaj
April 24, 2016
gætter på det er en “banded water snake”
Ret slank og lang. Runde øjne. Ingen synlig nakke – med mindre den er under stress. Ikke giftig.
Dens giftige fætter “Venomous Water Moccasin” har tydeligere markeret hoved, nakke og aflange øjen pupiller. Samt er mere klodset og tyk. Den skal ikke med i teltet….
admin
April 24, 2016
Tak, Nicolaj. Vi havde nu håbet den var mega giftig, men man kan jo ikke være lige heldig hver gang:-)