So just this last week Ann and I took a week off to head out to Gulf Shores, Alabama with a bunch of family. We’re big fans of road trips, so we opted to drive out there. The first day was mostly done late at night and in rainy weather, but the second day allowed us the freedom to stop and enjoy some things we normally wouldn’t. We got a bit of down home relaxing in a small town just outside of Dauphin Island (the place that a week later would be in the news with reports of tar balls washing up on shore, allegedly from the oil spill making its way inland). We saw a bunch of prep for a parade and a festival going on near a little harbor, so we decided to pull of the road and check it out. There was a ton of stuff going on with most of the locals getting together to bless the ships, have some great seafood, and compete in a gumbo cook-off.
Heading out from there, we made the short 20min or so drive to Dauphin Island to catch the Ferry across the bay. Along the way, Ann got this awesome photo of a flock of birds as it passed over an oncoming car. Almost freaky, huh?
Getting to drive up and ride the Ferry across was a great way to wind down from all of the driving, giving us a chance to get out, stretch our legs and of course take some pictures!
(Don’t get your panties in a bundle, this is a natural gas rig, no oil spill from here!!)
The guy in the photo above worked on the ferry we took. We talked to him for the whole ride across, and he really become the personification of the whole area for us. He had just come down from Minnesota to work on the ferry a few weeks prior, but now due to the oil spill heading this way he was expecting to be layed off and jobless within a month or so, as passenger ships cannot continue operating in it. We never exchanged names, but just by hearing about how this situation has impacted his corner of the world really gave us a personal connection to it all.
by Bret
no comments
link to this post email a friend