Day Forty Six: dauphin island, ferry, william

We left early enough so that we were able to stop by Jim's office. He's a Port Captain for NOAA and has a great view of the harbor.

Before we said goodbye I gave him Klaus' email and phone number. Later, I was CC'd on an email inviting Klaus to stay with them. They're really nice people and I enjoyed my stay there.

I crossed the border into Alabama this morning.

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This morning I passed through Bayou La Batre, which is where Bubba is from in the the movie Forrest Gump.

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Of course, there are shrimping boats here as well.

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I can think of a few people who should be buried here, present company included.

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On the east side of Bayou La Batre I felt the temperature drop by about five degrees. The breeze was coming off Mobile Bay. For the first time on this trip I smelled fish. Fish, that is, that hasn't been battered and fried.

The road is great, there's not much traffic, the temperature is in the low 70s. This is almost perfect....

Almost.

That's a beautiful sight, isn't it? And yes, it's on my left side.

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Some pictures along the way...

Not much traffic out here.

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This guy is ready for a flood, even in a mobile home.

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(in case you're looking, the satellite dish is near the street out of the picture)

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Some people were just born to be firefighters.

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(Though perhaps not a very good one. Perhaps he should've been a cake decorator?)

The bridge to Dauphin Island...

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Apparently, on Dauphin Island you can get a condo for your boat.

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Also on Dauphin Island...

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I'm just wondering what kind of events they have. Octopus riding, shrimp wrangling, Miss Fish contestants?

This morning Jim recommended that I call the ferry to find out the schedule. It never dawned on me that there might be a schedule. I was thinking more along the lines of, "OK! Mark's here.... We can leave now!"

It leaves from Dauphin Island every ninety minutes starting at 8AM. I arrived on Dauphin Island at 1:15 and had just enough time to eat some lunch and ride the final two miles to catch the 2PM ferry.

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Before we left, one of the crew (the ONLY crew member besides the captain) and I began talking. He was a school superintendent in Indiana before his retirement. When he retired a few years ago, they sold everything they had... house, furniture, cars... and bought a 36-foot RV.

Their plan was to travel all over the country. He and his wife had been to Dauphin Island on their vacations in the past, so they thought it would be a good place to start their tour of the country. He pointed across the street at the RV Park. "That's mine right there. We're still here."

That was more than three years ago.

He loves his job, ferrying people back and forth all day. He has absolutely no stress in his life and is really happy.

There were only two cars on the ferry when it left. A spry, elderly man got out of one of them and, after taking a tour of the boat and talking to the retired superintendent, came over to me.

His name is William Lipsey. He's a 76-year-old cotton gin salesman from Mississippi. He LOVES working ("If ya stop workin', ya die!"), and his job takes him all over the region. Subsequently, he knows the roads very well. When he found out which cities I planned to go through, he seemed very intent on changing my mind and having me pedal along the coast. When I explained about the ACA maps he remained unconvinced.

I finally just started nodding. Nodding and smiling.

He also told me about some empty RV Parks on the other side of the ferry where I could camp. "The Yankees hain't found 'em yet."

"How old are you?" he asked.
"Fifty."
"Fifty!" he bellowed. "I had my first heart attack at fifty!"

He looked away for a second, then looked back at me. "Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?" I opened my mouth to speak, but William continued, "Let me fill your cup from mine today." He went on to tell me about Jesus, Zacchaeus, Paul, Mary, and several of the disciples. After fifteen minutes he was just getting warmed up when we pulled into the dock and he had to get back into his car.

Superintendent on the left, William on the right.

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In the background you can where they're drilling for gas.

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On the eastern side of the ferry there were a gazillion condos and rental houses. (I counted each one.) Guessing, I would say just under half of them were for sale. This is a sparse section where there aren't many.

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There is a seven-mile bike path which runs along the peninsula, but after about half a mile I got back onto the road because it wasn't in very good condition. Roots were pushing up on the concrete, and there was a lot of debris on it.

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The road really isn't bad, especially as I got nearer Gulf Shores.

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It's okay to dump your trash on the SIDE of the road, just don't leave it on the road itself.

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I stopped for the night in Gulf Shores, though not at the vacant RV Park as William had suggested.

63.78
12.9
27.9
4:55:08
2302.4