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Gulf Shores - Part 3
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
Is that what shrimp look like before they're edible?
Day 2
Yes, I am an Eagle Scout, which in turn also means that I am a Boy Scout. For me a nature walk is as natural as a walk in the woods (see, I get funnier as the story goes on). Anyway, for Margherita, this is as traumatizing as a walk in the evil forest, such as what you would find in an average nursery rhyme. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful walk in the woods quite appealing to somebody like me, but appalling to somebody like Margherita.
"Isn’t it pretty honey?" I asked
"Yeah, nature, great; let’s go home," she said quickly and slightly unenthused.
We saw lizards, birds and beautiful flowers. Margherita covered her face with her hat and prayed the walk would end. In hindsight, she claimed that she liked the walk, but she certainly didn’t look like she liked it.
The guide pointed out that the refuge is also home to the Alabama Beach Mouse, which is endangered.
"I’m sorry, I said. Maybe I had misheard you, but can you tell me... did you just mention an endangered rat?"
"Why yes," she said, while nodding her head as if this was common knowledge. "The mice are endangered as they’re good for the environment..."
I cut her off. "You’re saving freakin’ rats from being killed? In our New York subways you can’t kill them fast enough, but here you’re holding up signs to ‘Save The Rats?’ Seriously, kill the little bastards and I’ll mail you some from New York."
The knowledge of the rats didn’t make Margherita enjoy the walk any more than she already did, although I was quite overall happy with Bon Secour.
Then, it was back in the car and off to King Neptune’s for a seafood lunch. It should be noted that, yes, while you see a lot of seafood here, it’s more seafood than can be easily described. Everybody has a sign that describes their seafood and how they intend to serve it. Fried, boiled, baked, cooked, whatever you like. For example, at lunch we had the Royal Red Shrimp. Did you know there was more than one color of shrimp? I just knew small shrimp, big shrimp and yucky unpeeled shrimp. Here in Alabama they take their shrimp quite seriously.
It was nearly time to go as I did mention it was a 48-hour trip, but the good news is that we were able to re-arrange things and actually had a chance to do what turned out to be a highlight of the entire trip. We went on a tour with Sailaway Charters through the backwaters of Long Bayou and Wolf Bay. Basically, the boat is a long boat that is akin to a wide, but quite pretty bus. You have dozens of rows of seats, each with their own picnic table in the middle. Then, the tour begins.
What made it so good? Simply, it was an ADD delight. It was a complete sensory overload. First, we saw some dolphins. The entire boat rushed to one side, but wait, they found an oyster trap and they’re pulling some oysters up from the water. Run to the other side, but the dolphins are back! Run back, quick! Okay, then, off to catch some crabs. Watch your fingers, make sure the crabs don’t bite you and run back. Then, we threw over the net and went trawling for shrimp. Then, we pulled up the shrimp and threw the fish to the seagulls, which created an Alfred Hitchcock affect. Okay, raw, living shrimp look disgusting, but other than that, it was a great experience. Without exaggeration, this was probably one of the best boat tours that we’ve ever taken. There was not one minute of quiet and I was running around with the kids having a ball.
Now, since it really is the end of the story, I must give you the summary. Overall, 48 hours was certainly possible, but too short. It will leave you wanting a bit more, but if you’re the type who will run to Florida for the weekend, there’s no reason to avoid visiting here. It has a bit more of that southern hospitality, a bit nicer beaches and a lot nicer seafood, and it is certainly less populated than Florida. The prices are reasonable and it’s perfect for families for an even more affordable version of Florida beaches. You certainly get more bang for your buck. Without a doubt, we would go back in a minute.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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