Vacation Day 3

Today we went had to wake up at 7am to be at the dock for a ferry boat to Ship Island. The boat ride was about an hour long, but the kids were THRILLED. This was easily the biggest boat we have ever been on.




















Some of the points of interest on our trip out there was passing this ship and the mile or so of pipes behind it. It was a mud digger. The coastal waters are about 10 feet deep in most areas and the big ships traveling through need at least 38 feet so this ship has a big drill on the front of it and that pipes behind it relocate it out of the high traffic areas. This doesn't last long since the Mississippi River is pumping more mud into the Gulf faster than any of these ships could possible move it, but I guess that is job security for you.















Ship Island is a barrier island about 12 miles off the coast. Fort Massachusetts is located there. We didn't do the tour, because the kids were about to explode if we didn't put them in the water right away, but we did get to glimpse at this historic building where they still had a real canon. You could actually see burned bricks from where the cannon fire scorched the walls. No pictures, sorry. We were in a rush.

Now the whole island is a nationally protected park and we were given strict orders not to pick flowers, sneak hermit crabs off the island or feed any animals while we were there. That didn't mean that the animals couldn't stalk us though. This brave sea gull was watching the little princess's every move. And just when she wasn't looking, he would sneak a few steps closer. He was so sure he was going to score a meal that he quickly chased any other gull out of range.































The highlight of the trip for me was on the way home. We got to see real wild dolphins swimming off the shore. I missed the one doing flips, but I did score a pic of the group swimming together.






























Four hours in the sun will really take it out of you. Poor Tom couldn't keep his eyes open and the little princess never stood a chance. We took our crispy bodies home to soak in aloe vera gel.