I could think of no better title for this post after my allergic reaction to the biting flies that literally chased us off the beach on the first evening of our trip. For those of you that had the honor (or should I say "dishonor") of seeing my legs after our return, you understand. A steroid shot and some strong antihistamines later, and I am on the mend. Although, I doubt my legs will see the light of day anytime soon.
Chloe and Evan had a Junior Bible Quiz competition in Mobile this past weekend, so like we did last year, we planned a mini beach vacay. This year I decided that we should stay in Dauphin Island, since it was only about 50 minutes away from the competition site. We did the busy beach scene early in the summer when we vacationed in Destin, so we were looking for a more peaceful beach this time. I also liked that a beach house on Dauphin Island rented for about the same price as a condo in Gulf Shores.
The kids and I did the planning and ultimately they helped me decide on this triangle beach house. We were not disappointed.
The views from the inside were just as pretty as...
....the views from the outside balconies.
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| Gulf View |
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| Bay View |
The beach was just as beautiful.
We had the beach all to ourselves. The water was shallow and clear. We enjoyed playing in the water and admiring the sea life. It seemed like the perfect beach day...BUT biting flies were swarming all around us. We realized very quickly why we had the beach all to ourselves. People were probably watching us from their windows thinking, " Oh, those poor suckers." I couldn't sit on the sand, my favorite beach spot, without flies biting me. After about 30 minutes, the flies had won and we were racing up the road back to the house, so we could get some relief from the constant biting. I wouldn't realize the damage that had been done in that half hour until the following day when red welts began appearing on my body.
After washing up and recovering from our trauma, we went out in search of dinner. There are only a handful restaurants on the island and we decided on Waves. There were a lot of locals there enjoying the happy hour specials and we stuck out like a sore "tourist" thumbs. I got the seafood special and Chris got the surf and turf. My fish was overcooked, but all-in-all, we enjoyed our meals.
Afterwards, we grabbed a cone at Island Rainbow.
The next morning, we drove up to Mobile, so that the kids could quiz. Here were a few pictures from that morning.
Following the competition, we resumed our vacation. I took this picture of the birdhouses. I could've spent all day travelling around the island taking pictures, but that would've only been fun for me...
We ventured out to the beach a second time. This time, there wasn't a fly in sight and people were actually on the beach. It was a good afternoon.
I hate when I don't notice how dirty my lens is...
The kids made friends with a group of boys who were catching crabs with a net. Chloe decided she didn't need a net and was pretty successful at catching them with buckets.
We cooked up her catch later that evening. I'll spare you the aftermath.
We spent Saturday night in. We ordered pizza from Island Rainbow and watched Auburn football.
We got in a little more beach time on Sunday morning.
We stopped by Fort Gaines on our way out. Evan will be making his Alabama history portfolio next year, so I thought this would be a fun/educational excursion.
If you know anything about my family, you know we are all about some pressed pennies. Guess what we found at Fort Gaines?!
That sums up our trip to Dauphin Island. We really enjoyed it, despite the biting flies. We may vacation there again, but perhaps, at a different time of year. Remember to beware of biting flies!
