Back Home and Back To Work

Well, we are back home from our vacation at Dauphin Island, Alabama and sad to have it come to an end. We had a really nice time and 3 of the 4 kids and their families got to spend a little time with us. It's nice because we don't really get together as much as I would like. Everyone has there own thing to do and families to care for. I guess I am getting older and reminiscing a little but I think about the things we used to do when the kids were little and living at home. We did all kinds of things together and I guess I miss those days. I guess I just miss them. Anyway, it was nice to get to spend more than an hour or two with them.

On Monday it was back to work and the weather is hot as Hades and will be for at least another week. Should be 97 degrees today and no rain in sight. The plan for the coming weekend is to get the pool up and going. I wanted to get it done before vacation but that didn't happen so it is still sitting there waiting to be cleaned. I can't wait for that cool evening dip.

Great Time on Dauphin Island

We arrived on Saturday and are having a nice time. The weather has been very pleasant...no rain. The kids have especially enjoyed it and spend most of the days in or near the water. Randy and I have collected more shells than usual and some of them are very pretty.

Christine and her family came down for 2 days but had to go to work on Monday. Michael and Colby came on Saturday and left this morning. Bethany couldn't come this time. To our surprise, George and his family got to come today and will stay until we leave on Saturday.
Christine, Michael, Bethany and George are our children.

On Tuesday we went to Fort Gaines for a tour even though we have done it many times before there is always something interesting to see. This trip I did a couple of photosynth pics. It is a program, thru Microsoft that takes a set of photos and puts them together on their website. It gives the public a chance to visit places and see what they look like without actually going there. It stitches the pics together and you can look all around in a scene that might cover 360 degrees. If you are interested in it click this link and check it outhttp://photosynth.net/ It's pretty cool. I did Fort Gaines. I am doing another one tonight and will title it Gulf Of Mexico From Dauphin Island, Alabama. I have also put together a couple of panoramas.

On Wednesday we got in the boat and went for a 4 hour tour. Katrina split Dauphin Islands west end with nearly 2 kilometers of the island removed. What used to be sand is now a channel. We went out to the part of the island that has been detached. It is now and island in itself. It was all sand and a few low bushes but in the center there was a small shallow lake. It was full of horseshoe crabs and small fish....not really sure what else was in there because some of the water was too dark to see. There were birds everywhere and more sea shells than you can imagine. It was a real adventure. We snorkeled and had a nice afternoon. We had planned on going back today but the water was a little rough for our little boat. Instead, we hit the souvenir shops.

FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN

Most of the rest of the day was been spent on the beach. We fished for a short time and caught 5 small sand sharks. That's a first for me. The sharks were actually quite beautiful and their skin is tough..like leather even at their young age. Their eyes glistened and had black centers. We gently removed the hooks and sent them on their way. The thing is... we caught them on the beach right in front of the house.