Travel With Katie: August 2012

Lulu's at Homeport

We started tonight's adventure with a trip on the Dauphin Island ferry,

so we could go over to Lulu's at Homeport restaurant for dinner.

Here's the website info and menu's

http://www.lulubuffett.com/menus.php

After a much enjoyed ferry ride we arrived at Lulu's and were

greeted by these large fun footprints in the parking lot.

The kids saw this from afar and begged to go on. It was kind of a no brainer to agree and send them up. It's only $12 per kid and there didn't seem to be any time limit. Since we had a long wait (I'm assuming since it was peak season), they played the whole time we waited.

To pass our waiting time my Aunt and I indulged in some adult beverages. I started the night with a "Jet Ski Killer" on the rocks. It's a delicious combo of spiced rum, coconut rum, blue curacao, banana puree, and pineapple juice. Oh yum!! It was very tasty and I wasn't driving!

The place is huge. It has a store, 2 stages, a sandpit for the kids, and bars all over,

and of course water all around to gaze at.

#2 and #3 playing in the water area.

My Aunt Gen and I.

#2 and #3 playing in the huge sand pile.

#2 posing in front of one of the many palm trees.

Once we were seated, we started with fried green tomatoes as an appetizer. I never had them, so didn't know what to expect and I completely enjoyed them! Definitely recommend giving them a try. For dinner I had the Mahi Taco's. Delicious and huge. So be really hungry or share with a friend. #1 had the fried crab claws basket. They were good, but taste mostly like the breading. The service was great, the staff was friendly, and there was live entertainment. Very enjoyable dinner, the kids loved it, and I look forward to coming again in the future!

Dauphin Island Fort Gaines

Fort Gaines was an amazing adventure.

Here's the link to their site with hours of operation and all that jazz.

http://www.dauphinisland.org/fort.htm

It is so neatly maintained and very welcoming at the end of Dauphin Island.

There is even a true life blacksmith that is incredibly talented.

The kids and I watched him create magic with hot metal into beautiful pieces of art.

We even took home a piece for a birthday gift. It was a key chain of an elaborately detailed fish.

My daughter being silly. Could you even imagine if bathrooms were really like this!?!

A sign the Blacksmith had leaned as art against his wall.

This is nail the blacksmith created. It has a smiley face on the end.

Here's a video we took of the Blacksmith working his magic.

We had a great visit spending about 2 hours here.

I encourage a visit if you're visiting Dauphin Island!

Dauphin Island Estuarium

We made it to Dauphin Island, Alabama!

My favorite part of the drive was the forever long bridge we had to drive to get onto the island. I love water and bridges, so I completely enjoyed every minute of being on it!

We stayed at my Aunt Gen and Uncle Tom's house for our Dauphin Island tour.

They had a tent popped up in the living room for #2 and #3 to sleep in, so fun!

The day started with a trek through the local nature preserve (which was so relaxing) that meets the beach. My Uncle had his dogs and it was amusing to watch them swim. I forgot the camera, so no pictures to show!

#3 Isn't that big of a fan of sand, so he bellyached quite a bit, so we cut our walk short,

and got ready to go to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Estuarium.

Here's the link to their website.

It turned out to be an amazing visit. My Uncle Tom works at the Sea Lab, so he holds a wealth of knowledge in his cranium that he freely shared with us throughout each exhibit. We learned so much!

These are baby alligators.

There's a touch table full of preserved animals. It's was a little creepy but cool at the same time.

#3 is holding a some kind of ray.

This is some kind of fish that I forget the name, that comes from another country, and is plaguing our waters. They have no predators here, so there population just keeps expanding, causing severe issues.

Some towns hold competitions for catching them, to try and clean up some.

After a nice day at the Estuarium (which I learned is where part of a river meets the sea),

we headed over to the pool to cool off a bit!

Then it was wood chopping time for #3, he wanted to, so we could make a campfire.

Success!! Marshmallows were roasted, and way too many s'mores were consumed!

Good times in Alabama!!

Off to Sarasota, Florida for Some Family Fun!

We originally planned to go to Alabama upon checking out of Disney's Boardwalk Resort, but decided since we are so close to family, let's visit! So we drove a few hours to Sarasota, Florida to visit my Aunt.

# 2 and #3 with their cousin ( the cutie in the middle)

Olive is wearing a dress made by my super talented Aunt,

who made the dress out of a button down shirt!

We reinvented my anniversary arrangement my husband sent me into a beautiful thank you arrangement for my Aunt for having us crash at her house for a few days, and for feeding us yummy food too!!