The morning started early today because we had to catch
a 9:00 a.m. ferry to Ship Island. Our
condo, located in the Sea Breeze Condominium complex, was in beautiful
Biloxi, Mississippi - just
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| Capt. Pete |
north of Beauvoir on Beach Boulevard. (Beauvoir is Jefferson Davis' retirement home and - get this - Presidential library.) The ferry leaves from Gulfport, which is the next town over from Biloxi. The ferry, Capt. Pete, has been making the
trip back and forth to the island since the 1950s when the original Captain
Pete Skrmetta and his wife started the business. In the spring they complete one trip in the
morning from 9:00 to 2:30 p.m. On the
weekends and in the summer, they run two trips – one in the morning and one beginning at noon and
departing at 5:00 p.m.
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| Smile Sam |
It was a beautiful day to visit the island – but
unfortunately there was no breeze. I say
unfortunately because without a breeze, the gnats had nothing to else to occupy their time but dive bombing the ears, eyes, nose and exposed parts of the humans around them. Consider one exchange I overheard on the beach:
“These gnats are killing me!” yelled an elderly gentleman
wading in the Gulf surf. A young mother of two responded helpfully, “Would you like
some bug spray?”
“I have some,” he replied.
“I think they like it.” We could empathize.
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| Isaac and the Louisiana State Bird |
The 50-minute boat ride through the Mississippi Sound was
awesome because of one thing – dolphins.
The captain pointed them out over the intercom when he would spot them and we
found ourselves running (ok....walking fast) from side to side of the boat hoping to catch a
glimpse. At one point, he noted that there
were two dolphins frolicking in the front. We quickly ran to the bow of the
clipper. There they were goofing around and
waiting for a good sized crowd to gather.
When enough of us were in the front watching, they dove
directly under the boat, one on each side of the prow and rode the water, belly
up for a good 5-6 minutes. I
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| Walking in the Gulf of Mexico |
found
myself standing directly above the one on the port side. The dolphin was literally four feet below
me. It was one of those moments in life
you know instinctively you will never get back, so you enjoy it to the fullest while it is happening. You also forget to take pictures. When it was over, I couldn’t help myself,
“That was SO cool!” I said loudly. A
sentiment that was quickly echoed by the 7 or 8 people standing around me. Together we had witnessed something very
special.
West Ship Island is a about a city block in width and
contains a white sandy beach on both sides.
The water on the far side of the island is the Gulf of Mexico. The island and it's partners provide a
protective barrier for the town of Biloxi and Gulfport. The entire string of islands separate and buffer the Biloxi shore from
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| Post Dolphin Sighting |
the Gulf creating in between the peaceful
waters of the Mississippi Sound.
West Ship Island is also part of a string of Islands owned by the National
Park Service. Together they are known as Gulf Islands National Seashore. Two of the islands - East and West Ship Island - were once one large
island until Hurricane Camille cut them in half in 1969. Hurricane Katrina came along and made the cut
more permanent.
The islands are also home to several cool critters. Besides the dolphins, we spotted at least ten manta
rays playing in the shallower waters by the beach on the Sound side. There were also two star fish tossing
about in the wake of the boat as it docked.
On
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| Time to Eat |
the gulf side, Ross and I spotted three crabs doing their
best to hide from us and the gulls flying around the beach from above. Two of them played peek-a-boo with us for a while as they scuttled in an out of their sandy dens. The best critter moment, though, was when the boys were
playing in the water. Ross and I watched
as two dolphins surfaced and played not 10 yards from where the boys were
standing. The boys had no idea. And we weren’t quick enough to get a
picture. Another one of those memories
to file away in the “once in a lifetime” category.
The crew of the boat were great and from all walks of
life. We got to know Minnesota Steve who
was introduced to us at the ticket window.
I was standing with the boys getting our tickets when he walked into the booth
and announced happily to the lady helping me, “Another day where I haven’t
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| Fort Massachusetts |
had
to use Algebra even once!”
“Shhhhhh,” I quickly rejoined. “I’m sure you use Algebra every day, right?”
He looked up, noticing me and my companions for the first
time. “Riiiiiight,” he said, “I don’t
know what I was thinking. I use Algebra
all the time.” After that, Minnesota Steve was part of the family.
He pulled out his lunch cooler while we were eating and
shared some of his chips with the boys.
His wife thinks they are too spicy, but he likes them. And, he ended up leading our 1:00 p.m. tour
of Fort Massachusetts – the ancient fort built by the French and used during
the revolutionary and civil wars. Steve
was a retired postal worker who spent a little time in retirement working for
the national park service before heading to Biloxi and Ship Island
Excursions. He gave a great tour.
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| The Ride Home |
It was a beautiful, partly cloudy day on the island and we were very glad that
we went on a Friday. Rumor had it that
they were expecting 1,000 people on the island that Saturday. We toured with about 30. Even with the spf 30 sunscreen – all of us
had a sunburn on some parts of our bodies by the end of the day, so we rode
back in the boat snack bar listening to the fans and the drone of the motor and
lulling ourselves into a nice, easy sleep.
We were all silent driving the short way back to the condo. We were all a little sun drowsy and by this time of our trip - had experienced plenty of togetherness. I believe the saying is “fish and family
start to stink after three days.” We
were going on nine.
Turns out the best
thing about our condo (at least that afternoon) was the three TVs. When we
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| Sea Breeze Living Room |
returned to our oasis to cool down
after our excursion, the boys disappeared into their shared bedroom where they
set up a picnic of snacks and drinks and messed with the WiFi and gladiator
movies on AMC. Ross headed to the master
bedroom and the basketball game. And
that left the living room for me and a documentary on Judy Garland. I’m pretty sure we all took a little
nap.
Sea Breeze Condominiums is directly on the beach. And when I say directly – I mean
directly. Every apartment has an unobstructed
view of the Mississippi Sound. When we
surfaced again after going our separate ways – Ross and I, sans shoes and
socks, went down to the second floor where the condo stairway connected directly to the white sand and surf. We spent the next 45 minutes
walking the beach, wading out to sandbars and watching the evening tide. We offered it as a family excursion, but the boys weren’t interested. They'd had enough of nature that afternoon.
We agreed –
another good day to cap off a successful vacation.
