Friday, July 9, 2010

Gulf Shores Vacation

Phyllis and I went on a little vacation over the July 4th weekend to Gulf Shores with Kristina, Jackson, and Mason.

The story through little Mason's eyes is here.

The thing that struck me most about the area was the devastation. No, not from the oil. If you look REAL close in this photo of the beach you might be able to see some little balls the size of green peas which are mostly sand with a little oil. I remember it being MUCH worse than this every summer thirty years ago. Every time I went to the beach back then I got tar on my feet or shoes. This is nothing, although I'm sure if you look hard enough you can find the areas where the oil IS much thicker, just not here. The devastation I'm talking about is that caused by the news media. This was July 4th, a holiday weekend in the summer, and the beach looks deserted. All the people have been scared away by the reports of how horrible it is (well not EVERYBODY, there was some traffic, just way down I'm sure).

The surf was double red flagged, meaning STAY OUT OF THE WATER, although the strong winds and undertow from Hurricane Alex further west may have contributed.
Most of the boats remained at the dock. Not much fishing going on, if any.
But the fireworks Sunday night were nice, even from a few miles away. I think the one near the bottom looks like a dandelion.

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