Dolphin Tales

This was the day I had been looking forward to the most.  As our Christmas present John purchased all of us a boat trip to see the dolphins.   At first we were not sure if we would be able to go on a trip in December, but we found a company that went out on a 2 hour trip.  The sun was shining but the weather was much cooler at 50 degrees. 
Rosi at the dock waiting for the cruise

Anita and Rosi ready to go

the boat

Bob and John sit and wait

At 1pm we all loaded onto the pontoon boat.  Because the tide was out further than normal the captain decided to load the boat at the end of the dock.  It was still about a three foot drop onto the boat but we all made it!  Bundled up in our coats and sweatshirts we headed out to sea.

The captain told us that about 30 dolphins made the bays of Alabama their home.  He said we would be searching in three bays.   We slowly made our way around the first bay.  All of us scanned the water for the dorsal fins that would break the water and show us the dolphins that were swimming in the water below.  The dolphins stayed hidden in the first bay.  Someone said that it was a pelican cruise as we saw many of them! 

As we headed through the channel to the second bay Dave was the first to see a dolphin.  Sure enough he had found the pod.  Within minutes the captain had steered our boat to the pod and we were watching them play in the cool afternoon sun. 



http://www.cetaceancruises.com/Dolphin_Fin_ID_sheet.pdf
This is the identification sheet for the dolphins we saw
We spent about 30 minute playing hide and seek with the dolphins.  At the end of the show three of them decided to blow water out of their blow hole.  I was so excited as I was able to catch it on film.  The sound of the water blowing was fun to listen to.
Then it was time to head into the Barber Bayou to look at wildlife.  It was very interesting to see the many birds in the bayou.  Most of us were all thankful that the snakes and alligators were hibernating.    After seeing the bayou it was time to head back to shore.  We were all cold and hungry at this point, but very thankfull for the experience!





Two people had suggested Lulu’s so we decided to head there for lunch/dinner.  I say lunch dinner because for the early risers it was an early dinner and for the late risers it was a later lunch.  We headed there and we were seated out on the deck.  The plastic walls did not seem to warm us enough.  They started a propane heater but we were still cold.   The food was great and I enjoyed fried green tomatoes. 

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