Chilly Week in Florida

10 – 18 Dec

Having spent last week on the Gulf Shores sunbathing with temperatures as high as 26C we have spent this week in Florida with weather reminiscent of the UK – rain and just above freezing at night.

We visited Fort Pickens on the end of Santa Rosa Island.  When it was built in 1834 the western end of the island was only 150 yds away; today it is about ¾ of a mile away because of the shifting sands. 


The fort was occupied by the Union soldiers during the American Civil War and the guns were used to fire on the Confederates who occupied the Pensacola Peninsular.
Geronimo and other Apache prisoners were held here from 1886 to 1888. 
It was also used for training during WWII.

We also went down to Navarre Pier and watched the fisherman.  We could see fish, turtles, Rays and jelly fish from where we stood on the Pier.

If you have ever wanted a beach to yourself then this would be the place to come. The view here looks towards the fort, the view the other way is also empty.

5 – 9 Dec Hurricane Alley - Gulf Shores, AL

We are right in the middle of Hurricane Alley but as it was the official end of the hurricane season on 30 Nov we felt quite safe.  The Gulf Islands National Shoreline stretch over 160 miles along Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and are barrier islands which act as a buffer to storm surge.

Pelican landing on Gulf Shores Pier

Fisherman lands a Ray

The Gulf shores State Park provides a number of educational Nature activities and talks.  We met an Eastern Screech Owl who had been given a home here after being hit by a car – she had lost an eye.  We had a guided talk on the Pier and watched fisherman land a Ray.   

A lot of this area has been rebuilt after hurricane Ivan in 2004.  The Pier is now hurricane proof with decking which can be removed when there is a hurricane threat.  The beach has miles of beautiful white sand.  The water gets deep very quickly and from the beach we watched Rays in the water and the Pelicans diving for mullet – there was a massive shoal and a fisherman caught them just by throwing a net.  At Various points of the Islands are old forts which wer used by the US Navy to protect this area during the Civil War in the 1860s.  Fort Pickens was also used to hold Apache prisoners 1886-88 - one of whom was Geronimo.




Sanderling with a small
Portugese Man of War Jellyfish

We had a camp site by the river and Paul caught a Red Fish which we had for breakfast one morning.  We saw and heard a pair of Great Horned Owls one night.  As well as alligators there are bobcats and coyote on the island and also a cougar but we never saw any of the larger mammals only the sea birds.   

Pair of Horned Owls at Sunset

We chatted to a number of park residents who are ‘volunteers’ at the state park in exchange for living there without paying ground rent – a lovely place to spend the winter.

 

 

East to Mississippi and Alabama

2 – 4 Dec – Back over the Mississippi

We travel back along the I10 back over the Mississippi and into the state of Mississippi.  We stayed at Davis Bayou State Park in Ocean Springs again.  We stayed here six weeks ago for a night and liked it enough to come back again for two nights.  The birds that we heard and saw in October are not so numerous – I guess they were migrating their way south and have carried on their journey.

 

We saw the resident alligator one evening – he was at least 8ft and came right up under the observation deck we stood on.  We could see the tracks were he crosses the road between ‘ponds’.  We meet Charles, a retired school teacher, and chat and share a beer for a couple of hours.

 

 

We are now staying at the State Park at Gulf Shores in Alabama.

Atchafalaya, Louisiana

27 Nov – 1 Dec  Into Louisiana Again



Back in Louisiana we stay mid-way between Breaux Bridge and St Martinville at the campsite called Catfish Heaven – Paul did some fishing and we had catfish for dinner one evening.  Around the campsite lake we watched a one-winged cormorant catching fish as well as the vultures eating any left-overs.




We had an interesting visit to Avery Island – the home of Tabasco Sauce.  The factory is still on the original spot from when the sauce was first commercialised in 1868. We had a free tour and had tasters of practically all their products including the Jalapeno flavoured ice-cream and Tabasco Soda drink.  We learnt the peppers are fermented for 3 years in old Jack Daniels barrels – no wonder Paul liked the taste!
Underneath the Island is a column of Rock Salt, which was the first to be mined in the USA in the 1860s. They use the salt to form acrust on the barrels whilst fermenting to stop any bacteria getting in.

 

We drove through Lafayette and visited Abbeville but were too late for their Giant Omelette Festival which was in early November.  We went to Breaux Bridge – the Crawfish Capital of the world! – and we ate some crawfish.  We met another couple, who are travelling too, and arranged to go on a swamp boat tour of the Atchafalaya Swamp.  We were out for 3 hours and saw many birds – Great White Egret, Blue Heron, Cormorants, Grebe, Hawks, ducks, swallows and even a fleeting glimpse of a Kingfisher. 

 

 

 

We saw the sun go down over Lake Martin on Saturday evening and watched Ibis flying in to roost.