Fort Morgan beach

On Friday we drove to the Fort Morgan historical sit which lies about 20 miles west of Gulf Shores on highway 180.  It is on a long finger of land separating Mobile Bay from the Gulf of Mexico.   Highway 180 ends at a ferry dock at the fort. The ferry transports vehicles to Dauphine Island which in turn is connected to the mainland's western shore via a bridge over the bay.  All told, the fort is about 42 miles from where we call home near Summerdale.

On the trip to the point, we saw many houses like this one dotting the shores.

For all those under 12 years old, why would people build a house high off the ground like this?
Friday was a breezy day and the wind at the shoreline was no different.  Here at the ferry landing, we were surprised to find oil rigs dotting the bay.

And some of the rigs were miniatures and other things were not:

The fort's shore line was spectacular.  We strolled the broad, sandy beach and came across many shore fishermen.  Others were strolling and picking up had-to-have stones and shells.

I asked a fisherman what these discs were.  They were fairly numerous and buried just below the surface of the sand:

These are jellyfish which were washed ashore.  If they dry out before the tide rescues them, they perish.  On this same stretch of beach Donna spied fins in the water similar to what we believed sharks would look like.  Instead they were two pair of dolphins (look closely on the right for tail fins)

Sighting dolphins in the wild was a first for us and made the trip well worthwhile.