May 25 – “Day twenty-two: More fort … more seafood”

We actually had a relaxing morning.  No particular hurry to get out of bed.  I waited until almost 6:30.  Then we just watched a movie and waited for a return text from Christi about the agenda for the day. 

 

Once we got our marching orders, we headed out for the condo.  The Vaughan family was already at the beach, so we joined them there for a while.  We didn’t get in the water this time though.  Just a little shell collecting (And by “little” I mean collecting “little” shells) and watching the kiddos.  That was followed by a quick dip in the indoor pool (for them) before lunch. 

 

Lunch was a variety of leftovers from our meals over the course of the last few days.  Christi fixed them some tacos.  All were well-fed.

 

And finally we headed out to Fort Morgan.  Yep.  More fort.  There we walked at least two and a half miles, and climbed at least four flights of stairs.  I carried a backpack for the day as well.  Gotta get my workout in.  Chris offered several times to take a turn carrying it, but I held out.  This particular fort is famous for one battle fought nearby.  Actually, the battle was fought in the water.  You might have heard about Admiral Farragut declaring, “Damn the torpedoes!  Full speed ahead!”  He led the Yankees to defeat the Rebs and take over the fort.  They have a very nice museum on the grounds now, and the fort itself is pretty much fair game to climb through and explore.  That museum had a gift shop, too.  No new critters, though.

 

From the fort we went for supper to a nearby marina.  The restaurant’s name was Tacky Jack’s.  More seafood.  It was good, though.  I had a seafood salad with shrimp and crawfish on top.  After we ate, we spent some time sittin’ on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away.  And the seagulls eat the leftover French fries that AnnaGrace and Luke were throwing to them.  Boats were returning from a long day’s fishing, so we watched them clean their catch of mangrove snapper.  Pelicans and seagulls were watching, too. 

 

Tacky Jack had a gift shop.  It was AnnaGrace who walked off with the prize of the evening, though.  She was perusing the gift shop when she saw exactly what she wanted.  She announced, “I have to go get my Daddy.  I need his money.”  She got him.  And his money.  And walked away with the cutest little stuffed jellyfish you ever saw.  (Josh, just remember how cute that sounds right now).  Then when we left we had to stop and take one last picture.  There was a huge yacht sitting out front of the marina.  And what should be the name gracefully scrolled on the back?  She was the AnnaGrace.  Couldn’t pass up a photo op like that.

 

We debated about going fishing, but decided instead to play some basketball.  Well, the boys did.  Chris and I headed back to the hotel to recuperate.  You know, once you reach a certain age …

 

John 20:21 says, “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’”

 

Father, thank you for the excitement in learning we saw in Josh and Caleb, in particular at the fort.  Help all of them catch that enthusiasm about education.  Amen.