Fort Morgan and Dad's #76!

To compensate for a lack of entries or activity in June (blame Facebook), I offer a selection of photos from the 2009 trip to Fort Morgan, Alabama. We had a wonderful time, basically doing nothing! The weather was really, really hot -- about 10 degrees above normal -- but the water was very brisk and quite refreshing. Cait and I did the boogey boards a couple of days when the surf was rough, which was so much fun and great exercise, too. In fact, the surf was so rough, it broke one of the boards in two. And of course, they were non-professional boards, purchased at Wal-Mart.

My sweet daddy, who loves the Alabama coast so much, celebrated his 76th birthday in style. We went to Billy's Seafood in Bon Secour, and bought plenty of goodness for his birthday dinner. We had flounder filets and royal reds (shrimp), which are shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico, caught in water that is 200 miles off the coast. These shrimp, because of their habitat and high fat content, taste like lobster. Frank made clarified butter to dip them into, and I tell you, the eating was heavenly! Mom made a gluten-free white cake for all of us to enjoy, which we served with Blue Bell homemade vanilla and fresh strawberries. More heaven!

Mom and Dad and Cait went into town a couple of times for souvenir shopping and lunch at Mikey's, which is probably the best seafood restaurant in Gulf Shores. Because of the celiac issues, Brigid and I stayed away from it and ate at home. However, the crew returned with a doggy bag for Frank so he could enjoy some fried goodness from the Alabama coast.

On the way down, I have to mention that the four of us stayed at the Battle House hotel in Mobile. It was wonderful. Another Travel and Leisure recommendation that stood up to the test. We ate in the Trellis restaurant, which was lovely, and they accommodated our dietary needs very nicely. Mobile is only an hour away from Fort Morgan, but we stayed the night there so we could have a leisurely start and check into the house early around 1:00 p.m.

All in all, it was a truly wonderful stay, and we were all sad to have to leave; however, it's good to be home again.