South Alabama Senior Travelers set sail for a three hour cruise. The Sand Island Lighthouse at Dauphin Island (not Gilligan’s Island) was their destination. The group headed to Dauphin Island for a tour of the Estuary Sea Lab, (very nice) lunch at Barnacle Bills (which was fabulous) and a scenic cruise to the Sand Island Lighthouse.

Twenty-seven passengers set sail Tuesday, May 15, 2012,

For a three hour cruise, which ended in a five hour cruise.

The ship set sail with Escort, Louise Childs and 26 other members of the South Alabama Senior Travelers: Don Borck, Carolyn Bryant, Patsy Fulghum, Lora Horn, Gary Hunt, Mary Johnson, Margaret Klein, Carol Klein, Eugene Klein, Denise Knox, Marvelene Lawson, Elise Morgan, Hank Mudgett, Jean Nall, Marie Noggle, Buddy Presley, Dot Presley, Gerald Ray, Jean Ray, Donna Stahl, Floyd Stahl, Carol Struthers, Lynn Struthers, Carolyn Vokes, Mildred Whitaker and Abil York.

During the cruise, we saw herons, pelicans, white egrets, seagulls, other birds and dolphins. The pelicans stood and stared at us, the herons stretched their necks to watch us and last, but definitely not least, were the dolphins. Four dolphins danced on the waves to entertain us. Fortunately, I was able to capture at least one photo of each to share with the group.

The captain of the ship was a sailing man,

The first mate was brave for sure.

The weather could not have been better, it fact it was absolutely perfect. So the captain and first mate asked, and we all agreed, to drop the nets for ten minutes and see what we could catch. Many of the group had never had this experience, so we were all excited. This was an added treat for us.

But, as fate would have it, the net got caught under the ship; this was not good. Both the captain and first mate went into the water and tried unsuccessfully to release the net. A few things caught in the net were two sand dollars, a baby shark that was only 6 inches long, a couple of crab and a few fish. Everything else was lost. We only kept the sand dollars.

The ship tossed and tossed while the captain and first mate tried to release the net. This caused several members of this group to get sea sick, while others got sunburned. We were all excited when we finally reached shore and headed home.

Again, as fate would have it, it took forever to get home. We followed two halves of a house which was moving very slowly. A traffic jam was ahead of them, so they couldn’t move either. Finally, we came upon the broken water line being repaired on Hwy. 59.

There is nothing like a day of excitement to create interest in another trip. 5 Rivers Delta be warned, a group from South Alabama Senior Travelers will be there for another ride on the river!

Additional trips planned for this group are: 5 Rivers Delta; Pigeon Forge, TN; Destin, FL; Kenlake State Park near Paducah, KY; Outer Banks, NC; Irish Splendor and a Christmas Train Ride through the North Georgia Mountains.

The South Alabama Senior Travelers meet twice each month, on Thursdays, at the Foley Senior Citizen Center. For additional information you may contact Diane Hutton, president, at tdmmkhutton@yahoo.com, All seniors are invited to join this active group.