Late morning when we finally started moving we decided to just sight see today. Our first stop was the Gulf State Park Fishing Pier. We've driven past it for five years and have never stopped. The first year we came to Orange Beach the pier was still being rebuilt. It opened in 2009. The current pier replaced the original fishing pier that was a popular fishing spot for many years. It was destroyed in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan made a direct hit.
According to the OBA website "Ivan struck near Gulf Shores just after midnight on Sept. 16, 2004, as a Category 3 hurricane with winds exceeding 120 mph. Before it was gone, it caused more than $5 billion in damage in Alabama and Florida and drew blame for 13 Florida deaths." The GSP pier was one of the casualties. The old pier was 825' long and saw thousands of fishermen each year. Though it was popular it wasn't a consistently good fishing spot. Because it was so close to the shore the water was very turbulent on mostdays. There were only about 100 good fishing days per year. The pier was redesigned and rebuilt to make it nearly double in length so that the better,calmer fishing waters could be easily accessed. Here is a composite photo showing both the old and new piers.
The pier is a fun walk because of all the fisherpeople, fish and wildlife. We saw pelicans up close, a blue heron, a tiny fiddler crab and two Sheepshead fish right as they were being reeled in. I think pelicans were a joke from God as they are very odd looking birds. They weren't wearing little sailor hats and striped shirts like Pelican Pete (let's see how many of you know who he was). They patiently wait for scraps from the fishermen. However, the fishermen don't seem to like their presence and shoo them away. Here are two photos that Ken took today.
After our walk on the pier we went to lunch at Kitty's Kafe, the #1 restaurant choice in Gulf Shores according to Trip Advisor. It was a crowded little restaurant with a diner menu. We sat at "the bar". The food was just so so. I've had Fried Green Tomatoes two days in a row now and I am not a fan. They were two very different interpretations and I really didn't care for either. It was interesting to hear the waitress talking to "regulars". Every restaurant we've been to down here has had very friendly waitstaff. We took a short drive to the west end of Gulf Shores. There are tons of rental properties along that end of the island. I don't know how they can possibly fill all of those rental houses and condos.
We returned to the condo around 2:00 and since it was still cloudy we planned to stay in for the afternoon. I crashed on the couch for a couple of hours while Ken did whatever Ken did while I was asleep. The sun came out late afternoon so we spent an hour or so reading by the swimming pool. Now we are being boring old people and are sitting here watching TV while blogging and surfing.
Tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy and cool so we might head to Belingrath Gardens or some other local diversion. Tune in tomorrow to find out where we decide to go.
Alabama Kisses.
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