Dolphins

I went on a dolphin cruise on Wednesday; WOW! My sister and her husband run the boat and two of my other sisters and my mom were going, so Smiley Boy and I went too. I love being on the water, and I thought that would be the highlight of the trip. I grew up in Orange Beach, and (sadly) it has changed incredibly in the 20 years I've been gone--everyone else discovered what a beautiful place it is and decided they want to live there too. :( There were a dozen schools there when I graduated from high school, and now there are five times that--an example of how much the area has grown....

Being out on the water, it was easy to pretend that the area hadn't become so populated. The middle of the third week in April doesn't find too many other boaters out, and if you ignore the occasional cluster of condominiums, it's just as it was when I was a child. The weather was glorious, and I truly thought I was enjoying the highlight of the trip.

When we reached our destination, we soon found a pair, possibly a mother and baby, but they were elusive. We followed them around for a while, but they just didn't want to play with us. A few minutes later though, my brother-in-law, Captain Charlie, spotted fins on the other side of the bay, and we headed over. There we found three dolphins who did want to play. Charlie sped the boat up, and they began to cavort in the wake. They were only 5-10 feet off the stern of the boat, and they spun and jumped and played in the wake long enough for me to take about 30 pictures. It was all just amazing! They seemed genuinely glad that we had come to visit. It was a thrill. I am really looking forward to going again, and this time, it won't just be the boat ride I look forward to!