We went to Dauphin Island, Alabama for our vacay and it was the best family togetherness we’ve had in a long time. It was so relaxing and the kids didn’t even fight that much!! Thank you Lord.

 

We drove in and look at this beautiful sky! It’s God’s painting at it’s finest. So many shades of blue. It would be hard to paint something with so many shades.

I thought this sign was pretty funny. Birdiest? I have to say I was disappointed in the amount of birds. Jay and I saw way more birds on the beach in the Bahamas than at this beach….

We visited a handful of restaurants and stayed at The Inn which has condos with two pools. Jay cooked breakfast in the mornings. We went to the little grocery store there and paid convenience store prices. We will be stopping at Wal-Mart next time before we cross the bridge.

Our first meal was at JT’s Sunset Grill. Valerie and I unwisely chose to eat outside. I didn’t notice the very strong smell of fish until our food arrived and I completely lost my appetite. My nose is very sensitive and I can’t stand bad smells. I worked at Bath and Body Works part time as a second job and needless to say, I’m hooked! I love room sprays, lotions, perfumes, essential oils, and anything else that smells wonderful. So eating outside here was complete torture. So if you eat here and your nose is sensitive, eat inside.

Being a sinful rebel, I really had to restrain myself from feeding the birds. It’s just so tempting!!!!

First up were the crab claws. I didn’t eat very many of them, but Jay and Valerie loved it.

Next up were calamari. This is David’s favorite fried seafood.

Here we have a crawfish cake and a crab cake. They were pretty good. The smell….it’s coming back to me…..ugh.

For our entrees, we had shrimp PO boy, seafood platter with fried oysters blackened shrimp and blackened grouper with fries and hushpuppies. Nothing stood out. We usually just order family style and share everything. That way everyone gets to try everything. David had the chicken tenders.

Most of the places here were all “meh”. No one served raw oysters, just fried.

 

Beach break!

We found a mermaid, also. I love the artistic touches.  She didn’t have much personality though. She did have perma-smile. We of course had to bury every one in the sand. Jay did a great job on this one.

We went to Smokeys Southern BBQ, which was formerly some Italian place. David had the grilled cheese with chips. I had the pulled pork sandwich with potato salad which was delish. Valerie also had pulled pork with mac n cheese. Jay had the combo spare ribs and pulled pork. Everyone enjoyed their food. It was my second favorite place. The waitress was super nice, but I did overhear her ask her boss not to run a background check on her….I wonder what she did!! They didn’t have alcohol, but there were about 20 chairs with half as many tables, 3 booths, and seating outside. We will be eating there again!

Maybe get a poster that fits the whole sign next time? Was it really that much more expensive?

 

 

This was the best tater I’ve ever had. We shared the ribs and pulled pork. David ate all of his grilled cheese.

You really should take the trails on the Indian Shell Mound Park. This was one of the coolest things we did. There were shells everywhere! We were the only ones there and it was beautiful!

Islanders Restaurant and Bar is where we ate dinner two nights. We LOVE LOVE LOVE this place!!!! The food was great. The service was great! Tablecloths are a sign of a great place to eat, right?

The ceiling looks a bit like the sun and it’s rays in a way. Pretty cool.

The above beautiful child was our entertainment for the night. He loves fidget spinners. He has 9? 8? 10? Jay secretly likes them too!

First up, yummy crab claws!

Next up is tuna! Let me just say we ordered this the first time as an appetizer. The next night I ordered this as my entree. It. Was. So. Freakin. Good!!!!!! The sesame seeds were so yummy! I would back to this place just for the tuna. So delicious.

Here we have okayish French bread, filet mignon with six blackened shrimp special (mine), grilled cheese with potato chips (David), Ceasar salad (Valerie), and the snapper special (Jay). We all shared of course!

Islanders had a kids menu, an extensive wine list and drinks. This place is kid friendly. It has a bar also. The building is really cool architecturally. The color is the same color as our laundry room. There were four tvs with sports on it. Modern light fixtures. Beautiful patio with plants and flowers. The waiter was very friendly. It was clean. Take away is available. There was art work on the wall that looked like it had come from a local artist. It was 141.92 before tip.

Beach break! So never in my life had I gone to the beach at night to find crabs. The first night was terrifying because we didn’t wear shoes. The second night was way better because our tootsies were covered.

Come here you little bugger!

Me: “You pick it up.”

Jay: “Um, no. You pick it up.”

Me: “Jay. You’re the man of the house. Pick it up.”

Jay: **silence**

We caught like 9 or 10 of these bad boys. It was so much fun!!!! I think I had more fun than David. Valerie went with us the first night. The second night? Not so much.

We affectionately named them sand spiders. Look at the hair on this little guy’s legs! Reminds me of winter.

We found another mermaid. Pretty neat.

My big baby looking at the view. We loved this place so much that we already booked it for next year! It’s so peaceful and if you cook most of your meals, it’s not that pricey.