Eventful Vacation

[Jengerbread88]

I'm on vacation right now, in the Gulf Coast at Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Oh my GOSH has it been eventful!

We arrived Saturday, and relaxed Sunday.

Monday, the president came. I got to see him! I wasn't close enough to photograph him, but I did get some good photos of his helicopter.

Today, we were eating breakfast on our balcony, and the BP oil cleanup workers started screaming "GET OFF THE BEACH!" In my mind, this translated to "Grab a camera." (My friends told me it's a good thing I speak panic fluently). We looked out and about 5 miles offshore... there was a waterspout tornado! It was SO pretty! I got photos of it, too.

Makes me wonder what's in store for the rest of the week!

The tornado thing was funny, because I was talking to my close friend right before coming down here. We somehow were talking about when I was in New York City, and there was a tornado warning. The weather reporter said it was the first one in 15 years (this was a few years ago). He said "Wow, I'll bet you see one in Alabama!" I laughed and said "Yeah, right. That area doesn't get many tornadoes." Sure enough... tornado. LOL.

[jacinda]

How cool! Bet this is one holiday you won't forget.

[Balinda]

Oh my goodness....fluent panic always comes in handy.
I so want to see your photos.
We live in NW Louisiana and me and the hubby have
talked about riding down to the coast to get an up close
view of the oil spill, eventhough we are praying that
the cleanup starts going faster.

[nikkiARNGwife]

I definately would have run..I'm terrified of tornadoes lol...but you know they're really common in the South too, especially in the Spring/Fall.

That's weird that you had one in NY though...you definitely don't think of tornadoes up there.

How were the beaches where you were as far as the oil spill? My sister lives in Destin and told me they were starting to see tar ball on their beaches...we were hoping to drive down to Gulf Shores for a few days but I don't want to if the beaches are yucky.

[scrap2day]

Wow! I can't wait to see some of these photos. Hope you're having a good time.

[Jengerbread88]

We had another waterspout this morning! It was closer to shore, and I got some pics of it, too.

As for the oil... there's not much here. I found two tarballs so far in my entire stay, and a small amount of residue. They are putting up the sand barrier now, because it seems the spill IS going to hit the island.

HOWEVER... if you're planning a trip to the gulf PLEASE STILL COME! I was talking to a local here the other day, and she said she was going to most likely have to close her souvenir shop. No tourists=no money, and she's losing money just trying to keep it open. This is common with many businesses in the area, and several restaurants had to close, or raise prices, just because of the spill causing so many problems with fish supply, etc.

It's so sad, because to be honest, our trip has not been negatively impacted by oil AT ALL. We usually swim in the pool and look out over the ocean in the mornings and the such, but rarely make it all the way out to the beach. We got in a couple of good beach trips (which is actually more than we USUALLY get in when there's no oil!). We have still gotten to sit on our balcony and enjoy the view, and go to all of the other sites in the area (bird sanctuary, historic fort, etc). There is SO much to do here, that the oil really hasn't been an issue for us.

[jessica31876]

I wonder if the oil is somehow causing an increase in waterspouts? I saw on the news it heats the water and can cause a stronger hurricane. Thats just weird you saw two waterspouts in one day. Was it when it was storming outside? Ive seen waterspouts here in Fl. but it was usually when a storm was moving in and I know we have not had rain in days (had a tiny bit yesterday)

[Jengerbread88]

I wonder if the oil is somehow causing an increase in waterspouts? I saw on the news it heats the water and can cause a stronger hurricane. Thats just weird you saw two waterspouts in one day. Was it when it was storming outside? Ive seen waterspouts here in Fl. but it was usually when a storm was moving in and I know we have not had rain in days (had a tiny bit yesterday)


It was clear and sunny over us during the first one- not a drop of rain. You could tell out in the water it was cloudy and rainy, and off to one side there were a couple of flashes of lightning.

The second one, it stayed sunny the WHOLE time, but there was pouring rain, even in the sun. It was beautiful!

[jessica31876]

I really hate when it rains and the sun is shining because it gets sooo hot afterwards!! The rain just swirled around us today which sucked. It said it was like 101 on the thermometor outside and on the news today it said the sand at the beach is between 115 & 120!! That's HOT!!