We spent a day at Gulf Shores going to the shops, the beach, and the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. The zoo had moved to a bigger location. While it was well maintained, clean, and lots of room to grow, we didn't feel it was as special as the last visit. The exhibits were more spread out and it just didn't quite feel as personal and close to the animals.
We also spent some time at one of my favorite spots, the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch! We paid for the walk through and fed the gators as well. One of the alligators was in the moss next to the airboat. We think he was waiting for someone to fall in!
We went to visit the cemetery to see everyone. We even stopped at a cemetery in Alabama to see the burial site of Paul Bearer from WWE, aka William Moody.
One of our days we drove to New Orleans to go to the Audubon Zoo again. I absolutely love this zoo! There were still some COVID precautions in place, but we were able to see and do everything we wanted while there.
We went fishing in the Gulf with Papa again on two different days. We got to see dolphins, caught a crab (or he caught us), and one of us caught a shark! Good thing I didn't put my toes in the water like I was thinking about doing! We can't remember if it was me or Evan who caught him, but Papa helped us reel him in and get him off the hook. We were nervous to get too close! Papa said they're really good to eat, but you have to have a special permit to catch them. We let him go, and watched him swim away. I also caught the smallest and biggest fish of the day. My knees got super sunburned from this outing!
We drove over to The Lighthouse, one of our family favorites, in Bayou La Batre. This always brings back such vivid memories of being there with Granny (my great grandma). I don't think it has changed much in the 20-30 years since I was a kid. We drove through the area to see where parts of 'Forrest Gump' was filmed for the shrimp boat scenes. We also went to Coco Loco with Terry, Papa Ronnie's cousin. Unfortunately, this would be our last time seeing Terry. A few days after this visit, he tested positive for COVID and ended up passing away shortly after.
As always, I am always grateful for any time I get to spend with Papa and the rest of my Mississippi family!!
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