It’s a Dolphin thang – you wouldn’t understand

Monday July 7 - 2014

Today is dolphin day – Dana is a dolphin addict, and she plays along and supports our addictions, so we play along and support hers.  She turns into an excited little girl when she talks about dolphins, and on this trip she’s been very happy, spotting dolphins and running off to follow them, happy at the tiniest sighting of a fin 300 yards away.. we have a lot of pictures of little black spots on the horizon that she promises us are dolphins.   Whenever we make a trip that even threatens to be close to a dolphin, we do something about it.  In Ocracoke we went on a private dolphin cruise which was fun just because it was just us and our cute local dolphin boat boy – and in Dingle Ireland we went on another with Fungi the dolphin – just one dolphin, but he played along side the boat we got some great pics.  I just like being out on the boat, and I’m usually in charge of capturing the moment.  No pressure – get great video of dolphins.  Or else.  We’ve been told that the one we’re going on is the best one in the area.  We’ve seen others for only $10 each, and this one is about $27 each (normally $25 but bumped up a little because we’re doing the last ride of the day and they can call it a “sunset cruise”) – we’ve been advised to go either on the first ride of the day or the last one so that we’ll see more dolphins, so we’ll see.   But whatever else we do today, know that Dana is just thinking about dolphins that she’ll see tonight. 

Before the big event it was a beach day – Dana bought one of these special balls that bounces off of the water.  You throw it toward the water with the same kind of arm action you would if you were skipping rocks, and then it bounces to the person you’re throwing it to.  We saw other people playing with them and they look pretty cool.  She has another water vacation coming up and she thought it would be fun to try at the lake.   There were more “critters” in the water today – big schools of fish swim by, and I mean BIG schools of fish, it looks like an underwater swarm, the whole area gets black and then it just creeps toward you and envelopes you, and with the reports of sharks in the area before we got here, we’re a little skiddish about dark shadows under the water that move toward us.   The first day we were in the water we a school come up on us and my back was to them, along with the shadow that creeps in from below, there are also fish bubbling and jumping at the surface (also disheartening for those skiddish about shark attacks).  Well Patti just screams “BIG FISH!!!”, points BEHIND me, and then runs off away from me.  WHAT?  I jumped, freaked – moved quickly toward her – and she just left me out there for what she thought could have been shark bait.  Just when you think your friends have your back.  She later apologized, she thought it was a shark – um yah, that doesn’t make it better.  You thought it was a SHARK and you LEFT me there to be attacked while you ran off to the shore.  

Patti spotted another guy sporting St. Louis Cardinals gear and tried to talk to him – but he was in no mood to talk to the likes of us.  And actually he’s from St Charles..  we joke later, “Yah, and I moved to get away from St Louis people like YOU – don’t need them on vacation – don’t talk to me, don’t LOOK at me.”  RUDE St. Charles people.. 

We get up to the condo and get ready, shower, get dressed – we have plans to hit some cute shops we saw in the Orange Beach area and then eat at Flippers which is just next to the dolphin cruise. We find the shops, and they’re just what we’ve been looking for.  There have been several places that have been billed as “cute boutiques”, but these places actually are – we find quite a few things that we just couldn’t leave behind.  Some of which we can’t talk about because they’re gifts for other people – but Patti got this really vintage looking clock, Amy got an elephant car charm, Dana found a pearl necklace and anklet, and I found a merman.  I try to find odd things to take home from every trip, something unique that will remind me of that place – and there was this merman ornament calling to me.  He makes me smile – I’m trying out names for him, maybe Marlon? 

A larger version of Marlon (laying down)

A larger version of Marlon's brother - that I left behind

Patti finds this whale photo display (hard to describe, it’s a whale as a base with metal that goes from the body to hold a picture) – she had been looking at this same exact whale at The Hangout but it was $30.  She said that she might pay $12 – but not $30.  She found it here for $10.  There were also these great raised Adirondack chairs – you have to order them and shipping is beast – but I took some pics just in case some creative people out there think that they could make some for me.  They’re super comfty.  I was trying to get pics of them and Patti thought she needed to pose…

After our little shopping excursion we head to Flippers to eat – it’s literally 2 feet from the dolphin cruise.  They said it was close.. but that’s CLOSE.  The food is good, the waitress is pleasant, good times!  We try the seafood nachos – mmm (but a little too much lettuce).. Amy and I have the grouper (again, copying off my food – you see how she is.. ). And some decent cheese grits.   But it’s the main event that Dana is revving up for, and after dinner we still have about an hour to go before the cruise.  

Seafood nachos

We get some pics with the dolphin sign – cute pic of Dana kissing the dolphin – and Dana and I decide to get a beverage, “the Beast” that sounds good (some fruity thing).  But when we order it, the bartender has no idea what that is, and actually asks Dana what’s in it.  Um.. well, it’s on YOUR menu.  So we go back to get a menu to show her, but by the time we get back she has found one of her own, and oh yah, here it is – but she just has a list of ingredients, no idea what ratio to put in them.  She experiments and has us try them before we leave – they’re fine.. who knows how they’re actually supposed to taste.   Amy is whipping her hair back and forth (or something like that) when she loses an earring – and we think that it rolls between the decking and into the gulf below.  But luckily Dana has eagle eyes (really, she has dolphin eyes, she spots those things like nothing) and she see the earring behind a chair.  Nice save! 

There are a lot of people gathering and you can tell that we’re all thinking the same thing.. we should be lining up so we can get on that boat and get a good spot.  As a crowd starts to gather the captain of the boat makes an announcement that there will be two boats going out and the parties have been divided evenly.   He’ll call out names and whoever isn’t called is on the 2^nd boat.  We get on the first boat, one of the first in line, and we make our way to the front of the boat.  We asked the captain where he thought was the best place to stand and he gave us the vague answer that he’s had people tell him the front was the best and others say the back, and others say the middle.  So that’s really helpful.  I’ll you for future reference, if you go on this cruise (and if you’re in the area, you should) that the place to be is the middle of the boat.  I would even stay on the floor of the boat so that when the dolphins switch sides you can switch too, and then just get pics between the railings, not over them. 

Those stairs are brutal to get up and down

She's such a great model for me

This is a dolphin cruise like we have never been on – they promise that we’ll see them jumping and racing and rolling.. and usually the boat just drives around and looks for them and we see them randomly pop up.  But Dana wants movie dolphins, she wants to see sea world dolphin stuff – jumping full body out of the water stuff – and that’s what we’re promised.  I’m a little skeptical, and at first it starts out like the other cruises as we ride around looking for dolphins (Dana is the first to spot them with her special dolphin eyes) – and then they explain that the “show” will always be between the two boats.  When they spot a dolphin they’ll position the boats so that the dolphin is between them and then they’ll both race side by side create this super wake between the boats that looks like a surfer wave.  The dolphins LOVE it – they follow the wave, riding it, surfing it, jumping and playing – it’s everything that Dana wanted to see.  

The only issue that we have is that when you’re in the front of the boat you can’t really see the show because you have to look back, and the people on the sides block your view.   The pics that we have are captured from the video – and if you want to see the video, I suggest clicking on that link.  You’ll get to see them running and jumping, hear them smack the water as they play, definitely worth the extra money for it.  A friend of Dana’s that recommended this said that this cruise used to also be $10 or $12, but they just raised the prices, and I think they were right to do so because this isn’t a ride around in a boat and hope to see a fin pop up cruise – this is a show.   Dana is giddy on dolphins – it’s a good day.  J  

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vRyN6UAfrk

We head home and Patti wants a soda so we stop in at Tom Thumbs – it’s like the local QT, but it’s TT.. That’s not what they call it, that’s just us being silly.   Dana is feeling so good that she buys my drink for me and the attendant (Victor) asks if its because I was “actin alright” – like if I was being nice to her.  Of course Dana has to ruin our little friendship moment and say that I’m never actin alright..  hurts me Dana.  Hurts Dana.  Hurts.

Small side note (I know, most of this is a side note) – as we go in there are beach umbrellas for sale outside and some people are looking at them.  I notice that they have a southern accent and they say umbrella with the emphasis on the first syllable – they want an UM-brella.  This is how I’ve always said it and people “up north” poke a little fun at me saying “um-BRELLA” and wondering why I say UM-brella. I check myself now when I say it and try to say um-BRELLA, but there is always a pause before I say it.  But here, I have found my people.  I’m not weird here.  I can say UM-brella all day and not be the one getting looks.  

We give Dana a little trouble for her dolphin cruises, but it’s all in fun and from love.  This one will be a hard act to follow.