Day 11 - Mobile

We woke up this morning, had another delicious breakfast and headed to the Carnival Museum to learn more about Mardi Gras and what makes the south so known for these festivities. I would recommend this tour to anyone as we were checked in by a past Mardi Gras queen and given a tour by the most knowledgeable man who participates in the festivities each year. Way more than just beads and parties, we learned all about these mystic societies dating all the way back to the early 1800’s and it’s beginning in Mobile, Al, not NOLA as most people believe. 

We had to guess the themes for each of the floats...can you guess this one?

Ready for Mardi Gras or one of the Musketeers?

The dresses and capes were incredibly beautiful (and worth a years tuition of college). It's expensive to be chosen as king or queen!

We had fun seeing the floats, watching videos the past coronations and all the debutants, and dressing up in Mardi Gras attire. Since we were learning all about what makes the South unique, from there, we headed to the Delta.

We barely had arrived and this guy greeted us!

To get a real taste of the South we decided we had to learn more about gators! We decided to take a swamp tour and check these guys out in their natural habitat. We learned so much about the ecosystem of the delta and the delicate balance that keeps that system in check. Simply put, lots of turtles and snakes…low gator population. No turtles and snakes…too many gators. 

These good eyes spotted lots of gators, fish, turtles, even crabs in the water!

Our guide was fantastic. Funny and informative the girls really enjoyed searching for alligators, osprey, pelicans, herons, turtles…plus all the plants and how a simple plant can kill someone in 15 minutes! There’s no messing around in the Delta!

Gators are pretty scared of people, (contrary to belief, they aren't very aggressive) so they usually go under quickly, but lucky for us, we got to see a lot of gators today!

These beautiful lillies only bloom for 2 days. Since they have such a small window of bloom we went off the "beaten path" to find them and see them, it was a gorgeous part of the Delta.

After hanging with the gators it was time to head to the beach! We started at the Hangout. With great food, lots of fun activities and live music, it’s no wonder why people like to hang here. From ping pong to foosball, it was fun to play around, but our favorite was definitely the foam party!

Welcome to Gulf Shores!

We need to work on our ping pong skills...the palms saw more of the ball than the table did!

The infamous shaka hand at the Hangout.

The foam started blowing all over the place and the girls had no idea what to think!!

It didn't take long and they were loving it!

So.much.foam.

After a little fun we decided to head to the condo. It’s a beautiful space (2 bed, 2 bath) set a bit away from the crazy of downtown. It’s peaceful and relaxing and the perfect way to end our vacation. We didn’t waste much time moving in and headed straight to the beach. When originally planning our vacation we thought we would start in Gulf Shores and head west, but after a little research we flipped the trip to run it backwards and we’re so thankful we did. The white sand and clear waters are so beautiful and so much different than the beaches in Galveston. Plus, with the tropical storm last week, it would have rained the whole time, now we have beautiful weather! We spent the afternoon boogie boarding and enjoying the waves. We came in for a quick dinner and then headed to the pool to swim the night away. These girls can’t get enough of the water. 

Ready to hit the waves!

Loving the clear water. No doubt why they call it the Emerald coast...you can see almost 5 foot down, perfect for snorkeling!

Norah was built for the beach, she hunts the biggest waves!

Though the sand in Galveston was better for sand castles, it didn't slow these two down!

After dinner, it was time to check out the pools! With 7 pools here, the girls didn't want to waste any time!