As usual, I’m the first to arrive at Hudson Marina at Skull Harbor for a Gulf Shores deep sea fishing charter. Once the Captain arrives, he introduces his crew for the day including Jason who is as an off duty 1st mate just out for a day of fishing. […]
I arrive at the Jack Edwards National Airport for a Gulf Shores Helicopter Tour and feel immediately at home. There is something about walking around the tarmac that is just familiar. I started my own flight training when I was 15 only to quit when I got my driver’s license. With regret, I didn’t stick with it as aviation might have been the fulfilling career I always sought. Although I did finally obtain my private pilots’ license some 25 years later, for any number of reasons I didn’t stick with it. Might I digress?
View this post on Instagram
I am to meet James, a pilot from Lost Bay Helicopter, for a tour of Alabama’s Gulf Coast. I promise myself I’m not going to throw out the superfluous “I’m a pilot too”. Knowing I’ll only embarrass myself by trying to make a comparison to someone who has made flying their lives work. We weren’t even off the ground before I blurted out my meager flying accomplishments. As to be expected, James didn’t seem particularly impressed but it did make for some lively cockpit conversations. Oh the joy of discussing altimeter settings, flight control systems, traffic patterns, and a little banner plane turf war banter thrown in.
Our tour begins by heading east at 300 feet above Gulf Shores along the coast toward Orange beach. We cross over the Gulf State Park pier and Perdido Key. With Pensacola on the horizon, we turn north at the infamous Flora-Bama bar. James recounts a story of the annual mullet toss that takes place there. The visions of participants flinging a dead fish across the Florida and Alabama state line places this event way up on my ever-growing bucket list.
After the turnaround, we fly over, Ono Island, Bayou St John, and Caswell. Our final approach toward runway 27, places us over Bay La Launch and Portage creek. The flight while just over 15 minutes, provided a great view, great conversation and reason to get back this way in April for some much-anticipated fish flingin.
On the southern tip of Florida is 1.5 million acres designated as Everglades National Park. Surrounded by The Big Cypress Preserve, the Fakahatchee Strand and the Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge, the area offers: sawgrass marshes, cypress swamps, hardwood hammocks, pinelands, mangroves, and estuaries. These diverse ecosystems make for all manner of wildlife, ecotourism and exploration. […]
The name Gasparilla comes from legendary pirate Jose Gaspar, the last of the Buccaneers, who terrorized the 
coastal waters of West Florida during the late 18th and early 19th century. Since 1904, the city of Tampa annually re-enacts the historic pirate invasion of the city.
I waiver on going to the event as the crowd estimates are 300-500,000 people. I’m just not convinced I want to dive into that mess. I awake early and the local TV stations have already started their event coverage with interviews and shots of the bay. They mention that Gasparilla is the 3rd largest parade/event in the US. I have since been unable to find the source of that ranking, but it was enough for me to scramble to make the 1.5-hour drive to the party. […]
Crystal River is a well-kept secret on Florida’s gulf coast. It offers the outdoor enthusiast many hiking, biking, birding, and paddling trails. From secluded gulf beaches, fishing, golfing, and outstanding sunsets. Crystal River has something for everyone year-round. The real attraction, however, is Three Sisters Springs. […]
The much anticipated Halloween week is off to shaky start. Fort Boonesborough Campground is beyond busy and cars are haphazardly parked everywhere. Immediately I notice my designated campsite is very uneven, with an uphill slope right as you would step out of campers door. To maximize the flatter space, precision placement on the concrete pad is paramount. The layout will require backing up toward the passenger side creating a huge blind spot for me. My best-laid plans go awry and I’m practically jack-knifed and I am creating a traffic jam on the road that flows past the site. I quickly become frustrated and pull out to circle around to allow others to exit.