7.5.99, Monday

    Yesterday we rolled into Gulf Shores around 3 in the afternoon. We came from Jackson, Mississippi, in the morning and rode most of the way in Aunt Marsha's Durango. It's a great truck. T. and I are wondering if we shouldn't pick one up.

    Marsha seems like a really great gal. Full of fire and sarcasm. We enjoyed swapping stories with her and hearing wonderfully embarrassing tales about her brothers. These are the kind of stories that only the youngest can tell.

    "When the boys got in trouble usually Bobby would get the first whippin', followed by Donny and when they got to Kenny he was already cryin' so hard they figured he'd been punished enough."

    The condo is on the eleventh floor and it's a three bedroom, corner spot with a wrap-around deck. The view is amazing. The sand here on the Gulf of Mexico is bright white and powdery. The waves yesterday we're particularly high. I came here when I was 12 or 13 for a youth trip with my church. I can't remember where we stayed and I don't remember all these condos but I remember the waves were great. It was my first time playing in the ocean.

    I'll have to look up the geography of the coast. I remember that when we lived in Biloxi, actually Ocean Springs, that nobody was really fond of the water. For one, the city of Biloxi used to pump sewage out into the water. The beach was always kind of scummy and looked brown.

    The only time I swam out in the Gulf from Biloxi was when I went out with a friend on her Dad's boat way out where it looked cleaner. That's when I developed my second fear of water. I was out there treading water and decided to dive down like you do in a pool to touch bottom. I swam down and down and down until I couldn't see anything anymore. Then I panicked and shot up towards the surface. I got back on the boat and her parent's wanted to know what was wrong. I told them, "I can't see anything but everything can see me." It's why I took SCUBA diving in college; I wanted to get over that fear.

    The fireworks were cancelled as they were going to shoot them off a barge and the seas were too rough. We watched some fireworks about five miles down the beach at Orange Beach. Those were going off a pier and we could see them from the balcony. I sat out with the kids and we oohed and aahed.

    I'm not sure what's going on today. I want to do a little tacky souvenir hunting and play in the ocean. I'm not looking forward to getting into a bathing suit but I'm not going to miss the fun (and exercise) of frolicking in the ocean.