Feb. 5, 2015 The beach of my dreams!

OMG  Gulf Shores National Seashore at Ft. Pickens Campground.
The beach of my dreams...by far the most beautiful beach I have ever walked. 

We awoke this AM to revelry at 8 AM from a clear crisp trumpet. Ft. Pickens, 1 mile down the road from camp, was raising the flag.

Lark at Ft. Pickens campground

We have endured two days/nights of rain and it is good to see the sunshine this morning. The Lark has a tendency to shrink the more time you spend indoors :)  We rushed out to walk the dune boardwalk and were treated to the "Emerald Coast" in all its glory.
Still breezy and cool but the colors of sand and water were like nothing I have ever seen.  The waters of the gulf here are many colors: emerald green, turquoise, vibrant blue and shimmering in the sunlight. The sand is white and soft as snow.  We are on miles of beach from the entrance to the National Seashore and the Campground and the Fort.

My footprints

We saw two other couples walking the beach today. It was like out of the movies. We were cast ashore on a tropical island.  I had the immediate thought, "going home and being in one spot is going to be so boring after this." Could be a dangerous thought.

Ed looked like a Navy Seal coming out of the Water from a distance! 

*****

Fort Pickens...what you need to know

Built 1829-1834  Used as military base until after WWII

Union Fort in the Civil War

Slaves built by hand using 21 Million Bricks

Double Arches keep the fort from sinking into the sand

 

We walked where Chief Geronimo walked: He and his band were held here before US forced their move to Oklahoma Reservation
Bottom row: second from left