Fort Morgan

Wednesday
Our original plan for today was to visit Bellingrath House and Gardens on the west side of Mobile Bay. Mobile Bay is a large shallow inlet from the Gulf of Mexico, about 31 miles long and up to 24 miles wide. Our accommodation is at the entrance to the Bay on the east side. To go to Mobile itself, it makes sense to go by road, but to get to Bellingrath, which is considerably south of Mobile, it makes more sense to take the ferry from Fort Morgan, across the mouth of the Bay to Dauphin Island, a barrier island, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Unfortunately, the ferry ( there is only one) only runs every 1 1/2 hours, and isn’t that big. We were aiming to get on the 10.15 ferry, but sadly the line got cut off about three or four cars in front of us. We could have chosen to go round by road, but instead we decided to leave it for another day, and instead visited Fort Morgan which is right across the road. Fort Morgan was built between 1819 and 1833. Standing guard where the bay meets the Gulf of Mexico, the fort played a significant role in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864. Used intermittently through the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II, the site showcases the evolution of seacoast fortifications and adaptations. Having looked around the Fort, and gone for a walk along the beach, we returned to our Air BnB, stopping for a bit of lunch on the way. We went down to the beach for a while, but by this time clouds had moved in, and it was windy, so it felt a bit cool, so we didn’t stay that long. Back at our apartment, we discovered our balcony was nicely sheltered from the wind, so we sat out there a bit longer, enjoying a pre dinner drink.