Kathy, Kelly, Claire, and I visited Danny at Spring Hill for Family Weekend 2005. It was held this Spring instead of last Fall because of Katrina. We arrived late Thursday evening. Danny had a paper to write, and then had classes all the next morning, so we left him alone. The four of us decided to go find a beach Friday morning, and we followed signs to Dauphin Island.

This barrier island guards the west side of Mobile Bay. There is a fort and sea lab on the east end, a village and golf course in the middle, and then a long stretch of stilt houses on the west end. We drove as far as we could on the west, but the roads were partially washed away from Katrina, so we decided to just stop there and visit the beach and ocean.

Several of the stilt houses were damaged, and many were being repaired. It became apparent that houses nearest the beach were simply gone, with nothing more than a pylon or two and a recently capped sewer line indicating the sand was someone’s property. There were no lawns, bushes, or landscaping to be seen. Katrina’s storm surge had washed away everything and left six inches to a foot of sand covering driveways, patios, carports, and side roads. Upon closer inspection you could find entire carports and side roads broken like peanut brittle under the sand.

The center of the island seemed to have been spared because the village and woods are shielded by a giant sand dune. Several people were playing golf.

We decided that with the village, bike paths, golf, fort, sea lab, and beaches, this might be a good place for a vacation. It is 35 minutes from Mobile, allowing for a quick trip into town, much like going into Savannah from Tybee.