Squeaky sand!

Our route south

Yesterday, we decided to check out some of the lovely towns along the east side of Mobile Bay south of Mobile. The towns of Daphne and Fairhope stood out. Both are distinguished by expansive brick homes with lush landscaping. We were surprised by the hilly topography of this area. The hills were so significant that a bicyclist would have a serious workout traveling the roads. Elsewhere not far from the coast, the landscape is typical southern flat. 

We took a short tour of one of the Daphne neighborhoods. Many of the gorgeous brick homes were built into and around slopes--not what you'd expect along Mobile Bay. As in central Florida, huge, old live oaks and crape myrtles rule the landscape here. Many homeowners have posted home names out on the road, like: "Wright on the Bay", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Bay Daze", and "Happy Ours".

Fairhope live oak tree

We stopped in a town called Fairhope. The previous evening, we saw a story on the local news about a 200+ year-old live oak tree on a bluff over the bay that had been infested with termites. The town had cordoned the tree off, and was considering the question of whether to cut the tree down (!), or spend $10,000 to treat the problem and save it. As we drove through Fairhope, we decided to go find the tree and take a look. It's hard to believe that anyone would consider cutting it down. This tree is fantastic. We learned later that the town decided to treat the tree and save it.

From there, we drove south to the peninsula that
forms the southern end of Mobile Bay and separates it from the Gulf. It's really a sliver of land that felt the brunt of Hurricane Sally that came ashore here with 110 mph winds in September of 2020. It dumped over 20 inches of rain on this area as well. We saw lots of reconstruction here, and some buildings still showing damage from the storm. Many structures have already been resided or reroofed or both. We walked the beach at Fort Morgan, and experienced something we never had before: squeaky sand! The sand made squeaking noises as we walked on it!  We really laughed about this. 

The white sand actually does squeak when you walk on on this stretch of the Gulf of Mexico coast. From the internet: "That’s because the sand from Panama City Beach to Destin to Alabama’s Gulf Shores consists of tiny quartz particles. That fine, sugar-like sand on the Alabama coast has the right shape and make-up to squeak beneath your feet. When we walk over the sand, the particles rub over each other. The air between the grains of sand has to escape. The noise emits from the escaping air and the particles rubbing together." 

On the way back north, we stopped in Fairhope again, and walked out to the end of the 1/4 mile long Fairhope pier and enjoyed the late afternoon. This was a lovely relaxing day.