"PIRATE SHIP ISLAND"

We had ANOTHER day-long field trip today (yes, our annual leave is not accumulating very fast these days), but we decided to go for it and make a fun day of it. A LONG fun day! Some of the fundraising we did this year went to secure our seats on the bus down to West Ship Island (or "Pirate Ship Island", as James called it) and pay for our ferry tickets. So we set our alarms for 3:30am, hopped on the bus at daycare at 4:30am, arrived in Gulfport at 8:30am, got to Ship Island by 10:00am and stayed until 3:00pm (the departure was delayed due to needing a new ferry to come out and get our group), stopped for dinner on the way home, then finally pulled into daycare again at 9:00pm. It was a long day, but totally worth it. The kids had SO MUCH FUN at the beach, and we really enjoyed getting to hang out with them all day (and the bus ride provided lots of extra cuddle time, which is always a bonus)! Ship Island is part of Gulf Islands National Seashore and is a true gem of the Mississippi coastline!

James getting ready for his very first bus ride!

Cora was so excited she couldn't sit still...

...but as soon as we started moving and I made her sit, she fell right to sleep. 

Not James though. Cora and I napped until 6:30am, but James was very busy talking to Daddy and showing him everything he could see outside the big bus windows. Like the many ponds. When he spotted one with a tree in the middle, he said "Hey, there's a TREE in that pond! I gotta get it out!"

The ferry out to the island was fun. The kids saw lots of dolphins (many jumping in our wake) and pelicans (a favorite of theirs, of course) AND got to eat ice cream. They were in heaven.

James and Daddy on the pier. Fort Massachusetts in the background.

Fort Massachusetts is one of the smallest forts we've visited. We didn't get a chance to take the tour (because the inside is flooded with rain water right now), but it definitely reminded us of Fort Jefferson, which we visited way back when we were SCA interns and first dating in south Florida.

The walk across the island, from the pier to the oceanside beach, a nice walkway over the hot sand and swampy area (we saw a snapping turtle under the walkway and lots of red-winged blackbirds). In the middle of the photo you can see the snack bar on the far side of the island, so it's not too far a walk. Perhaps a quarter mile (right mom?) ;-)

Here, this gives you a better picture of what the island looks like. The passenger ferry docks on the left  near the fort, and the beach with the snack bar is on the right.

The kids went right to playing in the sand as soon as we dropped our stuff and set them free!

Driving his pirate ship around and making tracks in the sand

Thanks for the awesome sun tent Gramma! It was PERFECT!!

Cooling off in the ocean. For both kids, this was their first time SWIMMING in the ocean, and they liked it (Cora more so than James - we think we was still picturing the giant waves of the Pacific, so he preferred to stay up on the sand!)

Burying herself in the sand

Helping Daddy build drip castles by bringing him water

James learning how to build drip castles

Lunch break in the shade!

On the way back to the ferry at the end of the day we stopped to get our usual "photo in front of the national park sign", even though Cora was already asleep (as soon as we showered her off, changed her clothes, and stuck her in the Beco, she was OUT, and stayed that way for 2 hours of me walking around, waiting for the delayed ferry, and the entire 1-hour boat ride back to the coast).

The boys walked around the fort while we waited for the delayed ferry and Cora slept...

...and found some shark teeth (from the recent dredged sand deposit made post-Katrina to protect the fort).

James lasted until the ferry was in motion (around 3:15pm) then passed out himself. Sleeping babies = a day well spent!