The Daily Show on the Water

Before we part ways, I want to make sure you don't drive off without really watching the water, because the Gulf out here puts on a free show every single day, if you know what to look for. Let me point a few things out.

First, the dolphins. Bottlenose dolphins live right off this beach, year-round, and they are not shy. Watch the surf line, especially early and late in the day, and sooner or later you'll see those dark fins rolling through the waves, working a school of fish, sometimes so close to shore you'd swear you could wade out to them. They follow the boats through Perdido Pass, they play in the wake, they herd bait right up onto the sand. A pod of wild dolphins, going about its day, forty feet from your beach chair.

Then the birds. The brown pelicans — great prehistoric-looking things — cruising in single file just above the waves, then folding up and crashing down headfirst to scoop up fish. Little sanderlings sprinting up and down the sand chasing the retreating foam. Ospreys and the occasional bald eagle overhead. Skimmers slicing the shallows with their long lower beaks cutting the water.

And under the surface, the things you don't see: the rays gliding over the sand bars, the ghost crabs that own the beach at night, the great sea turtles cruising offshore.

That's the thing about this coast. The pier and the pass and the Lodge are grand, and worth every mile. But the real wealth of this place is just the wild, living Gulf itself, going about its ancient business right in front of you, all day, every day, for free. So before you leave — sit a while. Watch the water. It's the best show in Alabama, and there's never a ticket.