I Ran!

    I was hungry. Something about a road trip always makes me hungry. I don't eat much the rest of the time. Only when I'm on the road. Hot, spicy, greasy fried shrimp overstuffed my po-boy. I quietly snuck away into my mom's hotel room while the kids watched TV in my room. It was a greasy saucy mess with many left over shrimp which fell out of the po-boy and made for enough for breakfast the next morning. Then I realized the kids hadn't eaten. Though I was in no way willing to share any left over shrimp with them, they had to eat something. Not being from the area, I was not up to speed with the local pizza deals. I called a place that offered more of a bargain for the more you ordered. I was too full for pizza, kids were not as hungry as I thought so we had pizza. Lots of it!
    As we made our way back out on the road again the next day, I was sure the left over pizza stayed cool and that some got eaten along the way. (I am very money conscious and am usually the only one who eats the left overs in our house as I refuse to not waste food so I made sure that this principle was maintained with regards to the pizza.) It was a long drive and not much to see for about an hour until the first sign of the coast became evident-seagulls. The air grew warmer, the casinos grew, well, taller as we got closer to the city and soon we would see the white sandy coast.  Mossy trees draped over the road as well as surrounding houses and the hurricane devastated empty lots where southern mansions once stood haunted us.
    After a visit to the Dollar Tree for pails and shovels, we returned to the coast in our bathing suits and found a quiet spot on the shore. We weren't sure if the tide was ebbing or flowing but there were many pools of water surrounding the beach for us to explore. There was no one b
ut us in the area. The water was pleasant and not too warm and we began a hunt for hermit crabs. We found 3 and lined them for a crab crawl race rally. They were too afraid to come out of there shells as their little eye above their heads could see us. We filled one of our pails with sand and a little bit of water and build a habitat for our little critters and took them back with us to our hotel. Though I someday hope to Kayak across Greenland, having an appreciation for little things like this is very important for a mother of five and I always wanted a hermit crab when I was a kid but my mom said no.
   Do you see that lone palm tree in that picture? Doesn't it look it look calm and peaceful? However, just a short distance from that tree, the view is much different. We noticed that this beach houses an unusually large habitat of seagulls. Thousands. Of. Seagulls.They were content grazing among the waters if they should find anything and they would occasionally shift in flocks to  different locations. Then I remembered. I still had pizza left. Time to make some new friends
   I went to the car and grabbed the Ziploc bag and came back with the provision with the idea in mind that seagulls would be appreciative and somewhat comparable to the ducks in the duck pond when given leftover hot dog buns. The zip was still locked on the bag before I had forgotten about that scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls all had one thought in mind-"Mine!"
   I slowly tried to move away but they slowely followed me everywhere I went. I stopped, they stopped. They hovered around me like jet fighters ready to attack but afraid enough of me to keep their distance. However, I was determined not to let this pizza go to waste. I thought to my brave stupid myself "I had better make this quick." Pandemonium struck as the first slice hit the ground. They fought, they sqwaked and made noises I never though a seagull was capable of. They knew there was more than just one slice and they persisted. There was only one thing for me to do. I dropped the bag and-I Ran! It was a miracle I was not pooped on.

We returned the hermit crabs to their home two days later.

Places visited: Mobile, Alabama, Gulfport, Mississippi
Date visited: April 4th
Provisions: The Boiling Pot, Hungry Howies (Mobile) and Whataburger

For your enjoyment:

*Please note. This song has nothing to do with pizza or seagulls. 

"I Ran" By Flock of Seagulls