Take 3
Seasoned veterans Helen, Liz and I joined forces with Katie, the only member of the lab who had not been with us to the Gulf yet to collect tar balls. We started, as usual, at some ungodly hour. After a few easy hours in the air we found ourselves, once again, on the beaches of Perdido, FL. There we stopped at two new sites and were entirely successful. After saying goodby to all the highrises and souvenir shops of Perdido we made our way to more familiar hunting grounds. Little had changed at Gulf Shores and the only really exciting thing that happened was Helen forgetting me in the parking lot. There I was, getting a tissue from the restrooms, and next thing I know I was stranded in the middle of the redneck riviera looking for a red Jeep that had up and left…
After Gulf Shores we wandered over to Dauphin Island and found some interesting samples. After a bit at Dauphin Island we called it a day and beat a quick retreat to the car, racing against the gathering storm clouds. The rest of the evening was a blur of lightening flashes, gallons of rain, and Katie’s television-based knowledge of electrical storms. We finally pulled into Gulfport, MS rain-soaked and bleary-eyed. Tomorrow we will be exploring the beaches around Gulfport and possibly make our way back to Ship Island!