I meant to go to bed early so I could get up for an early walk on the beach, but got involved in trying to reserve some campground sites for next week - apparently, it will be Spring Break week in Texas, so camping is very popular, and all state parks seem to be full. But we've worked out a plan to get the first few days covered, and then we may be living at Walmart again! But that kept me up til nearly 1am, and I had set my alarm for 7:30am. Unfortunately, I did not listen to my phone alarm, but woke at 7:30 am per my watch and headed out for our beach walk. It was well past sunrise, though the closest to sunrise I've seen in quite awhile! But Sara was in her glory - a deserted beach and I could let her free to run like the wind! She was so playful, running at me, stopping suddenly with a dusting of sand, then resuming her crazy antics! We walked west on the beach, then came back and headed east. On the east end, we came to Fort Gaines (Battle of Mobile fame), circling back to the campground by road. As I reentered the front gate, it occurred to me that we were on Central Time, and I had actually gone walking from 6:30 to 7:45am!! I wanted my sleep time back, but did not return to bed. Started the coffee and enjoyed the choc chip/pumpkin bread Lynn sent with us - yum! At 8am, I started the calls to try to get reservations - now have next 6 nights arranged (except for 1 night that I'm not expecting to find difficult in Beaumont, TX - may try Walmart or Cracker Barrel!). I braved the showers here at Dauphin Island Campground, not the nicest bathhouse, but not horrible either. The RV sites are very bumpy due to tree roots and poorly delineated for parking, but the trails of the bird sanctuary and beaches made up for it. Would stay here again. After a quick lunch (and an incident where Sara and I ended up splitting MY sandwich!), we were off at 12 noon. As we headed back to I-10, we saw signs for Bellingrath Gardens of Mobile - side trip alert! Turned out to be a beautiful garden with azaleas in full bloom. We just walked the gardens, did not tour the house, taking about 1 hour. Then back on the road to Gulfport via Rt 90, the old route west. We arrived at Pat/Dad's Gulfport house about 3:45pm and successfully backed into the driveway with all the neighbors watching! Had to get in that driveway since the street is a dead end with no turnaround area! Sure wish Dad could have been here to enjoy the day! Pat and her good friends, Maria and Johnny, and 9 tiny dogs greeted us, Sara made 10 dogs!!! Poor Sara was afraid to move, except in extreme desire, like when Maria was preparing homemade enchiladas in the kitchen - even 9 little dogs couldn't deter her from searching for a simple crumb! The enchiladas and rice were superb, I should have stopped at 3, but couldn't resist an extra helping! During the meal, the storm finally hit and we had very heavy rain for 3 hours. Hoping it is through by morning, but will make for cool sleeping weather tonight!