338 miles almost entirely on I-10, with fewer than 10 miles at the end on I-75. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 2624. Cumulative car miles: 2961. Miles since the end of Hop 8: 338. Yes, we went nowhere while in Daphne.
This was a straight shot east and replicated, almost identically, a hop on the trip to Austin (TX1). It is a boring ride which was interrupted only by a rest area stop and a lunch stop,, neither of which is worthy of note.
Our home in Daphne was the Hampton Inn Mobile – East Bay/Daphne. Perfectly adequate, though a bit tattered, with a nice view of Mobile Bay. The reason for stopping in Daphne was proximity to Ooma’s sister, Maggy, and her husband, Tom. An astute reader will recall that we saw Maggy, briefly, on the TX1 trip from Austin, but that she had a cold at that time and we could not get close. And we didn’t see Tom at all. This time we got to touch both and have dinner with them at Felix’s Fish Camp, an East Bay institution on the causeway. Great view, great service, great food. Arguably the best meal we have had on the entire trip, which is saying something as we have eaten very well. We all shared appetizers of Shrimp Cocktail Constantine and Fried Crawfish Tails (my first crawfish dish ever – delicious!) before entrees of Crabmeat Stuffed Fish Fillet for me and Fish and Shrimp for Ooma. All outstanding. And we got to see a bright red sunset over Mobile Bay. A wonderful evening all around.
