From Civil War days to the Depression, steam-powered boats ruled the Bay. A romantic (though at times, risky) way to travel, bayboats captured and still hold a place in our hearts. During my grandmother's lifetime, the family moved across the bay every summer. I made my first trip when I was three weeks old - I can't remember that trip - but I do remember in later years that it was quite an undertaking to make the trip. The family cow had to be brought over from town on the boat and coerced up the wharf. My grandmother, who had suffered a stroke and had difficulty walking, had to be seated in a chair on the wharf-cart, which ran on rails. The cart went rapidly down the wharf on its own momentum but it had to be pulled back by mules. - "Montrose" by Florence and Richard Scott Today, crossing the Bayway or Causeway, it is hard to imagine that a few generations ago steamboats were the chief means of transportation to and from Mobile and the Eastern Shore. The trip was something "the average person had to plan in advance," write the Scotts. "Going over in winterime meant arising very early, before it was 'bright,' dressing in one's best and being at the end of the very long wharf by the time the boat landed at 7:30. . . "The hour-and-a-half trip across the Bay enabled one to have many visits with friends from points along the shore and also many romances began and culminated on these trips. The fare was only 25 cents per passenger." Read the rest of the story and see more images in Mobile Bay, August 2009, on newsstands now. Image information: Main: In addition to regularly scheduled runs, steamboats, such as Pleasure Bay, provided special excursions to Fort Morgan, Palmetto Beach or Blakeley. There were also moonlight cruises, cruises for the disadvantaged, emergency medical transport and special trips to Mobile for theater-goers. The 150-foot boat served Eastern Shore residents from 1905 to 1919. Additional: The Fairhope Pier - still a landmark as one of the largest piers on the Alabama coast - was a center of community activity during the steamboat era. Photo restoration by John C. Lewis.