Fort Morgan

We took a walk last night along a beautiful paved bike and hiking trail. We were hoping to see some local wildlife but saw nothing.  It was very sticky and hot with threatening skies and storm warnings, mainly for the area north of us, for the rest of the evening and into the morning hours. 

Morning update:

It remained a very hot and sticky all evening and it was the first evening we ran the air conditioner all night long. This morning it started raining, heavy at times, and it is very warm. We saw on the news that there were severe storms north of us last night. It just started raining again with black clouds out the left window and sunshine on the right side.

These clouds developed into storm storms

I may have to cave in today and spend some time visiting a mall or two, perhaps a movie. It is supposed to clear this afternoon.  

Another update:

Yea, no Malls today, the sun has come out and it looks like it may be a nice day after all. We are off to explore Fort Morgan. Fort Morgan was built after the War of 1812 when Congress realized the need for stronger fortifications along the eastern and southern coastlines. 

Outer wall entrance to Fort Morgan

Main entrance

Dry moat which surrounds the fort

Entering the inner walls 

Making our way through fort

Inner room within the walls of the Fort

White Sand, Heat and Humidity

We had a short drive today from Fairhope to Gulf Shores and were setup by 1:00pm. It is very hot and humid here, we don’t mind the heat but the humidity we can do without.

After setting up Chris made a nice lunch and we chilled out for a while by running both RV air conditioners. After lunch we took the jeep to the beach which is only a mile down the road.  The beach is beautiful and this being off season we had most of it to ourselves. I’m not sure yet if Alabama has any Casinos or not, the buildings we are seeing on the beach are either Hotels or Condos.

Beautiful white sand beach 

Hotel in Gold Beach 

Off season not very crowded

We have the beach to ourself

Searching for shells, 82 degree water

Seaside home 

We took a long walk along the beach and Chris collected shells. We then drove east along the coast to see Gold beach, another community. After a short eight mile drive we were at the Florida Border.

We returned to the RV to make supper, celebrate cocktail hour and prepare for the border battle this evening.  

Post Office, Walmart and Goodwill

The day started out as any other day, watch the morning news and a couple cups of coffee. Because we are moving down to the coast tomorrow we decided today we would head back to Mobile and explore more of the area.

We needed to find a Post Office, a Walmart and we wanted to find a Goodwill store. The Post Office was to mail a birthday card, the Walmart was for some groceries and we wanted to find a Goodwill Store to donate our old coffee maker. The coffee maker works fine it’s just slower then we prefer. We found the P.O. and Walmart right away and then drove halfway across town, following directions from the GPS, only to find that the Goodwill had closed or moved.  So we are hauling the coffee maker around in the back of the jeep.

We drove through the old section of Mobile which is a wonder preserved area with unique stores and shops. Right along the bay on the south side of town is Battleship Memorial Park.  The park opened in 1965 and is dedicated to honoring all Alabama Veterans who have participated in all conflicts of the United States Armed Forces.

Your ticket admits you to tour the Battleship Alabama, the Submarine USS Drum and the Aircraft Pavilion. The tours were very interesting and we really enjoyed the time spent. While my boots were on the ground during my service time I have a new appreciation for those that served on ships and submarines.

USS Alabama

Here are a few facts and random pictures we took while aboard the Battleship Alabama.

Her assigned crew was 127 officers, and 2,205 enlisted.

She is registered at 35,000 tons (70 million pounds)

She earned 9 Battle Stars, and shot down 22 enemy airplanes during World War II

Her large guns are nine 16"/45cal on three main turrets that are accurate to 21 miles. 

Cozy conditions 

Food preparation 

On board Dentist office

 Marines assigned had their own area aboard the ship. This was their supply room

Entrance to the Marine area

Some of the armament

Random facts and photos from the Submarine USS Drum

Commissioned in 1941. The ship is 311 feet long with a width of 27feet.

Crew consisted of 7 officers and 65 enlisted men.

She earned 12 Battle Stars during World War II

From the deck before going down below

 What is all this?

This is where the Captain hangs out

Things are very tight on a Submarine I couldn't imagine spending months at a time in such a confined space

This is where you steer this thing

 Getting through these narrow hatches was not an easy task

 This is all the space you have to move throughout the Sub 

 Finally up and out

We finished the tour in the Aircraft Pavilion viewing some of Americas finest fighting aircraft

On our way home we stopped in the town of Fairhope and visited the pier and fountain in the town center.