The "Mighty A"

 

Today's road trip took Ginny and me to Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama, where we explored the "Mighty A" and the USS Drum. Afterward, we drove to Dauphin Island and explored Fort Gaines.

The USS Alabama, also called the "Might A," is a retired 680' battleship that served during WWII. The ship was armed with a main battery of nine 16"/45 caliber Mark 6 guns in three triple-gun turrets on the centerline, two of which were placed in a superfiring pair forward, with the third aft. The secondary battery consisted of twenty 5-inch /38 caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets clustered amidships, five turrets on either side. She was also equipped with a battery of six quadruple 40mm Bofors guns and thirty-five 20mm Oerlikon autocannons in single mounts.

The USS Drum is a Gato-class WWII 312' submarine commissioned on 1 November 1941 and decommissioned on 16 February 1946. After decommissioning, she began service at Washington, D.C., to members of the Naval Reserve in the Potomac River Naval Command, which continued through 1967. The USS Drum was moored in the waters behind the USS Alabama until she was substantially damaged by the storm surge of Hurricane Georges in 1998. As a result, she is now on display on shore. The USS Alabama and USS Drum also sustained damage when Hurricane Katrina came ashore on 29 August 2005.

 

 

Fort Gaines is located on Dauphin Island along Mobile Bay and was a crucial site for the south during the civil war. The well-preserved ramparts of Fort Gaines have guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay for more than 150 years. Now a historic site, the Fort stands at the eastern tip of Dauphin Island, where it commands panoramic views of the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Due to ongoing shoreline erosion, the Fort was recently designated as one of the Eleven Most Endangered Historic Sites in America.

Robertsdale, Alabama

 

We have check into Azalea Acres RV Park in Robertsdale, AL. We will be here for a week.

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort in Madison, Florida

We left Fort Rucler, Alabama this morning and have check into the Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort in Madison, Florida. We'll be here overnight and then continue our trip to Saint Augustine, Florida tomorrow.  Nancy​ told me she wanted her picture taken with Yogi.

http://www.jellystonefla.com/

Enterprise, Alabama Boll Weevil Monument

On our travels today I took Nancy to the City of Enterprise, Alabama. Enterprise is famous for the Boll Weevil Monument, a large monument of a woman holding a boll weevil, which is located in the middle of Main Street. The city erected the statue because the destruction of the cotton crop by the boll weevil had led to agricultural diversity, starting with peanuts and more prosperity than had ever come from cotton alone. It is said to be the only statue to an insect pest in the world. Enterprise is right outside of Fort Rucker, an Army base which is the home of Army Aviation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise%2C_Alabama

 

Fort Rucker, AL

We are at the Engineer Beach Campground at Fort Rucker, Alabama for a couple of days. I was stationed here at Fort Rucker back in 1970-1971 before going to Vietnam. Fort Rucker is the home of Army Aviation. Anyone in the US Army that has anything to do with flying will at some point in their military career come to Fort Rucker. To most of us it is known as Mother Rucker. This place brings back a lot of memories for me, some good, some bad. I was stationed here when I first met my late wife Barb. No she didn't live around here. She lived in California, I was at home on leave in California when I met her. I went to Helicopter Maintenance School here and to Flight Operations School here back in 1970-1971. After I finished my schooling I was assigned here and worked at one of the many airfields here. I left here in July 1971 for Vietnam. I came back here in 1990 to attend Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. While I was here in 1990, the US Army National Guard and Reserves were activated to active duty for Desert Shield. That's when I decided to find a different career. Twenty years in the military with a tour in Vietnam I felt was enough time that I gave to my country. I wasn't going to war again. It was time for someone much younger than me to have Fun, Travel & Adventure with the Army. I went back to collage to earn a degree to get a real job. I earned a degree in Avionics Engineering from Oklahoma State University and in 1995 I was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration as an Air Transportation Systems Specialists.

Arnett's Gulfside Stables

Nothing like going out riding after breakfast. We even found a Grady size horse. We will be leaving here tomorrow with a change in our itinerary. Instead of going to Keaton Beach from here we're going up to Fort Rucker, Alabama for a couple of days, then an overnight stop at Yogi Bears Jellystone Park in Madison, FL before getting to St. Augustine. I was stationed at Ft. Rucker back in 1970/1971 before going to Vietnam.

 

  

  

Dauphin Island, Alabama

We had another beautiful day today. I took Nancy down to Dauphin Island and toured the old Civil War Fort Gaines. The construction of Fort Gaines started in 1819 and took 40 years to build.

Dauphin Island was first known by the French as Massacre Island until they changed it name in 1707 to Dauphin in honor of heir of the French throne: "Dauphin." The island was also the first capital of the Louisiana Territory.

After our tour I took Nancy to a little seafood cafe I knew of on the island for lunch. I became a little teary eyed while there because this was the same little cafe I took Barb to after we toured the island four years ago and started planning our Hawaiian trip.

After lunch I took Nancy for a half hour ferry cruise across the bay and came back to the RV park through Gulf Shores and Foley but not before stopping at a produce stand in Loxley where I picked up some hot boiled peanuts. I don't think Nancy cared for them that much.

Just before getting back to the RV we stopped and picked up a couple loaves of bread so Nancy could feed the ducks and geese back at the RV park.

 

  

 

  

 

Mobile, Alabama

Nancy and I had breakfast with Angel and Emily this morning before hitting the road. We were heading down the road by 9:15 this morning, crossed the Mississippi/Alabama border by 10:10 this morning, made it to Payne's RV Park in Theodore (Mobile), AL by 10:45 this morning and had everything set up by 11:15 this morning. After lunch we'll headed over the the USS Alabama in Mobile.

 

Damn the torpedoes - Full speed ahead!

Damn the torpedoes - Full speed ahead!

Who said those famous words? How about Admiral Farragut aboard the USS Hartford during the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864.

Yesterday Barb and I decided to get away from the "house" and go for a ride. I looked at the map and thought about taking US 90 west along the Gulf Coast to Louisiana. We've been as far as Bay of Saint Louis, MS this winter but not any further. Then I looks at the map and thought there's one place I'd like to explore, going east on US 90. That was Dauphin Island in Alabama. I don't know what's there and besides it would be a nice drive along the coast.

When we first left out turning on US 90 about a mile from where we are staying, you couldn't see anything from the fog that had rolled in. Well I though this wasn't going to be much of a sightseeing ride but it got us away for awhile and the best thing, Barb and I was spending some alone time together.

By the time we were 10 miles away, the fog had lifted and it was a nice sunny day. I knew as soon as we crossed the Mississippi-Alabama line, not just because the sign that read "Welcome To Alabama", but because US 90 turned from a nice 4-land highway to 2 lanes. "Yep! we're in Alabama" I said.

I've always liked driving the back roads of Alabama because it was like stepping back a hundred years in time. We followed US 90 to the town of Grand Bay, AL where we turned east onto Alabama Highway 188 and then south on Alabama Highway 193. That took us to the 3-mile bridge going over Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island.

Dauphin Island was first known by the French as Massacre Island until they changed it name in 1707 to Dauphin in honor of heir of the French throne: "Dauphin." The island was also the first capital of the Louisiana Territory.

On Dauphin Island, one can catch the ferry across the entrance of Mobile Bay to a long peninsula on the other side of the bay going to Gulf Shores, AL. We followed the a 4-lane boulevard going past the ferry loading docks. Coming around a bend in the road was the Civil War military post of Fort Gaines. I remember reading somewhere about it but it had totally slipped my mind that it was located there. The last old military fort that Barb and I had visited was Fort Frederick on the Island of Grenada. We had nothing else to do so we toured the old Civil War fort.



After we left the fort, we found a little place to get dinner before heading back "home." While there Barb told me that she wanted to live somewhere near the water. I asked her, "where near the water?" "Somewhere it doesn't snow", she said. Pointing out the window of the cafe where we were I ask, "like this?" Then she said, "I'd even go live in Hawai'i with you." We've talked about Hawai'i before. You see, I lived in the Hawaiian Island for 9 years, 2 years on the Island of Oahu, where Honolulu is, and 7 years on the Island of Hawai'i, the Big Island. After I left Hawai'i in 1986, I've always said, "I'd never go back", knowing that if I ever did, I'd never want to leave again. Well....... Boat for sale or will trade for land on the Big Island of Hawai'i.

Stay tuned.

Barbie and Ken's Hawaii Adventures

Keesler FAMCAMP, Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS

We pulled out of the Pirate's Marina Cove around 8:00 this morning and drove the last 265 miles off this leg of our trip to Biloxi, MS where we are staying at the Keesler Air Force Base campground.

Total miles drove from Oconto: 1562
Total money spent for fuel: $572.17
Total gallons since fill-up before Oconto: 198.458 gallons
Average miles per gallon: 8.3 MPG

Pickensville, AL

We were on the road by 10:00 this morning. Our destination today is the Pirate's Marina Cove in Pickensville, AL. Pirate's Marina Cove is on the Tombigbee River and is a stopover for members of the America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association doing America's Great Loop. It seemed like a long drive to day driving 247 miles. Tomorrow we'll be in Biloxi, MS where we'll spend the first 3 months of the winter.

Swinging Bridges

We left Alabama this morning continuing our way to Oklahoma then up to Wisconsin. We were going to stop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi but it was still early in the day so we opted to continue to Jackson, Mississippi where we are staying for a day or two at the Swinging Bridge RV Resort. The spaces are large and wide compared to most RV parks. The interior roads are gravel but the sites are level with concrete pads. There are lots of tall pine trees and the park has two good sized fishing ponds. There is a swimming pool here but it hasn't been opened yet for the year. The park sits far enough off of Interstate 55 so there is very little road noise.

On to Alabama

We left the Rainbow Springs State Park campground today and continued out trip towards Oklahoma. Barbie wanted to get out of Florida so our next stop after nearly 400 miles of driving is at the Styx River Resort in Robertsdale, AL. The Styx River Resort is a Coast to Coast affiliated park so our overnight fees were only $8 a day and since we wanted to be able to plug into 50 amp service we paid an additional $2. The park is located about half way between Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL on I-10. We'll spend 2 nights here then its off to Hattiesburg, MS.