Big Boat Big Float

Our second day of seeing the sights in Mobile finds us heading due West on I-10 and crossing the bay at the north end. This route gets you quickly into downtown Mobile and all the action. Our fist stop is on the East side of the Mobile River at Battleship Memorial Park.

Battleship Memorial Park is home to the USS Alabama Battleship, the USS Drum Submarine, a aircraft pavilion with planes, helicopters and a PBR river boat as well as other military vehicles, and both a Vietnam and Korea Veterans Memorial. There is a lot to see and I suggest if you go that you plan to spend four or more hours to see everything.

We have taken the tour of the USS Missouri Battleship in Hawaii that we found very informative and interesting, but the self guided tour of the Alabama was by far the better of the two. There are many more areas of the Alabama that are open for viewing. The tour is self guided and has three routes that cover all areas of the ship. The Red tour covers below decks in the aft part of the ship. The Green tour covers the forward part of the lower decks, and the Yellow tour covers all the upper decks. The Plan to spend two or more hours for the tour and be aware that there are lots of steep stair cases and narrow passages to traverse.

The tour of the submarine is much shorter and involves some very tight quarters and small passage doors. Being a contortionist is a big advantage. The tour of the USS Drum takes less than an hour.

The aircraft pavilion contains many restored aircraft from WW I all the way through the Gulf war. It includes one of the U-2 type spy planes and a second generation CIA spy plane. The building is also home to one of the PBR river boats used in Vietnam, and an exhibit of what life was like for POW's in North Vietnam. The grounds outside include dozens of other aircraft, vehicles, tanks, and artillery from all eras. The grounds also include memorials to Alabama's veterans of Korea and Vietnam.

Back on the road to Mobile takes you through one of two tunnels under the Mobile River. I again imagine driving the motorhome through here. It seems narrow and low clearance but knowing that big trucks pass through with ease makes me feel better.

Our next stop for the day is the Mobile Carnival Museum. The museum highlights the history of Mardi Gras in Mobile. We were surprised to learn that Mardi Gras was first observed in the US in 1703 at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, the first settlement in Mobile Alabama.

The Mobile Carnival Museum is home to many of the lavish costumes and robes of former Kings and Queens of the Mardi Gras. The Den contains several Mardi Gras floats used in past parades. The Museum has a self guided tour but we were quite lucky to visit on a day that one of the docents was there to give us a personal tour. The docent is a member of one of the Mardi Gras Societies and are very well versed in all the history. Our docent was a former Mardi Gras King and his wife is a former Queen. There are currently over 50 societies in the Mobile area and many are represented with displays in this museum. The Museum is only open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday so plan your trip ahead of time.

Tomorrow is Saturday and we will be leaving Mobile, Alabama and heading to New Orleans, LA. We are meeting up with our good friends Roger and Barbara there and have a very full week of activities and sightseeing planed. See you all next week in the Big Easy.