Sunday November 16-Tuesday November 18 – Fairhope Alabama – Eastern Shore Marina

Sunday was a boat maintenance day.  Tom washed the boat, made it look like new.  It never ceases to amaze how dirty it gets.  Colletta did laundry and spruced up the inside living quarters.  The cats contributed nothing; they are the one consistency on the journey.  Got the charts and books out and discussed with Bill and Connie where the trip will go next.  We skpyed with Jason and April and the boys. It is a great way to “be there” without being there.  It rained hard that night.  The weather front is here.

Monday was a day to use the car and run errands.  Bill had medical appts to deal with and during that time Tom and I used the car to sightsee and shop.  The Grand hotel is south of town and is a pretty complex.  It was used as a hospital during the Civil war.  The town of Fairhope has many art sculptures spread throughout town so we stopped to observe a “Dolphin family”, Seahorse, Brown Pelicans, and a Teachers memorial.   In town we had a cup of gumbo at the Gumbo shack.  We found a thrift store and Tom finally bought another sweatshirt and sweater.  The weather is very windy, with 5 foot waves on the bay.  The sweatshirt was a necessary purchase.  After a quick dinner on the boat, we headed back into town for ice cream – yes even in this cold weather – and a cup of coffee.  Wandered the streets for a while and admired the trees covered in twinkle lights for Christmas.  The official lighting of the trees was a week earlier and over a million lights decorated the streets.  Bought some gourmet chocolate - my favorite- and called it a day.

Bill and Connie Bowman long with a very cold colletta on a very big battleship

Sunset over Mobile Bay looking out from Eastern Shore Marina, Fairhope, Al

 

Tuesday was a day to visit the Battleship USS Alabama in Mobile.  Got an early start – we were only about 15 miles away from the park.  On the ship, there are 3 self-guided tours which lead the visitors into every hold, mess room and work area of the ship. The ship was a complete floating city.  Everything from a soda fountain to a blacksmith, to a dentist and a post office.  The outside deck of the ship was impressive.   The visitors have accessed to most areas of the ship including the turret of the main guns.  We did all the tours and spent 3 ½ hours wandering around this massive steel boat.  After a quick lunch, we then headed to the other attraction on the park which was a submarine called The Drum. The first thing you become aware of is the big disparity between the two vessels.  The sub only used 72 sailors and officers while the battleship used over 2500 men. The sleeping quarters and cafeteria on the ship were spacious as compared to the Subs facilities.   The grounds of the park also included aircraft.  The day was educational and interesting.  A lot of history to process.  Back at the boat we loaded the bikes in preparation of departure tomorrow.