We arrived home at 6:50pm after a nice, beautiful drive home. We are very thankful for being able to take the trip and getting back home safely. 

Our hand prints are probably engraved on some of the trees at Gulf Islands National Seashore from where we were hanging on this morning because we didn't want to leave there. Tonight, we are at Fort Payne, Alabama. We had an unevenful drive with no problems. The temperature was 92 at times during the day but by the time we got here, it was in the low 60s which was a welcome change. 

I mentioned, in the post yesterday, the strong winds that came through in the late afternoon. We heard on the news the storm left two people are dead and 5 missing. They were participating in a boat sailing event on Dauphin Island. We had been on Dauphin Island before we went to Gulf Islands. It was a really bad wind that went through.

The storm yesterday covered the road with sand. It sure looked like it had snowed.

We spent our last day here doing things near the campground. We went to Fort Pickens and went on a tour a Park Ranger was conducting. It was interesting and we learned things we would have not known otherwise. Fort Pickens was completed in 1834 and was used until 1947. It is the largest fort like this we have seen. The most interesting thing to me was the Apache warrior Geronimo was imprisoned here at the fort along with other Apaches (see photo below).

In 1899, they had a big fire that exploded their big storage of gun powder. It blew out a huge section of the wall (see photo below). That section is still missing. The wall is 12 feet thick at the base and 4 feet thick at the top so it must have been a big explosion. 

When we got back to the campground late this afternoon, a storm came through. The wind was the worst we have experienced when being in the camper. We were tense for a while. 

We head home tomorrow but will spend the night along the way. It will probably be in Fort Payne which is home to the singing group Alabama.

Click on a photo to make it larger.

View from Fort Pickens of the lighthouse where we had been a few days ago. It is a short distance by air but takes about 50 minutes to drive there since there is not a bridge nearby. 

Below shows the missing section of wall that was blown away when the gun powder storage exploded in 1899. 

View of the sunset from inside our camper looking out our door. 

We drove toward Navarre Beach this afternoon to see what it looks like in that area. The white sands here are really pretty. Sometimes we get the idea we are in snow but we know better. We only have one more day here. The weather here today was very pleasant. It was sunny the first part of the day but got cloudy this afternoon. They are forecasting a temperature near 90 Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, we will not be here then. We plan to leave Sunday morning. We will really hate to leave but I have an appointment on Tuesday and I must get back. This is a place I would like to revisit.

I should have mentioned it earlier. If you have not already discovered it, you can make each photo larger by clicking on it.  

What it looks like along the way back to Pensacola Beach

We had a relaxing day today. It was the first one since we left home. We spent some time walking on the beach. The sand is so white, it looks like snow has fallen. 

While we were walking on the beach, we saw 6 military jets leaving the Naval Station which is about 3 miles across the sound. We think they were the Blue Angels going to thier next show in Vidalia, GA this weekend. I meant to say in an earlier post, the Blue Angels are based here at this Naval Station so they will return here after the show. 

Our friends Steve and Kathy leave tomorrow to go on a 2+ month trip out west. We are excited for them and wish we were going too. 

Along our walk from the campground to the beach

We thought the two birds were eagles until we got a closer look. They were not eagles and I don't know what they were. 

We had a really good day today spent at the Naval Air Station watching 45 minutes of the Blue Angels practicing and the rest of the day visiting the National Naval Aviation Museum. The volunteer we met yesterday spent several hours with us taking us around and explaining various things about what we were seeing. I had lots of questions and he knew the answers. I found out he was very qualified to do that. He was not only a pilot during his career but also had several other certifications. The only one I can remember was flight engineer. He was a pilot for Lockheed Martin and transported Gerald Ford once before he became president. His brother, who is in poor health, still lives in Church Hill and he is going to see him this weekend. We have been driving quite a bit since we got here (round trip to the Naval Air Station is about 60 miles) so we are going to try to visit the beach the next couple of days. 

The videos below can be made full screen by clicking the box on the bottom right of the window after you start the video. 

The airplane below is the airplane George Bush learned to fly in.

Marine One..Helicopter that carried presidents Nixon and Ford.

Our new friend Al that I mentioned in the blog above.

We had a big day today. Pensacola Naval Air Station is the home of the Blue Angels flying aerobatic team. They practice at the naval base two days a week now and we went to see them today. It was amazing what they do. We plan to go back tomorrow and see them again. While we were there, we went to the National Naval Aviation Museum. We were there about 5 hours but only got partly through the museum. We will try again tomorrow to see all we can of it. 
There were many old airplanes displayed and people at some of them to explain their uses and history. We stopped to talk with one of the volunteers that was there to answer questions. He said he flew a transport plane like the one on display during the Korean War. He is 85 years old but looked like he was in his early 70's. As we talked further with him, he ask where we live. I told him we live near Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol. He said when he was younger, he lived in a small town in that area and the town was Church Hill. I could not believe he lived in the same place we do. 

We plan to go back tomorrow and see the Blue Angels practice again and go through more of the museum.

After the show, the Blue Angel pilots sign autographs

We had no rain today. We had a part break on the bath room door and we had to spend part of the day going to Lowes, getting a part and fixing the door. We had a pretty long drive to get to a Lowes that stocked the part. 

We also visited Fort Pickens. It is a brick and concrete military fort and is located near the campground where we are staying. It was built in 1834 and used until 1947. It was the largest fort of that era we have seen. We plan to go back and see the fort in more detail and get some photos later this week. 

As we drive around here, it seems as though we are in snow. 

We moved from Mobile to Gulf Islands National Seashore today. It is on a barrier island near Pensacola, FL. A National Seashore is like a National Park with the National Seashore being at the ocean. We had a very nice drive here on highway 98. We could have taken Interstate 10 most of the way but we chose to take the scenic route and it was beautiful. When we arrived at this really nice campground the smell of campfire smoke was in the air. I think we are going to like it here. 

 

We had rain again today but not as much as yesterday. We had planned to go to Bellingrath Gardens today. The weather forecast was calling for 90 percent chance of rain so we decided not to try to go there and do something else. Instead, we went down to Dauphin Island and toured Fort Gaines. The building of Fort Gaines was started in about 1820. A major battle was here in the Civil War during the Battle of Mobile Bay. Tomorrow, we move to Gulf Islands National Seashore which is near Pensacola, FL.

Fort Gaines

I had some "firsts" in my life today. I got to see my first B52 bomber up close and I got to go on a submarine for the first time. We went to see the battleship USS Alabama today here in Mobile. We had to wait in the truck until the rain slowed before we could go exploring in Battleship Park. Yes, it was raining again. The battleship, USS Alabama, was used in WWII. It was really interesting to see the battleship and the other things at Battleship Park. The B52 bomber had symbols on the side of the plane showing it had been on 81 bombing missions.

The room where the depth of the submarine is controlled. I am sure this area has a name but I don't know what it is. 

Submarine torpedo room

16 inch guns on the USS Alabama...they could send a 2700 lb projectile about 23 miles

 The B52 showing the 81 bombing missions. I told Reta it is sad to think about how many people were killed on these missions. 

  

We woke up this morning to more rain. Before we left Montgomery today, we went to the state capitol to see it and get some photos. We got there and I made a couple of photos and it started raining again. We had planned to visit the Rosa Parks museum but it was raining and we did not find a good parking place so we gave up on going. If you don't remember Rosa Parks, she is the black lady back in the 1950's that would not give up her seat to a white passenger. She was arrested for her refusal. She became a symbol in the start of the civil rights movement. We have already seen the bus and even sat on it. It is in the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, MI. 

Tonight we are in Mobile. We hope to visit Bellingrath Gardens and the battleship USS Alabama before we leave in a couple of days to go on to Gulf Islands National Seashore. 

We heard on the local weather tonight that Mobile, AL was the wettest city in the lower 48 states in 2013 and 2014. 

Below are some photos of the Alabama State Capitol building.

Click on a photo to make it larger

We finally got on the road again. It was a great feeling to get up this morning and hit the road even if it was raining. That did not dampen our spirits any. We got on the road at 8:05am. We drove in rain until we got about 75 miles south of Knoxville and eventually, we were driving in sunshine. We are spending the night in a campground in Montgomery, Alabama.