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.