Florida Spring Training 2017 - Day 67

We got on the road around 9:00 am this morning and stopped along the way for gas and a truck stop mocha.  We then drove west on I-10 to Mobile, AL.  It was an easy drive, sunny, no wind and light traffic.  We made good time and arrived around 1:30 pm local at the Shady Acres RV Park after gaining an hour when  the time zone changed to Central DST.

We then decided to do a little sightseeing since we arrived with time to do so.  One thing we wanted to see was the Battleship Memorial Park.  The park is home to the USS Alabama, a battleship built in 1942. It first deployed to the North Atlantic for convoy support duty then in the Pacific Theater where it participated in nine battle actions until the end of the war. It was decommissioned in 1947 and placed in the Reserve Naval Fleet. It was then towed in 1964 from Bremerton, WA, to its present berth in Mobile Bay.  

The park also has a large display of historical military aircraft and equipment, mostly from WW II onward.  In addition, there are several memorials to veterans including a Korean War Memorial and a Vietnam Memorial listing the names of servicemen and women from Alabama who died in the conflict. There is also a WWII submarine, the USS Drum, on display (on land).  The  park is really well done, the battleship is well maintained and is a fitting memorial to all those who served. 

There was a fair-sized crowd at the park for a Friday afternoon including a lot of veterans and their families.  We also noticed a group of Boy Scouts heading towards the ship as it was closing and we were leaving. In talking to one of the escorts, he said the scouts were having a dinner, meeting and sleep over on the ship tonight.  Neat!

Day 67 - Pictures - Battleship Memorial Park

After we left the park we headed down the causeway for a short distance and had dinner at a seafood restaurant that had been recommended to us, Felix's Fish Camp Grill.  We had a great meal then headed back to the RV park.

 

The park is a little rustic and quirky but nice and the amenities are fine.  When we arrived, a sign on the office door said the manager was out on-site and to call a listed telephone number.  I did and a guy showed up about 5 minutes later.  I said I had a reservation so he took a 3 x 5 notebook out of his pocket and checked a number of hand written entries.  He couldn't find mine. despite having my having called once to make the reservation and again last week when we had to delay our departure.  No matter, he said he had sites available. Then he said "lets go pick out a site".  So we walked down the road a little, I found one that looked O.K. and he said "its yours.  There didn't seem to be any site numbers that I could find but again, no matter, we're here.

The plan for tomorrow is to travel down to Dauphin Island at the mouth of Mobile Bay, south of where we are staying. It looks like there is a nice beach, a nature preserve and an old fort - three of our favorite vacation attractions.  The weather should be in the low 70s, sunny and a light breeze.