WE ARE HAVING A BIT OF BAD LUCK

Saturday, October 1 – We've spent the last three days at Doc's RV Park here in Gulf Shores, AL, and loved it!  We feel this would be a great place to spend a month. That's something we think we'll do in the next year or so.

We would have considered doing it now, but we've had a week in hell dealing with mishaps. “Times that try men's soles.” Since leaving Ohio a mere one-week ago we've had a few problems.

---First our new Tire Tracker tire pressure monitor died. Luckily it is under warranty and is being replaced.
---Then our fresh water hose splitter and short connection hose failed. Gave Paul a little bath. And our shower head was leaking and had to be replaced.
---The check engine light on our F350 came on indicating a need to service the exhaust filter. We finally were able to get the truck into the Ford dealer here in Gulf Shores where they were able to clean it instead of doing an expensive replacement. Cleaning was expensive enough.
---Our worst problem was our air conditioner/heat pump gave. Unfortunately they do not make Carrier any more and parts are no longer available. We decided to order a new Coleman from PPL in Houston and have it replaced when we get there. Of course with the hot weather here in the south, having no AC forced us to change our travel plans and head directly to Houston to have it replaced. $$$
---Gulf Shores, AL, is loaded with bike trails, so this morning we hit the trail for a little exercise. About 2.5 miles from the RV Park Paul's rear tire exploded. Unfortunately, the trend continues and isn't quite over.
---Marsha's less-than-a-year-old Kindle reader also died today. It just wouldn't charge. Luckily, it is under warranty and will be replaced.

So, hopefully that will put an end to our streak of bad luck.

As stated above, we love the Gulf Shores, AL, area and have enjoyed our stay here in Doc's RV Park. The park has gravel streets and RV sites, FHU, a nice swimming pool, very quite, sites are arranged in a nice park setting arrangement, connection to the city bike trails, and friendly management. We walked around the park last evening and marked down several attractive sights.

Looking right.

Looking left.

The beaches here in Gulf Port are amazing. White, sugar-like sand, warm Gulf water, and plenty of public beaches to spread out the crowds. Interestingly, we were here in 2010 when the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster was coming ashore. It sure has recovered nicely. Although, in a conversation Paul had with the Ford Dealer, he said the area is still suffering economically from the oil disaster. Tourist found other areas to vacation at and haven't returned as hoped.

We had lots of friends join us on the beach.

Paul took a dip, and said it was great.

One of our favorite places to sit and look out over the Gulf.

We are leaving Gulf Shores on Sunday and heading to Bay St. Louis, MS, for a few days. We're staying at the Silver Slipper Casino RV Park – right on the beach – so maybe we can win a bunch of money to recover from our streak of bad luck!

Life goes on.....check back to see how we've recovered. :-)

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

BATTLESHIP MEMORIAL PARK - PART 2

Saturday, September 4 – Happy birthday to our sister-in-law, Chris.

We went to the beach Thursday and Friday. It was just beautiful but really, really hot. The red flag was still up on Thursday but the yellow flew Friday. People were again enjoying the calmer waters. 

We went to the dance at the Elks last night. Sat with some people from Ottawa, Canada. They were visiting with family. The band was…interesting. Paul actually got to practice his two step. When we get to Texas, the girls want to go to a country dance place, so he needs to be ready.

Here is the rest of the story about the Battleship Memorial Park. The Park is located just 45 min. from our campground in Mobile, AL. Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships

The B-52 Bomber, Calamity Jane,  was overwhelming. We couldn't get over the huge size and how intimidating it felt to be near it! What power it possessed.

Plans for the B-52 began as early as 1945, but the first flight of a B-52D was not until June 4, 1956. The operational life of the B-52 spans the period from 1957 to present and included the most critical phase of the war in Vietnam.

This aircraft was among 170 B-52Ds manufactured by Boeing Airplane Company, and was equipped exclusively for long-range bombing missions. "Calamity Jane" was used during Vietnam operations. "

Marsha is short to begin with. She looks like a dwarf here.

Back

Shows where the bombs were placed.

The M48 Patton served as an interim tank until replaced by the US Army's first Main Battle Tank (MBT), the M60 Combat Tank.The M48 served as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps's primary battle tank during the Vietnam War. It was widely used by U.S. Cold War allies, especially by other NATO countries.

This was a cool piece called the “Mary Jane.”

They have memorials for several of the wars. This one was for the Korean War.

Vietnam – The first time memorial bracelets were introduced.

The have a building full of military equipment. There was so much equipment. Here is just one example.

This A12 “Blackbird” was used during the Cold War.

 

The submarine USS Drum (SS-228) was commissioned November 1, 1941. The ship is 311 feet long with a beam of 27 feet and displaced 1526 tons. Her crew was 7 officers and 65 enlisted men. She earned 12 Battle Stars during World War II and was dedicated here on July 4, 1969.

This was an interesting sign.

This is the first sub we've been aboard. Pretty amazing! We entered near the forward torpedo room

and journeyed the entire length of the boat, exiting from the rear torpedo room. The rear room looked like the front except for one strange addition. There were cots everywhere. A bit scary if you ask us.

The Control room is packed with dials, and knobs, and instruments.

The crew was really jammed in here!

 

We were a little surprised that we did not have a claustrophobic feel aboard the boat. One thing for sure.....you have to be a small flexible type of guy to live aboard a sub!

But interesting…we just heard from our friends, Ed and Linda, Traveling Along, and Linda’s, 6’ uncle served on a sub. Wonder if he ever had any back pain?

Look how skinny the hallways are.

Of course they had ice cream on board.

Main Ballast Tank Blow System – 600# air pressure. High pressure air was used to blow the ballast tanks and thus bring the submarine to the surface.

What a special treat we had. We got to meet the captain of the sub. Marsha can’t believe that Paul missed this special opportunity. Oh well, he can look at the picture.

We had a great time and highly recommend this historic park.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day. Hope to see you back real soon.

USS ALABAMA BATTLESHIP MEMORIAL PARK

Wednesday, September 1 – We drove into Mobile, AL this morning to tour the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. WOW!....there is much more than just the battleship here! There are helicopters, sea planes, B-52 bombers, tanks, a submarine, an airplane hanger full of planes, and of course the battleship.

With a fighting name to live up to, Battleship USS ALABAMA BB-60 commenced her shakedown training on 11 November 1942. Her first major Pacific engagement was in the Gilbert Islands in November and December 1943.

On the morning of 4 May 1945, several of the Japanese penetrated the combat air patrol defense and, in the midst of the attack, a Kamikaze plunged through the low clouds into Admiral Mitcher's flagship, USS ENTERPRISE. Of the four other planes which attacked the surface formation, ALABAMA's gunners shot down two which crashed only about 1,000 yards away. 

 

The ship has two anchors. Each weighs 25,000 lbs. and is attached to 170 fathoms (1020 feet) of chain which leads from the anchor around the “wildcat” on the anchor windiass and down into the chain locker.

A little about the color of the battleship.

Deck

The USS Alabama (BB-60) is 680 feet in length, with a beam (width) of 108 ft. She weighs 35,000 tons (70 million pounds) but under battle conditions the weight increases to 90 million pounds. Her assigned crew was 127 officers and 2500 enlisted men. She earned 9 Battle Stars, and shot down 22 enemy planes during World War II.

Her 16 inch/45 caliber guns could accurately hit a target 21 miles away!

BB-60 had 4 different types of guns, 129 guns in all.

We took the self guided tour climbing all over the ship. They had three routes marked on the ship: Route A – Red Arrows – was below deck in the after part of the ship. Route B – Green Arrows – was below deck in the forward part of the ship. Route C – Yellow Arrows – was the upper decks of the ship.

We climbed all the way to level 8 on the upper decks. We tried out the guns

We like the sign on the back of Paul’s gun.

and walked from the rear to the front crawling inside the huge guns. Two people sat in this little area.

Look how tight it is.

The bridge has 16 inches of armor to protect the ship's captain during battle.

We then climbed down inside the ship to see the crew quarters.

The Galley

 

Gedunk Stand – You ask what is this? Simply the Soda Fountain. It dispensed well over 100 gallons of ice cream DAILY! As well as Cokes and sodas.

Laundry - In war there is no time for the men to wash their clothes in buckets in the traditional way. Also, it was essential that men going into battle be in clean clothes to prevent infection in case of wounds. Hence this elaborate laundry,

Barber shop

Officer Cabins – This cabin served more as a ceremonial and entertainment space, rather than as regular living quarters for the ship’s commanding officer. At sea, the Captain remained in his sea cabin on the bridge, and seldom, if ever, came below.

Sleeping Quarters – Boy did we get a surprise. A famous Cleveland Indians pitcher, Bob Feller, served on this ship from July 1942 – February 1945. They even have a plaque next to his bunk. Yes, this was the highlight of Marsha’s visit…GEESH!

Brig – We actually got to see someone behind bars. Now who could that be?

Latrine – Now this was interesting.

Wouldn’t want to be down stream.

Stateroom – In war time there were generally two officers to a room and these rooms served as offices as well as living quarters.

There is so much more to this ship than what we can show in this blog. It was a very interesting and enlightening tour. We just couldn't stop thinking how scary it would have been to serve aboard this ship during an enemy attack.

One last parting picture.

Some other interesting facts:

She was called the Lucky A because, during World War II, she lost no American lives aboard her due to enemy fire.

Coffee in the morning took 4 big 80 gallon pots to make 320 Gallons of coffee. How’d you like to have that last cup of joe?

The cooks had to prepare more than 7,500 meals a day, over 50,000 a week, and more than 2.5 million meals a year, ALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN!

When the big guns were firing, more than 58,000 pounds or 29 TONS left the battleship each minute!

Read lots more interesting facts about the USS Alabama here.

This blog only covered the USS Alabama. Our next blog will show the rest of the Memorial Park.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon.