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.

BEAUTIFUL BEACHES IN GULF SHORES, AL

Monday, August 30 – We had a wonderful time at John’s house. Paul’s brother was a very good host!!! Thanks so much for a great time.

Bella was so happy at John’s. When we had the house, her favorite place to sleep was the back of the chair.





What in the world is Cooper looking at?



She is persistent.



Oh, look who is hiding behind the vase. Poor little girl. She just wants to be left alone.



We left at the crack of dawn Monday morning. We had a good trip West on I-10 from Amelia Island, FL to Foley, AL, a total of 423 miles in about 8 hours. We did manage to let our GPS get us lost around Jacksonville, FL first thing this morning.......what a great start on a long travel day.......jeesh!

We are parked for the first time at an Elks Club here in Foley, AL. There are 24 sites here...we are in site # 18. There are gravel roads and gravel sites with full hook-ups. We plan on staying here through the busy Labor Day Weekend. We considered moving to the Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St.Louis, MS but they were booked solid for the weekend. So we'll sit tight and drive the 10 minutes to the beach.

They just had a new sign made. It is really nice.



Our site.




 




Looking down the road. Lots of empty spots. Tom told us it is packed with “Snowbirds” during the late fall and winter.



We went up to the club house in the late afternoon. It is a very nice facility. Of course, the main attraction is the bar, but they also have a new social, bingo, dance, all purpose type room. They have bingo on Tuesday and a dance this Friday. On Sunday, they are having their Labor Day barbeque. One of the club officers gave us a grand tour. A very friendly group was hanging around the bar!

One additional comment.....We love being back in the CENTRAL TIME ZONE!

Tuesday, August 31 – Spent the day at the beach! It was a beautiful day here in Gulf Shores, AL. There were more people but with school in session and college students gone, we were able to pick a prime spot for the day.



We noticed the red flag as we walked onto the beach.





High surf is exactly what we had all day. The waves were huge and started way out.





Marsha even had a difficult time standing up, and she wasn’t even that far out. She is pointing out all the little fish.




We were just here in June with our daughter Kelly. We arrived the day before the oil balls hit.


T
he oil was so obvious when the waves hit the shore.



Now the beach and the shore are white again. It is a beautiful beach.





There is still a clean up crew that goes around and pick up small particles of oil that raises to the surface from the rain or just waves wearing the sand.



Paul talked with one of the workers.  Paul expressed his appreciation of a job well done….the beach looks amazing clean and inviting……COME ON DOWN!



We were on the beach until about 2 pm and then returned to relax at the MH. If you are considering visiting the Gulf, we highly recommend this area. The prices are much more reasonable than some of the advertised beaches in Florida. Right down the road is Orange Beach and within the hour you can be lying on a beach in Pensacola, FL. Just a perfect day on the beach!

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

GOOD TIMES WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Friday, August 27…Continued – While we were downtown, we also took a drive through the historic area of Fernandina Beach. Awesome OLD homes.

Bailey House built in 1895.

Notice what is on the porch.

Tabby House built in 1885.

The rest we don’t have any information…just super homes.

Saturday, August 28 - Hit the beach early again this morning. Paul and Michael went for a very long walk (2 hours) down the beach. Then we all sat in the sun most of the afternoon. After cleaning up we went out to eat at a restaurants that Michael chose…Espana Restaurant and Tapas.

 

It was a Spanish  & Portugal restaurants. We have never eaten anything like this before. Michael started us out with Almejas Borrachas (Drunken Clams), Gambas al Ajillo (Shrimp in Garlic Sauce), and Entremes (Spanish Antipasto).

For our main course, Paellas…Spain's most traditional dish. Paellas are cooked in a traditional Paella pan; a shallow flat pan with two handles, made in and imported from Spain. It is the combination of garlic, onion, peppers and tomato, seasoned meats, homemade stock and rice. Once the rice is cooked, the paella with diced roasted peppers, English peas and fresh cilantro. We had the Paella Marinera (Seafood Paella)..Clams, shrimp, scallops, mussels, calamari and Lobster.

If that wasn’t enough, he ordered two desserts and one red and one white pitcher of Sangria.

A wonderful meal that Michael ordered for all of us and picked up the tab.....WOW! Man can that guy eat. Thank you Michael and Pennie for a wonderful evening!!! If you are in Amelia Island, do not miss eating here!

Sunday, August 29 – Woke to the pitter-patter of rain on the roof of the motor home. It actually sounded more like a down pour and a guy on the roof with a hammer.....jeesh! RV's are not the quietest abode when it's raining. Finally decided to get up rather than try to get back to sleep.

Marsha and I have nearly opposite sleep patterns. Paul goes to bed and “BANG” out like a light. The place could burn down around him and he wouldn't wake up. Around 4 a.m. any little “bump in the night” wakes him up and he has difficulty falling back to sleep.

Marsha, on the other hand, has difficulty shutting off her brain. She has to sit up and read until she starts to fall asleep. This may take until one or two in the morning. Finally, she's tired enough to go to bed. (Just about the time Paul's getting up.....goodness!). Luckily she then sleeps soundly until 7:00 or 7:30, not being bothered by Paul making coffee or messing with him computer.

So between the two of us, one is usually awake at night....crazy. Bella (the cat) has no trouble sleeping on the window sill, regardless which one of us is awake. She catnaps all day long so having one of us up all night long doesn't seem that unusual to her.

Thanks or stopping by. Enjoy your day. See y’all soon.