MORE THAN JUST A BEACH TOWN

Saturday, September 4 - Paul gave the motor home a bath this morning. It had gotten pretty dirty at our last campground because it rained every evening and the sites were pretty light on gravel. The mud and dirt splashes up on the lower three feet of the MH. It had been awhile since it got a good scrubbing with a bucket and hose. Paul frequently cleans it using “The Solution,” a waterless type of cleaner. That works really well, but he is almost out of his supply. Needs to find someone selling it!

We took Bella up to Heritage Park in Foley.

 

Boy were we surprised. Not only was it a very nice park but they had a train for kids and adults to ride,

an old full-size steam engine and several train cars,

Bella enjoyed the train too.

and the Foley Alabama Railroad Museum. This Museum contained a huge model train exhibit. The museum is housed in the old Louisville and Nashville railroad station built in 1908. It is a display of the history and culture of Foley, AL. The museum contains reminders of the days when Foley was a thriving agricultural center and the major role the railroad played in its prosperity.

The model train exhibit is a 60x22 foot “0” guage train layout. Over ¼ mile of track and a mile of wiring, along with 84 freight cars, 50 passenger coaches, and a replica of the L&N Hummingbird train.

There is a complete city, a circus,

a movie theater that had a movie showing,

a refinery,

mountains,

bridges,

and even a working trolley on the city streets.

There is over 6000 hours in volunteer labor by the Caboose Club in building this exhibit. It is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays and admission is free!

After we took Bella home, we went to Old Time Pottery.

This huge building has spurred our interest as we drove by on the way to and from the beach. We couldn't figure out why a pottery store could always be so busy and be so large. Well, we found out. It's not just pottery sold here but 1000's of different household items. Everything from pottery to holiday decorations, furniture, glassware, kitchen gadgets, lamps, and rugs.

Need a lamp?

How about a pillow?

How about this type of pillow.

Need any dishes…every color, shape and size.

Now, this is a drink glass! We will take two!

The place was packed!

We then went to the grocery store and home to chill out! Marsha did her exercises with a little help from her friend.

Marsha seemed wide awake after the workout but what happened to Bella?

We want to take this opportunity to thank our good friend, Red Burgess, back in Canton, OH. Red taught with us at the high school and served Air Force. After we publish some of our blogs about military equipment, he emails us with more insight. He flew in a B-29 and was a Radio Operator. Thanks Red!

Sunday, September 5 – Nice relaxing day. We actually found a church with an early service. We attended First Baptist Church of Foley at 8:30. Beautiful outside and inside.

We then hit the beach again. What a perfect day. Tons more traffic today and TONS more people on the beach. Even though there was lots of people, it wasn’t noisy. This picture was taken at 10:30. By noon, we had neighbors on all sides.

Well, we did it. We went to a big tourist attraction…Souvenir City.

Marsha had to have her picture taken in the mouth of this ridiculous looking thing.

You wouldn’t believe how big this place is. If you need any kind of souvenir, this is the place. It is crazy, and it was packed! Need I say that we bought NOTHING!

Back of the building. CRAZY!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day and hope to see you back real soon!

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.