Awesome Aircraft!

The airplanes were great! Some of them were damaged during Katrina, but the museum did a bang up job of repairing them. It continues to amaze me how we get such large craft into the air and moving at amazingly fast speeds. Tatum has plans of being a flight attendant so the aircraft were especially interesting to her.

Super Sub, and I don't mean a sandwich!!!

Being on a real submarine was neat! The conditions were even more crowded than on the battleship. It is not a good place to be if you are closterphobic!!! Mason and Monte crawled up to the periscope hole and had a good view of the battleship. Tatum would have made a great poster girl for the Navy! When it comes to manning guns, I don't know who had more fun, Mason or Monte.

Dauphin Island

The ferry ride to Dauphin Island was a blast. We drove right onto the ferry and ended up being the first ones off. The Dauphin Island Esquatarium was really neat. We got there as the fish were being fed. We saw a real live pufferfish. We learned that they are not a fish that you want to eat unless you are highly trained to prepare them. They are fatally toxic, no antidote. We also saw swarms of baby crabs on the beach. It was like the babies were playing a game of cat and mouse with the larger crabs trying to catch and eat them. Though it is a small facility,we learned alot. I highly recommend visiting it if you are in the area.

Maritime Marvels

We did a lot of walking and climbing the day we toured the U.S.S. Alabama. Monte was our tour guide as we followed the green, red, and yellow paths through the battleship. No telling how many miles we walked during our 2 hour trek. We also saw some military planes and a submarine. Monte had stayed over night on the battleship when he was a Boy Scout so I think it was really fun for him to share the battleship tour with us. He was a great guide! It made me appreciate what our troops do even more when you see the conditions they live in while at sea. There are probably a few more conveniences these days, but I can't imagine there being much more personal space. Boy are we lucky to have the comforts of home.

History Buffs

We had fun learning about the history of Fort Morgan. Though it isn't as old as the fort we toured in Savannah, it has Civil War history. Boy are we glad we live in modern times. The soldiers had to share a toothbrush and only fully bated once a month. This combined with no AC, what a smell!

Beach Bums

Here's to the 3 S's: surf, sand, and sun!!!

Gulf Shores Vacation

We took a family vacation to Gulf Shores, AL. We decided to go somewhere new, thus we didn't go to Florida. We spent time on the beach, took the ferry to Dauphin Island and toured the Esquatarium, and toured the U.S.S. Alabama. We tried Gator Bites too with a spicy Tiger Sauce. Go figure, Auburn fans eating "Gator". I think we are bringing a bit of sand back with us in our clothes and in the travel trailer. Though it was hot, the wind was constant which kept it from getting too bad. It was a fun trip!

I hope all of you had a great 4th of July! We spent the weekend with the Monroe side of the family at the lake house on Lake Martin. Tatum and Mason spent time with their younger cousins, Morgan, Leah, and Ella. The younger girls had a lot of fun riding the tube and the jet ski with Tatum and Mason. Yes, Tatum drove the jet ski. Scary thought, but she did really well! She has a need for speed like I do though. We will have to start getting that under control. The weather cooperated with it only raining in the evennings.