USS Alabama Battleship "Overnight Adventure" in Mobile

You can get an idea of how BIG the guns are on this ship.

This past weekend the boys had the opportunity to camp out on the USS Alabama battleship at its museum location in Mobile Bay.  This is something the organization does for Scout groups (and other groups) most weekends.  

The USS Alabama trip is truly one of the highlights of the scout year for my boys' pack.  I was the coordinator for the trip this year, even though females aren't allowed to remain on the ship if it's a male-booking.  Everything went surprisingly well; the kids and male chaperones seemed to have a great time!

There were scout groups from Petal, MS, Phenix City, AL, Marietta, GA and Jacksonville, FL also camping.  Over 300 people total!  I think we were the envy of the other groups -- we only had a 90 minute drive to the ship :-)

Enjoy some pictures I took of the gang before I left the ship at 8pm.  I stayed at the hotel that's adjacent to the property.

Most of the people you see here are from our Cub Scout Pack.  Dave and the boys are in the line somewhere.  There were over 80 from the pack on board!

Not a great picture, but you can get an idea of the berthing setup.  It's remarkable that they gave us 95 beds in two rooms...and how little space that took.

Here's a clearer view of the berthing -- I took this picture the following morning after everyone had disembarked and we cleaned up.  We had everyone in this room and the room through the door behind it.

Dave took the boys through the museum area.

A view of the downtown Mobile skyline from the ship.

The ship's snack bar can prepare meals for the group (for an additional fee) -- they prepared a pizza dinner for us.

Sunset over Mobile.

Jacob and I took a walk down to the tanks on display nearby.

Jacob liked that this was called "Amtrac".

Road Trip II 2011: Eufaula, Alabama...Pretty Antebellum Town

Pardon the glare, I had the window down on the driver's side, but not the passenger's side of the car.

On this last trip, I changed things up and bit and took US Route 231/431 up the eastern border of Alabama.  This took us through Dothan, AL and Columbus, GA.  In the past we've gone through Montgomery, AL to head towards I-85.

About halfway through this north-south route was a town called Eufaula, Alabama, which sits on a gorgeous lake that straddles the Alabama/Georgia border.  The Wikipedia link will describe the town's antebellum and post-Reconstruction wealth, and this was evident in how gorgeous this town is.  Luckily, the town was (barely) spared during the American Civil War.  This visitor's guide has more information about the town's history, and how the surrender at Appomatox might have spared the beautiful homes!

Not only are there the beautiful buildings and impeccable landscaping, but the lake that winds through the town makes it a popular vacation spot for southern sportsmen.  I saw so many boats and RVs traveling up and down US 231/431, likely headed for Lake Eufaula (also known as Walter F. George Lake, named after a Georgia Senator, so it's mainly those on the Georgia side who give it the latter name).

Eufaula hosts a traditional Southern pilgrimage every spring, I'd be interested in heading up there and touring some of the historic homes.

When driving north last Wednesday through the town, I was delighted at how beautiful it was.  I made a plan to drive r-e-a-l s-l-o-w down N. Eufaula Street on the return trip on Sunday with my arm out the window with the camera.  That's precisely what I did.  Enjoy these pictures I took...the traffic was very light and I was able to go about 15 mph down N. Eufaula Street.

The streets are lined with live oaks and beautiful local flowers.

I want to live here :-)

Shorter Mansion is a museum.