Mobile Bay

We maxed out our time at Fort Pickens. After six weeks, it was time to move on. We had planned to go to New Orleans, and then up into the Ozarks, before heading back up to Wisconsin for the summer, but given how mild the winter turned out to be, we decided to press north sooner than usual.

Our first stop was not far away, Mobile Bay. We’ve driven by Meaher State Park a dozen times by this point but we’d never stopped. This year we decided to see what it was like. We were a little early for bird migration, which is one of its claims to fame, but it’s right in the middle of Mobile bay, so it had great views.

It’s also right down the street from the battleship Alabama.

The USS Alabama was a lot like the battleship North Carolina, but without the cool paint job.

What it did have, was the nicest ice cream bar of any of the three battleships we’ve toured. All things considered, the kids decided the Alabama was the best place to be stationed. Not only did it never take any significant hits in its lifetime of service, the ice cream situation was unmatched in the Navy. So far as we know.

The mess hall on the other hand left much to be desired.

Like the North Carolina, the Alabama’s main gun turrets were open to explore.

We’d planned to check out the city of Mobile too, but the weather conspired against us with rain and thunderstorms most of the time we were in the area. We never did make it to downtown, but one of the great things about living this way is you don’t really have to worry about missing something, you can always come back.

Despite what you often hear, I’ve come to feel like the road is long, that life is long. There’s plenty of time, and no reason to rush. That feeling that we need to hurry up comes from living in the future. We’re in a rush to get to the futures we imagine. There’s nothing wrong with planning for the future, but I try to make sure I’m living in the here and now and not rushing through today to get to tomorrow.