Thicker Than Pea Soup

Well, we cruised into Mobile Bay, under sunny skies last Thursday, and have been sitting in the fog ever since! Originally we had planned to stay a couple of days...primarily selected Dog River Marina over the one in Fairhope on the eastern shore as we needed some minor repairs, which they took care of promptly. Once we realized we'd be stuck here for a few days we decided to rent a car rather than be constrained with the 2 hour limit on the marina's courtesy car. I "mapquested" a few of the local attractions and we were off!

We went to Battleship Memorial Park and walked the decks of the USS Alabama. The Alabama is one of America's most decorated battleships. It was interesting to be so up close and personal on such a ship as this and imagine how the 2,500 men lived on board. We also went into the USS Drum submarine, very tight quarters...inside the Aircraft Pavilion we met one of the volunteers who went to great lengths to explain the history of all the planes and jets on display. I actually got to sit inside what was once Airforce One's helicopter (1972-1993) which was decommissioned after the first President Bush left office and became a rescue chopper in Colorado before flying to Mobile just recently to become part of this impressive exhibit. We both highly recommend visiting this site when in the Mobile area.

We also went to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, downtown Mobile. Chip & I both agreed that it was one of the most beautiful churches we have ever visited. It was the first Catholic Church in the state of Alabama...the cornerstone was laid in 1835; although mass has been celebrated in Mobile since the 1730's. -and, The archbishop lives right across the street!

The downtown area is very reminiscent of New Orleans, with ornate wrought iron balconies, lots of brick, and lovely town squares. The locals are proud to tell you that Mardi Gras actually began in Mobile! They took a hard hit after Katrina, but there is a lot of potential, and I could tell the town fathers are interested in appealing to tourists with new restaurants and galleries and other urban amenities popping up all over. We noticed that Carnival Cruise lines had a terminal here now, too!

Because of the weather we decided to drive to Fairhope, which would have been our next marina stop, rather than cruise there. We'll just by-pass it and carry onto Orange Beach once this fog lifts. Fairhope is a sweet little town, sits atop a bluff overlooking the bay. It is very prosperous with lots of quaint shoppes, Bed and Breakfasts, antiques, charming homes, museums, parks, beautiful flowers everywhere...Next time we do the loop we will make this our stop after the rivers. We could have easily spent a couple of days meandering in and out of all the wonderful stores.

Last night we went to the Bellingrath Home and Gardens where we were treated to an unbelievable light show. Owned by the Bellingraths, former owners of the Coca Cola Company, the home is situated on over 65 acres and is located on Mobile Bay about 12 miles from the gulf. When Mr. Bellingrath passed away in 1955 he left his home to the Foundation that still maintains it today. There were over 900 Christmas light displays, comprising of over 3 million lights. Never in my life have I ever seen such anything more extraordinary...honestly, it rivaled Disneyworld! I told Chip, I want to come back next year with the grandbabies!

Now, we sit here awaiting a break in the weather so that we can move on...Four days in fog, thicker than pea soup, has set us back. But, we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Also, we are all caught up on laundry & grocery shopping...plotted our course from here to Tarpon Springs, mailed all our Christmas cards, put up a tree and lights on the boat, swabbed the decks...Guess we'll get where we're going when we get there...

"The true voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes." ~ Marcel Proust