Historic Mobile, Alabama

This was a cold, cloudy, and very windy day, but we decided to drive to Mobile anyway for a walking tour of the historic district.  Our walk began at the Fort Condé Museum and Visitor Center.  Originally, Fort Condé was a French fort that was under the control of the British when the Spanish defeated them during the American Revolution.  Today, the replica of the fort houses the Visitor Center, a small gift shop and a Revolutionary War Museum.

Fort Conde

As we wandered the streets of historic Mobile we were impressed with the wrought iron balconies very reminiscent of what you would see in New Orleans.  And like New Orleans, these folks are all about Mardi Gras.  I understand that the celebration in Mobile is much more family oriented than the one in New Orleans.  Our walk included the Old Church Street Cemetery which was established in 1819 for the victims of yellow fever.  Gene made a very quick trip through the Police Museum.  And to round out our experience for today, a marathon was being run in Mobile today and our walk went along part of the route including the finish line.  

The walk was about 3 miles long and by the time we got back to the truck we were more than ready to get out of the cold wind.  It was not a day for a picnic in the park so we spread our lunch on the dashboard.

Barton Academy, first public school in Alabama

In the spirit of Mardi Gras

On our way home we stopped at Bass Pro.  Gene found himself a pair of tennis shoes, but he was most impressed with the number (it seemed like thousands) of fishing rods on display.  The camping section, on the other hand, was very small.  I guess that’s just the difference in location.  It’s just to hot, humid, and buggy here to enjoy a real camping experience.  There is, however, lots of water to cast a line into.  The most interesting thing I saw was the camouflage crock pot.  The bear (or the enemy) could smell the food, but he wouldn’t be able to see it.

We were home by mid-afternoon and are looking forward to a dinner of leftovers from yesterday’s Lambert’s lunch and a relaxing evening.