Jan. 19, 2015
The kids and Andy had the day off so we decided to do something fun as a family. Bradley helped plan the whole trip for one of his scout goals. We decided to head to Mobile, AL to check out the USS Alabama. They have lots of airplanes and tanks around the grounds along with some war memorials.
The sign to the park.
Our first look at the USS Alabama.
A coast guard plane
This is a B-52 bomber. It is huge and can carry an even bigger load of bombing power!
I believe the bombs on the side represent missions successfully completed.
Daniel, Bradley, Eliza and Nathan checking out the B-52.
A memorial for the Vietnam Vets.
I liked this picture because the reflections on the memorial.
They decided to us a statue of a man in his mid to late 50's coming to pay his respects for his fallen comrades. Usually they use a soldier in full uniform. This particular memorial had a different feel to it. I really liked it.
This is a helicopter that was used in the Vietnam War.
This memorial is to remember all the service men and women that worked with military dogs.
Each flag represents a country that fought in the Vietnam war.
This shows some of the major battles.
A tank! What's not to love about tanks!
(I tried to take pictures of the tanks and then the plaques with the names and stats of the tanks.)
Another look at the Coast Guard plane.
This tank has a neat story that goes with it. You can read about it below.
Checking out all the tanks!
The name and stats for the guns and tanks come after the picture of the machines.
After checking out the tanks and artillery guns we had a quick lunch in the parking lot and then headed to check out the USS Alabama.
Daniel and Bradley ringing the bell. It was LOUD!
The USS Alabama
This shows the different levels and rooms on the battle ship.
This display was really neat. The lights would light up to show the fire fight in a sea battle.
Bradley
Nathan
Daniel
Eliza
Dad
I didn't get very many pictures on the ship because the lighting wasn't very good and the pictures weren't turning out very well.
This is where they pack all the sailors in! It made us think of Uncle Jakie. Hope you have more room on your boat!
This was down in the boiler room.
They would boil sea water and collect the steam and when it condenses they use it for drinking, cooking, bathing, etc... We had been wondering what they did for drinking water on the ships. We got our answer on the tour.
A model of the USS Alabama.
Notice on the back of the ship there is an aquatic airplane. They could launch one off the side. Then they had cranes on the side to lift the planes back up onto the deck.
Eliza checking out one of the deck guns.
Daniel was manning the other side of the gun.
There were a lot of deck guns of various sizes. This ship had some serious fire power!
Looking down towards the railing where they launched the aquatic planes of the side.
These are the big guns in the back. There is also a set of big guns on the front too.
They are huge!!
Nathan fell asleep for a little while. It wasn't very long, but there was a lot to see!
The railing to launch the planes.
Eliza and Daniel
Nathan and Bradley
This shows the size of some of the rounds shot from this battle ship.
They really packed a punch!
This looked pretty cool, but I never did get down to take a picture about the info.
Uncle Jakie do you know what it is?
We got to go up on some of the higher decks. It was hard to get a picture to show how amazing this ship really is and how much fire power it has.
Bradley got to climb inside this gun.
I can only imagine what it would have been like to be on this ship during a battle! Wow!
The U.S. Navy is pretty sinking awesome.
(That was for you Uncle Jake!)
There were memorials for a lot of different people and wars.
This one is obviously for the soldiers that manned the submarines.
This was a pretty neat guy. I love stories of men and women who showed great courage during hard times. It helps restore some of my faith in humanity.
This sub was sunk and none of the soldiers bodies were ever recovered.
My heart goes out the families and survivors this memorial represents.
After touring the battleship we moved into the airplane museum.
These fighter jet were pretty impressive. The name and info follow the picture.
This pilot Jack Weeks flew a top secret mission that he wasn't debriefed on before he passed away, so he didn't get credit for it until years later after it had been declassified.
They also had a display to remember the Pentagon on 9-11.
This is a model of the submarine we toured.
As we were heading out to see the submarine we noticed this replica of the USS Alabama being pulled in the parking lot. When we asked about it they said that it makes a public appearance for special occasions. That day it had been at the capitol with the governor.
On the deck of the USS Drum.
A look at the forward torpedo room.
The USS Drum was used in the filming of this show.
Info about subs during WW II.
Daniel, Bradley, Eliza and Nathan
Old Glory
The deck gun.
Dad, Nathan and Eliza up on deck.
This sub dates back to the 1800's. It was one of the very first submarines ever made.
Details about the sub.
This boat was on display, but not open to climb aboard.
These jets have seen better days. I are thinking that they will restore them and keep them on display. We aren't sure though since there wasn't any info about them.
It was a fun day and gave us a new respect for the men and women who have served our country during the various wars. I am grateful for their sacrifice. I am also in awe at the technology our military uses. It is awesome! We all enjoyed it and would love to take any visitors that come to see the USS Alabama. Call and schedule with us today! ;0)
