A couple of weeks ago I drove the kiddos and myself all the way down to the MS Gulf Coast (an 18 hr. trek, without Chris to help me- he had to work!!) for a visit with our family there and to celebrate the marriage of my youngest brother to his beloved. Along the way we were able to stop in TN and GA for a visit with some sorely missed friends of ours, which also worked out nicely as a mid-way break from all of the driving!
A definite highlight of our trip, was that while we were down on the Coast, my Mom, kids and I had the distinct honor of accompanying my Papaw on what was probably his last visit to the USS Alabama Battleship, upon which my Papaw was a crew-member for the last 9 months of WWII, before it was decommissioned. It was an unforgettable, special morning, and not just for us, but I think for my Papaw as well!
You see, I’d called ahead to let them know that I was bringing a former crew-member to visit the Museum and Battleship. The lady I spoke with was thrilled to hear it and went out of her way to find and copy a photo of him (that he hadn’t seen before!) with his entire division, from an old book that she said wasn’t even available for the public to see since it was old and practically falling apart (?). Then while we were there, they kept announcing over the loud-speaker that “A former crew member is now on deck”, and so people were coming up to him to thank him for his service and a few even requesting that they have their pictures made with him. It blessed me to see him so honored, and to see the emotion upon his own face when the first couple approached him with their thanksgivings.
The tour of the USS Alabama (BB-60), a South Dakota class battleship (not to be confused with the five other ships, nor submarine, also bearing the same name!) was absolutely fascinating…
as was stepping inside of the little (not yellow) submarine, also on site,
Our enthusiasm was only slightly dampened by the sight of the buoys out on the Gulf, intended to stop the creeping oil from the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which we won’t talk about here… *sighs*
…and seeing the aircraft museum was quite impressive, as was as all of the other military equipment on site there too!
And as if all of that wasn’t wonderful enough already, we got to meet FRIENDS! I was so excited that it worked out for my bloggy friend Tracy (Photog extraordinaire, host of the Mommytography 365 Project, and co-author over at The Homeschool Post), who lives nearby, to meet us there with her kiddos! All I have to say is that our visit just wasn’t long enough, and we’ll definitely have to do it again once I get down to Mobile, AL (or she gets up here, maybe, for some more historical sight-seeing)! …and my kids LOVED her kids, which made it extra hard to leave the restaurant afterwards… but my Papaw was tired, and my Mommy was making me…
And since REAL bloggy friends don’t let their friends experience a wonderfully unforgettable day of field-tripping and meeting up with eachother in real life without posting pictures and a word or two about it, here’s Tracy’s post about our day, “Beth and the Battleship” (I love her picture captures!). Here’s another creative picture (albeit scary!) she took of me “in the bin for bad apples”, showing the kids (who were not playing along too well) how to look absolutely horrified because they’re stuck in prison!
See what I mean… I’m just not *feelin’ the terror* here! Are you? Nope, didn’t think so… Okay, I’ll hand it to Savi, who just might have been trying to be afraid, a little bit…. maybe?