WWII Immersive

This long ramp leads up to the Battleship USS Alabama. She was the fourth and final member of the Dakoka class fast battleships. After a brief time in the Atlantic supporting convoys to the Soviet Union, she moved to the Pacific in 1943 serving mainly as an escort for aircraft carriers. She took part in Gilbert, Marshal Islands and Philippines campaigns and later transported troops back to the US. 

 Over 3 days we have been immersed in the WWII both in Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, LA. Our first day was spent at the SS Alabama Memorial Park in Mobile and then we spent two days at the National WWII Memorial Museum in New Orleans. They complimented each other. At the first we toured the actual ships, the USS Warship Alabama and the USS Submarine Drum. At the second we spent almost 7 hours listening to the men and women who served in the war, read their stories, and saw them on film. We followed the progress of the war in print and film, all from the perspective of America. It was truly an immersive experience!  

Looking back from the bow of the USS Alabama

Looking towards the bow on the USS Drum deck

The galley on the Drum felt so real, although
the dummy didn't!

The corridors were narrow and the bulkhead
doors were hard for Scott and I to manage. In
real life the men ran down these and jumped
through them!

The SS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park was established in 1963 after the USS Alabama was ordered scrapped. After citizens of Alabama, including school children, raised the money, the Alabama was towed from Seattle all the way to Mobile. It was joined by the USS Drum in 1969 and was moored behind her until 2001 when it was moved to land. A collection of notable aircraft and vehicles are on display in an aircraft hanger and on the grounds. Several films and artifacts illustrate parts of the war effort. We were particularly impressed with the film and photos of the Tuskegee Airmen and their contributions, narrated by Morgan Freeman. Another interesting highlight was the stories of the Red Ball Express Supply line, manned mainly by African American soldiers which operated at it's peak 5,958 vehicles after the D-day invasion. 

The Alabama is huge and although very interesting, felt, inside at least, more like a museum than a working ship. It was really a small city of  2,500 officers and enlisted men! Touring the Drum however, we felt we were in the actual thing and it was eerie and all too real. I for one could never serve on such a ship. I felt claustrophobic even in this safest of all situations. All the many movies we've seen of submarine action came back to us and suddenly, we were there!

Major James Ellison reviews the first class of cadets at the US Army Air Corps basic and advanced flight school in Tuskegee, AL.

We stayed for two nights at the Historic Blakely State Park, near Mobile. It is a huge place but the RV section, although very well spaced and all pull through, was poorly maintained and didn't have a bathhouse. It took us a long time to find a spot to park on our site that the RV was capable of being leveled with our boards. One additional place in the area we visited was the very pretty town of Fairhope, where we enjoyed a good lunch at the Dragon Fly restaurant and admired the extensive mini gardens that decorate the town.  

It was a late lunch so we treated ourselves to a
local beer

These little pocket gardens with spring flowers
lined every street and corner downtown.

On the way to New Orleans we stopped at The Shed in Ocean Springs, MS again for lunch. On my Roadtrippers national map, this is one of the little photo highlights so we made a special stop on our last trip west two years ago. It's a huge rambling place with every doodad and memorabilia you can imagine. They have live music a lot and it must be a jumping place in the evenings, but for an early lunch, it was very quiet. The BBQ is excellent. 

Scott and our huge BBQ lunch, enough 
leftover for a second meal. Ribs, brisket, hush
puppies, beans and collard greens.

We were also returning to the French Quarter RV Resort in New Orleans, for 3 nights. This is a very lovely place with a pool and hot tub. Last time we mainly walked all over the area, and again, last summer when we spent 5 days in New Orleans. But this time we concentrated on the National WWII Museum. We spent 3 hours there the first day after lunch at their Backstage Canteen and were so interested in everything that we only made it through half the museum. Happily they have a special price for a second day so we got there first thing in the morning, after a wonderful breakfast at the Ruby Slipper, and spent over 4 hours. Even then, we still missed one section. This is one of the best museums I've ever been to. It takes an enormous amount of material and presents it in an entertaining and moving way. We could have spent a third day and still not seen everything. In most museums we feel we have had enough in two hours at a time - not so here. It was hard to tear ourselves away after 4!

Here's an example of one tiny section of one of the buildings (there are 4) - the China, Burma, India Gallery. There are multiple films, artifacts with explanations, terminals where you can listen to individuals tell their experiences, brief bios of the principal players, and texts explaining the timetable and battles. 

The main hall of the American Sector Building with planes hung from the ceiling. The architecture of the museum is beautiful both within and without.

The courtyard between 2 of the buildings

The exterior of the American Sector Building

Our second night we had a terrific evening with our youngest son Sean's friends Jesse and Sarah. They are in New Orleans for one year with Jesse's job. Sarah is able to work mostly from home. They chose the Peche Seafood Grill for dinner and it was excellent. Later we had a glass of wine in our pergola next to our RV. They had just spent New Year's with Sean and Will up at our time share at Sunday River.

Jesse, Scott, Sarah and I had Peche

Baby and our pergola at the French Quarter RV
Resort - very nice site as you can see.

Today we head for Lafayette, LA for 5 nights, staying at Harvest Host locations, 2 distilleries, 2 historic homes, and one swamp tour. More on my next post.