On Our Way to Mobile, AL 3/9/2008

Mom and I packed up this morning and haded for our next stop Shady Acres Campground in Mobile, AL.We had to stop and gas up the RV and of course that always hurts the old pocketbook. We ended up filling it with 56 gallons and at $3.13 a gallon it came to $170.00.....hope it doesn't go to much higher , but were not going to hold our breath. We got there very uneventfully about 11:45 and we were all set up by 12:30. The owner of the campgrounds seems very nice and showed us around and let us pick our site out and gave us a map of downtown Mobile and showed us the points of interest and where to park and told us about a tram they have that takes you around the historic district at no cost and you can get off and see what you want and then get back on and go to the next stop. We ate lunch and decided to head out for a ride into the historic district of Mobile. We took a cache with us so we could find the area easily and besides it was going to be our 1100th find.
We got into the downtown area and the cache was located at a historic monument of Admiral Raphael Semmes Commander of the most successful sea raider in history. He "was appointed a Commander in the Confederate navy in April 1861 and was sent to New Orleans to convert a steamer into the cruiser CSS Sumter. He then began a career of commerce raiding that is without equal in American Naval history. For 6 months in the West Indies and the Atlantic he captured 18 merchant vessels and eluded Union warships. He was promoted to Captain and given command of the newly built cruiser CSS Alabama. He took his ship into the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, around the Cape of Good Hope and into the East Indies, capturing some 60 merchantmen and sinking one Federal warship, USS Hatteras. In June a864 he took the ship to sea to fight the Union cruiser USS Kearsarge and was wounded when she was sunk in action. He was rescued, went to England, recovered and went back to the Confederacy. He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1865 and commanded the James River Squadron during the last months of the Civil War. When Richmond fell the ships were destroyed he was made a Brigadier General and led his sailors as an infantry unit. He was briefly imprisoned , then worked as a teacher and newspaper editor before returning to Mobile, where he pursued a legal career. We found the cache quickly and forgot it was our 1100th find so we have to go back tomorrow to get a picture. We saw several other sites such as a 10" Rifled Sea Coast Columbiad Cannon which was by the Alabama Confederate Forces in the defense of Mobile during the War for Southern Independence from 1861-1865. It was mounted at Fort Powell, guarding the entrance into Mobile Bay from the Mississippi Sound. It is one of the very few weapons still in existence. We saw the Mobile Convention Center, the Exploreum Science Museum where they have the exhibit of the "body" that you might have seen on the news about a month ago where they have the actual human bodies without ant skin, we saw the site where Mayor Samuel H. Garrow had his house and entertained the Marquis de Lafayette on his visit to Mobile in 1825 and several other very interesting buildings.
By the way we mentioned in yesterdays blog we went to eat at Lambert Cafe the home of the "throwed roll" and it was a great place to eat. Huge portions, home cooking, the come around with pass arounds, dishes served like homestyle such as fried okra, fried potatoes and onions, macaroni and tomatoes and black beans. Mom had Polish sausage and kraut and I had catfish fillets with mashed potatoes and corn. They come out with fresh baked rolls nice and hot and if you want one you raise your hand and they throw it to you. They also serve sorghum and apple butter for the rolls. Graet place to eat and we have enogh for another meal.
We then drove around the historic district for awhile and then made our way back to the RV. We had dinner and I am doing the blog. I cooked some chicken for Muffy and Raggs tonight and I left it on the table to cool. We got done dinner and we turned around and here is Raggs at the table helping himself to some of the chicken.....the little stink pot. Well time to say good night and until tomorrow and we love you all and miss you.

Picture List: 1-2-Lambert Cafe, 3-An Older Home in Mobile, 4-The Mobile Convention Center, 5-10" Rifled Sea Coast Columbiad Cannon, 6-8-Admiral Raphael Semmes Monument.