Leaving Slidell, LA on Thursday morning and my next ball park in Tampa, FL, I had to travel the rest of the way through LA, then MS (my last crossing of the MS for this trip I hope), AL and into FL! Lots of driving from this point on in the trip.
I stopped in Mobile, AL and did a quick look at Ford Conde'.
Who says I have no heart??? The Science Center in Mobile was both an eye opener and depressing. While aimed at kids (we all know I am between 8 - 12 years old, especially when playing with baseball cards or at a science center, of not ALL the time), it had places to check certain body measurements, pulse, blood pressure, strength, etc. At the end you could get a score. Not good when the read out says, "How are you still alive when you are this out of shape???"
I then headed to FL.
A Blue Angels jet.
My GPS got me lost on the way to the Air Station in Pensacola. It put me at the wrong gate. I had to drive another 1/2 hour to get to the correct gate. It then wanted me to make some turns on the base that would have got me shot as a terrorist invader. They need better signage to show you where to go instead of just where you cannot go.
Tallest lighthouse in Florida. Take that big ball of string!
Finally got to the Fort I was trying to see on the station. It was surrounded by a moat and only accessible via drawbridge. While that was kind of neat, the rest of the fort was kind of boring and a let down. It may have had something to do with all the driving I had done and getting lost.
After leaving Pensacola I continued on I-10 again to Tallahassee where I spent the nite. The significance of this is that it was the first time I was back in the eastern time zone since June 7, the day I left Detroit for Chicago. This signifies the trip is on the back side.
Fort Condé guarded Mobile and its citizens for almost 100 years, from 1723-1820. The fort had been built by the French to defend against British or Spanish attack on the strategic location of Mobile.
ReplyDeleteThe other fort Mike "visited" appears to be Fort Barrancas (1839) a US military fort and National Historic Landmark in Pensacola, Florida.
On November 22 and 23 1861, and then again on January 1, 1862, Confederate forces at Fort Barrancas exchanged heavy cannon fire with Union held Fort Pickens across Pensacola Bay. But, in May 1862, after learning that the Union Army had taken New Orleans, Confederate troops abandoned Pensacola.
Eastern time zone? Hmmmm, that means I will have two additional hours to help you celebrate the completion of your tour when the time comes!!!
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