The first of these was spent looking for the token ball of string; we thought we may find it in the town of Foley, Alabama. This small town's tourist attractions consist of a railroad museum, a hospital museum, and a soda fountain that dates back to the 1920's. We headed for the railroad museum first, which is primarily 1 room with a lot of old paraphernalia, much of which was found in various old homesteads in the area--not necessisarily related to railroads or trains at all. It's all housed in the old train depot, hence the 'railroad museum' title, perhaps?
We moved on to the hospital museum. A small hospital was opened in Foley in the early 1930's and was closed in the mid 1950's. It's now open as a museum offering free tours. A hospital in existence for only 20 years or so, and closed in our (M&M's, anyway) lifetime. A museum? Really? Turns out it WAS interesting. It was used mainly for childbirths and minor surgeries such as tonsillectomies and appendectomies. All other major cases were sent to larger hospitals in neighboring towns. The birthing equipment and facilities did indeed look rather archaic, and gave us an appreciation for conditions that our mothers were in when delivering us. Foley does now have a modern hospital. The resident skeleton (on the left) did not make the move, and remains in the museum.
We saved for last what we hoped would be the best--relishing an old-fashioned milk shake, sitting on an old soda shop barstool. Turns out it has become too much of a tourist attraction and has lost all of its authentic charm. Darn. We did indulge in a float and a dish of ice cream to appease our disappointment, but it just wasn't what we were anticipating.
The second day of sightseeing was in the Mobile area. We toured the battleship USS Alabama and the submarine USS Drum. Both were very interesting and brought back lots of navy memories for HeM. We spent quite a bit of time below deck on the Alabama, getting a bit of an appreciation for how the World War II sailors lived, worked, and fought--a lot of similarities to the conditions HeM experienced when he was in the Navy The submarine tour certainly brought home the snug quarters and the absolute need to be free of claustrophobic tendencies. The torpedo rooms were impressive.
The third day was in Pensacola. We toured the National Museum of Naval Aviation. We were really looking forward to seeing aircraft carrier history--especially anything related to the USS Forrestal, HeM's assignment while in the Navy. The number of planes that are housed in the museum is simply overwhelming--lots and lots of planes of all vintages. And there were nice models of aircraft carriers, everything from the very first one to the modern-day variety. Of course, the Enterprise was awarded the spotlight. Models of carriers were nicely done; the attached picture of the Intrepid is a good example. We kept looking for the Forrestal. Looking....looking....ah, there it is! But....is that all they could muster for its model? Rather disappointing, but we did get a picture anyway.
As it was Mardi Gras season, and almost every town and city had a Mardi Gras parade, we had to see at least one. We chose a small, local one and was able to enjoy it while sitting inside a restaurant, watching through a large window, having some of the best seafood that we've had so far, and toasting the floats with our cold beers. No beads, but not bad.
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