AFTER TWO WEEKS OF SLOTH ON FLORIDA’S Turquoise Coast we’re back on our Grand Tour. This leg took us through Alabama and Mississippi to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. After our 8-hour journey from Pine Island to Destin, the drive to Mobile seemed like a trip to the corner store.
Our Grand Tour Continues
We decided to stay overnight not so much to break up the drive but to visit the battleship, USS Alabama. Neither Connie nor I have much affinity to the Navy but this was a rare chance to see how 2500 sailors lived aboard the ship that saw action in both the Atlantic and Pacific and led the American flotilla into Tokyo Bay at the end of WW II.
The Mighty A
A ton of bad news fot the bad guys
Engine Room, USS Alabama
Worth fighting for—Calendar from USS Alabama
Mail Room—You Gotta Write 'em to Get 'em
At 680 feet Alabama would be dwarfed by most cruise ships. But the “Mighty A” carried nine 16” cannons capable of firing a one-ton explosive shell more than twenty miles. Try that, Princess!
Inn at Cedar Grove, Vicksburg MS
Southern Comfort, Inn at Cedar Grove
We covered most of Vicksburg’s Civil War history in 2019 towards the end of our RVing days. This time we stopped for a bit of Southern hospitality. When the Inn at Cedar Grove was built in 1840 it was one of the largest and most beautiful estates in Vicksburg.
Confederate Cannonball
Susan K. Bonham Room, Inn at Cedar Grove
It survived the War Between the States most likely because the lady of the house, one Elizabeth Klein, was a cousin of William Tecumseh Sherman. Even so, a Confederate cannon ball that came through the wall during the Siege of Vicksburg is still lodged in the floor. We weren’t fortunate enough to stay in Elizabeth’s room but daughter Susan Klein Bonham’s room was elegant enough for us.
Home, home on Colonels' Row
Colonel Mike, my late brother’s oldest, wears two hats in the Air Force. He is both Commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing and Commander of Barksdale AFB. At home he’s just one of the family alongside Amy, David, Katie, Dakota and Allie. The last two are dogs. No photos, however, due to . . . well, you know.
B-52 Bombers of the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale AFB
Col. Michael "Fetch" Maginness's B-52
The kids have grown since we last saw them in 2016, both in size, wisdom and personality. And after a tour of the base we can report that the long-range security of the country is in good hands for the present—details are classified.
