Todd's Visit

 My son, Todd, came for a short visit. He wanted to spend some quality time with me. He also is a Civil War enthusiast and wanted to visit the two forts that were protecting Mobile Bay during the Civil War. The Naval Aviation Museum located in Pensacola was on the way. I wanted to show him some of the aircraft that flew off the USS Saratoga when I was stationed with VA 36 aboard the ship. Below Todd is pictured on the ground floor of the museum. Admission is free, and if readers of this blog are ever in the area, it is well worth spending time there,

The Pensacola Light house is located within sight of the museum. Todd wanted to climb the 177 steps to the top. I had climbed earlier in the year and waited in the keepers quarters.

 Pictured below is a cannon just outside the entrance to Fort Morgan. Fort Morgan is located on the east side of Mobile Bay.

Todd reading one of the many informational signs within Fort Morgan.

After leaving Fort Morgan we drove around the Bay and stayed overnight. The following morning we went to visit Fort Gaines located on the west side of Mobile Bay. Below Todd is reading one of the many informational descriptions of the activities of the battle.

Following are three more pictures within Fort Gaines.

Following is a picture of the Sand Point Light visible from Fort Gaines.

Below one of the many oil platforms located in Mobile Bay. When the wind is right one can smell the crude oil.

We were going to take the ferry over to the east side. The wait was several hours as the queue was amazingly long. We took the time to drive north to I 10 and we picked up I 110 that connected up to route 98 and we drove along the coast to home in Panama City Beach.

I enjoy visiting Civil War sites with Todd. He knows the history and he imparts his knowledge to me. We visited Gettysburg a couple of years ago which was another enjoyable time with my son.