At the suggestion of tour guide Michael Gewin from Oakleigh House, I made a lunch stop at Callaghan’s Irish Social Club.
Located in the Oakleigh
Garden District this truly unique restaurant has been opened since 1946 and
boasts “Best burgers in Mobile” according to USA Today, Alabama Cattleman’s
Association and the local Mobile Lagniappe Weekly. But the accolades don’t stop there. It was also voted “Best Music Venue” by
Mobile Bay Monthly and “Best Bar In America” by Esquire. During my one hour stop I managed to
consume the “Burger Special of the Day” and the “Beer Special of the Day”. It was all delicious.
Next on my list was a tour
of the USS Alabama. Nicknamed the “Mighty A”, the Alabama
earned 9 battlestars
and was used in the filming of USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage starring Nicolas Cage. I allocated three
hours for the Alabama but discovered that three hours wasn’t enough.
USS Battleship Memorial Park
is a military history park and
museum located on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of
notable aircraft and museum ships including the South Dakota-class battleship USS Alabama and
Gato-class WWII submarine USS Drum.
The complex also houses the Medal ofHonor Aircraft Pavilion, the Tanks and Artillery Display, Park Memorials,
a Recreational Area
and an EcoSystem.
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| Entrance to Battleship Memorial Park |
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| USS Alabama |
A long ramp takes you up to
the main deck of the Alabama where you will enter through the “Tour Entrance”
doorway. You will have three
possible color-coded tour routes to select from – Green, Yellow and Red.
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| USS Alabama Color Coded Tour Routes |
You will be given a brochure
when you purchase your ticket which will highlight each colored tour, the route and explains what you will be
seeing. As you follow your selected color route through the ship each suggested
stop is painted with a number in the tour color. This makes it very easy to do a self-guided
tour.
The Green route is mostly along
the main deck and a part of the lower decks. The Red route is the
lower decks and the Yellow route is outside the ship on the upper decks. A word of warning, this attraction is not
suitable for handicap or physically challenged individuals. You will be maneuvering numerous ladders between the decks as well as stepping through doors with high
thresholds and low clearings.
I took the Red tour first. On this tour you will be viewing the galley,
where the cooks had to prepare 7,500 meals every day. You are also be seeing the serving lines,
soda shop, mess hall, laundry and pressing shop, sleeping quarters, machine
shop, brig, bathrooms, CPO (Chief Petty Officer) dining room, tailor shop and
the photography darkroom. The Red tour
will also take you through three patriotic and emotionally moving memorial
rooms, each dedicated to a different ship.
The first is the USS Mobile,
second is the
USS Evans
and third is the USS Alabama.
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| Serving Line |
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| Pressing Room |
Next I tackled the Green
tour. It starts on the main deck but
will eventually take you downstairs to view the carpenters shop, motion picture
equipment room, officers galley, warrant officers mess and pantry, radio
central and combat information center.
The Marines occupy a section of the ship and you will be able to view
that on the Green tour. Then it’s down to the
engine room, hospital dispensary, sick bay, operating room, dentist and finally
an x-ray room.
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| The Brig |
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| Shells for the big guns |
Two and a half hours had
passed since I first boarded the Alabama and I had only completed the Red and
Green tours. I quickly went outside the
ship and headed up to the bridge, radio tower and gun decks. This is all part of the Yellow tour but
because of time restraints I was only able to experience a small portion of this
route.
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| View from the bridge area |
I walked off of the USS
Alabama at 3:30pm and headed next door to quickly run through the Medal ofHonor Aviation Pavilion. The
Pavilion houses over 28 aircraft from the Pre-WWI Era, WWII Era, Korean War
Era, Vietnam War Era, Cold War Era and Coast Guard.
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| Entrance to Medal of Honor Aircraft Pavilion |
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| One of the aircraft on display |
One of the newest additions is the Marine One, a recently restored VH1-N/Bell 212 helicopter used by Presidents Nixon, Ford,
Carter, Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
You will also be able to experience a Flight
Simulator inside the Pavilion.
General Admission runs $15
for adults and $13 for Seniors over 55.
Beginning January 1, 2018 there is also a $4 parking fee.
My feet and back were now screaming
at me so it was time to head to the Fort Condi Inn B&B. Oh my. . . . this proved
to be an excellent choice.
Built in 1836, Fort Conde
Inn is Mobile’s second-oldest house and the centerpiece of Fort Conde Village.
Two years of meticulous workmanship went into restoring the property to a AAA
Four-Diamond status.
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| Front of Fort Condi Inn |
After a quick and easy
check-in I was escorted to the “Meredith Room”, located on the second floor. A welcomed elevator, located in the back left corner
of the property, was installed during
the restoration. As the door swung open
I could hear classical music playing. I
stepped inside to a room filled with
beautiful antique furniture elegantly
appointed with green hues. The focal point was a king bed with
white bedspread and pillows. The bed proved
to be extremely comfortable, similar to floating on a cloud. Every detail had
been thought of.
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| Inside the Meredith Room |
Each of the thirteen rooms features
original artwork, a mix of museum-quality antiques and modern reproductions,
and special appointments like Kohler Air Tubs, l’Occitane bath amenities, high thread count linens,
complimentary WiFi, Keurig coffee makers, bottled
water and premium entertainment. A corner desk and chair providing plenty of work
space. The bathroom featured a jacuzzi tub and shower combination. Even the hair dryer comes with a retractable cord.
The following morning began with a complimentary breakfast, served in the spacious dining room. Chef Robbie has been with the Inn for 7 years. Once you have been seated Robbie appears with a dish of fresh fruit accompanied by fresh-baked biscuits and pastries. Entrée selections combine the area’s fresh catch and culture. The menu options for the morning included Seafood Benedict, Bananas Foster French Toast or Blue Crab and Asparagus Quiche. Breakfast is served at a big 10 person dining table where each person gets to have their breakfast personally made for them. Breakfast also includes expresso, K-cup coffee, the brew of the day, fresh orange juice, cranberry juice and apple juice.
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| Chef Robbie |
My selection for the morning was the Seafood Benedict. Presentation was a lightly toasted english
muffin, topped with asparagus and a perfectly poached egg. This was then topped with a beautiful shrimp
and crawfish champagne sauce.
It was truly a delight to the palate.
I will definitely stay here on my next
visit to Mobile.
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