Some bumps in the road....on to Alabama

Navarre Beach RV Park was a beautiful place to relax, however on our way there, the covering on our roof started to peel back. We had to stick around a couple extra days just waiting for Keystone, the manufacturer to open, then leave it at the shop for over a week to have a new roof put on. Fortunately Keystone covered it under warranty, but it meant we'd be stuck in hotels for a bit. We decided to make the most of it and go see the cities we had planned anyway. 

We spent a few days in Mobile, Alabama, stopped in Mississippi for a day and then Louisiana for a few days before heading back to Florida. We were fortunate to find La Quinta hotels in those cities for around $60 night and base housing in Florida. Not as cheap as camping, but not terribly expensive. Some of our rooms had a fridge and microwave, and on base we had a full kitchen in a suite so large that Asher panicked the first morning because he couldn't find us! After living this way for a few days, we actually discussed this as an option of full-timing. You'd obviously have to further reduce down to a suitcase per person, but without the expense of an RV and potential repairs, it could be done somewhat reasonably. Of course the RV makes life so much more comfortable and nothing really beats having your whole house with you wherever you go!

While in Alabama, we visited Mobile's Exploreum where the kids built and raced LEGO cars then made and tested parachutes.

In their health exhibit they had a machine that measured BMI. It gave us the kids true height and weight, which made me happy. Asher is now 37lbs and Journey is 32.5lbs. They are both 40" tall!
They are growing so fast!

 Next to the Exploreum is Fort Conde'. It was originally built in 1711 by the French. It was later taken over by the Spanish and the British before being occupied by US troops in 1813. In 1820 it was demolished to make way for roads. 150 years later, when the city began digging for a tunnel on the property, they unearthed many remains of the fort. They found the plans and rebuilt 1/3 of the fort at the original site to be used as a museum.

Looking at models of the fort when it was under the control of different groups.

"Look, a treasure box!"

A collection of tools, weapons and cannonballs that were found on site.

When Spain held the fort, they also held this much of the US! Interesting to see.

The jail.

All kinds of glass items found on the property.

I really liked the juxtaposition of the old fort amongst the new high-rise buildings downtown; two worlds colliding.

The freeway tunnel that runs directly underneath the fort.