Gardens, battleships, river cruises, flags, and more in Alabama

Lee and Karen Duquette,
The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers

made short stops in Mississippi and Alabama

Another short stop on the way to Alaska -- April 2 - 4, 2009 - Styx River Campground in Robertsdale, Alabama. It rained very heavily all the way here and it was a scary drive at times. The driving area was under tornado watch the entire drive. The park has an indoor pool and hot tub, but both were closed - what a disappointment!

The park also advertised free wireless internet throughout the park, but it was NOT available inside the RV of the two RV Gypsies so what does "free wireless internet throughout the park" mean?. The two RV Gypsies were not even given a code.

The two RV Gypsies drove briefly through the state of Mississippi, then on to Alabama and Louisiana - a small part of 3 states in one day
Below: Scenery in Mississippi taken from the window of the moving RV.

Below: Lee Duquette made lunch in the RV at a rest stop on the way to Alabama.


Below: The entry to Styx River Resort in Robertsdale, Alabama (Baldwin County).

Below: Styx River Resort was nice, but the indoor pool and hot tub were closed. Very disappointing.

	Below: The RV of the two RV Gypsies "AWO' in its new, temporary home

Below: Karen Duquette loves the smell of lilacs. It is her favorite flower.


Below: A train traveling on the bridge adjacent to the bridge the two RV Gypsies were traveling on.

Below: Getting ready to enter a tunnel in Mobile, Alabama

Below: Photos taken through the front windshield of the moving RV.


Below: Exiting the tunnel

Below: Buildings in Mobile, Alabama just outside of the tunnel.

Below: A large flock of birds photographed through the tinted windshield of the moving RV.

Below: A 3-story round house that was for sale at a reduced price. It looked very Unique. so Karen Duquette snapped a quick photo as they drove past it in their RV! Karen would have like to have seen the inside, but there just is not always a place to stop and park the 40-foot RV. And even if they could stop, they can not just go inside other people's houses. The house had quite a bit of land too.

Below: Bellingrath Gardens, Theodore, Alabama - a 65-acre estate - 20 miles southwest of Mobile.





The two RV Gypsies really enjoyed Bellingrath Gardens, especially since they finally had a day of nice weather. However, they were disappointed that there were not any signs naming the flowers/plants or giving any information about them. Many other gardens previously visited by the two RV Gypsies have provided this type of information, but most do not. Any flower knowledge out there?????? If so, please email the two RV Gypsies and be sure to mention the page the flowers are located on. It would be much appreciated.




Below: Various views of a portion of the Gulf of Mexico upon which the two RV Gypsies took a 45 minute cruise.



Below: The two RV Gypsies really liked the tangled web of limbs in this tree. Karen Duquette likes to photograph still-life.

Below: The Southern Bell River Cruiser

Below: The American Flag flying from the stern of the boat.

Below: Seagulls flew all around the boat during the entire trip, hoping to get some of popcorn. They were very noisy.


Below: Happy faces on the two RV Gypsies enjoying life.

Below: View from The Southern Bell River Cruiser	Below: An osprey nest

Below: Different views of Mirror Lake

The two RV Gypsies ate at Lambert's Cafe in Foley, Alabama because they had seen it on the Food Channel. Lambert's Cafe is known as home of the throwed rolls. The following is only the opinion of the two RV Gypsies: Lambert's Cafe reminded them of Cracker Barrel in looks, style and food quality. Yes, the servers did throw the rolls at people dining and they tried to catch the rolls. The rolls were real big and hot and tasty. Big Deal - not enough reason to eat there. The steak was good but had lots of fat. The Chicken and Dumplings had only one small piece of chicken in it. The servers came around with fried okra, fried potatoes and onions, and black beans so you could have all you wanted to eat. You should not leave there hungry. However, the two RV Gypsies will not return to Lambert's Cafe.

The photo above shows Lee catching one of the rolls that was "throwed" at him. Yes, the two RV Gypsies know "throwed" is not a proper word, but it IS the slogan of Lambert's Cafe.

Mobile, Alabama Battleship Memorial Park
Battleship Memorial Park is one of the top attractions in Mobile, Alabama. Located on Mobile Bay, the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park honors the USS Alabama (BB-60) and the brave men who served aboard the ship. Battleship Memorial Park also features an extensive collection of military aircraft spanning several decades of aviation history, from World War II to Iraqi Freedom. At Battleship Memorial Park the two RV Gypsies walked the deck of the mighty battleship, saw a World War II submarine, viewed cockpits of combat aircraft, see tanks, a Vietnam River Patrol Boat, and a plane like the one flown by the Tuskegee Airmen. The two RV Gypsies met and talked with a POW veteran while there. He was fascinating, and Karen thanked him for his service.


At right: A memorial for the dogs that served in the war. Dogs were serving human beings before recorded history, especially in the role of protector and war dog. In 2006 the Alabama War Dogs Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization was formed to formally recognize and pay tribute to military working dogs (war dogs) and their Alabama handlers by erecting a monument in their honor and telling their story.
Please notice the condition of all the flags. This is not the proper way to honor our military service people. To find flags in this condition at a place that honors military service people is embarrassing to our country. Karen searched the internet for a way to send photos to the Mayor of Alabama or congressmen etc. As veterans and citizens of the USA, we find this totally unacceptable. It has been noted that this has been corrected, but we do not have the new photos to confirm it.


	This is a multi-sided memorial built by Veterans.


WOW! Look at the size of this plane.

Battleship USS Alabama


Displacing more than 44,500 tons, the USS ALABAMA measures 680 feet from stem to stern, half as long as the Empire State Building is tall. Armed with nine 16-inch guns in three turrets and 20 5-inch .38-caliber guns in 10 twin mounts, her main batteries could fire shells as heavy as a small car accurately for a distance of more than 20 miles.

Her steel side armor was a foot thick above the waterline, tapering to one half inch at the bottom. Her four propellers, each weighing more than 18 tons, could drive her through the seas at up to 28 knots, more than 32 miles per hour. Loaded with 7,000 tons of fuel oil, her range was about 15,000 nautical miles. The USS ALABAMA was built to fight.


Vietnam War gun trucks; a makeshift solution to supply convoy protection. The Black Widow; was one of such gun trucks and was in one of the most common configuration used; it was based on 5 ton M54 cargo truck with simple armor plates added to the cab and large box made of armor steel plates placed inside the cargo bed. Three M2HB .50 cal machine guns on pintle mounts were installed inside that box.





Below: Looking down to the side of the boardwalk; a big mound of beautiful clean white sand alongside of a deep waterhole in the sand



Beautiful white sand - very clean. The RV Gypsies' sneakers actually made a musical sound as they walked through the sand.

look below

go to the next adventure of the two RV Gypsies Continue on in order of travel to Louisiana in 2009
Louisiana's Old State Capital building, the Big Boy Chair, a black swan, Rest Awhile Park, A Native American Exhibit, Baton Rouge River Center and more........