Starting in Louisiana, we set off this chilly morning for Destin, Florida. Our first stop was in Biloxi, Mississippi where we made a stop at a national seashore. We weren’t there for long because we wanted to have enough time for the USS Alabama in Mobile.

The USS Alabama was really cool because it was surrounded by tanks, small boats, and many aircraft. Our favorite helicopter was the odd looking CH-21, or the flying banana. Our favorite plane was the A-12, which looked just like a SR-71 Blackbird. My favorite part though was when we actually got to go on this massive battleship.

We were able to see almost every part of the ship. From the ice cream parlor to the inside of one of the giant naval guns. My favorite part was the view from the deck on the 9th level. Next, we were able to go inside the large submarine that they have there. It’s named USS Drum. Inside the sub, things were very tight. The doorways were only 3 feet tall! We finished off our time in Mobile by checking out all of the artillery and armored vehicles they have. I had a lot of fun here and luckily I only banged my head on the metal ceiling once. I think I may end up being too tall for the silent service.

Today was a great day traveling from NOLA to Destin, FL. Andy will fill you in on our pit stops along the way. Let’s just say they were great enough that I wasn’t in a hurry to get to our final destination. I mean, we had made it through the emptying of the…shall we say latrines without getting anything on ourselves!!

In our adventure of lessons, I’ve learned that it’s best to get to your campsite prior to it becoming pitch dark! We pulled into Topsail State Park and the campground looks great! The sites look amazing, but they are back in only. Not a problem if you can see so you know where you are headed!! As I began to back, Maureen was doing her best to guide me. We haven’t mastered the back in sites in pitch dark situations yet. A helpful neighbor (who has a camper van) came out to help. As I’m backing, his instructions included “go the other way”… most of you reading this know I was biting my tongue hard enough to actually taste blood!!! Once I was actually able to get mostly into the site, we got it straightened out and into the site. The neighbor redeemed himself when he complimented me and Maureen with a “you guys look like you know what you are doing.”

Now we were on to what we know how to do…hook the water up and turn it on. Well, someone left the faucet on and if someone else happens to put the sink cover on, the water has no place to go except the counter, stove and floor!! They all needed a good wash anyway, so all is fine there!! Lesson learned…have someone in the camper as you turn on water!

Only one more lesson needed! When opening your slide out, don’t let the kids do it on their own. Let’s just say, if anyone has seen the movie “RV” with Robin Williams, we may have tried to recreate a scene! I’ve been missing home projects, so now I have a little work to get things back to how I want them!

Oh-one more item. Don’t trust Siri with directions, he is crazy (I gave mine a male English voice). Early in the day he took us into a residential area to a hiking trail which would have eventually taken us to a National Seashore. Trouble was that we had “The House” and our truck too!! Nothing like backing the rig up in a tight residential street!!

Lessons, lessons, lessons!! Good thing Maureen and I have learned early on that a well stocked fridge is important!