Mobile, Alabama

We made our way to Alabama (3342 miles / 5378 km driven so far):

Our campground was the Chickasabogue Park, which was almost completely empty. It was located in a forest and was peaceful:

The reason we went to the city of Mobile was to visit the USS Alabama—a large warship used in WWII—located in the Battleship Memorial Park. The Alabama only had five casualties during the war, which happened when one of the ship's guns accidentally fired on one of the ship's other guns. Not a single person was lost due to enemy attacks, earning it the nickname"Lucky A." Interestingly, the movie "Under Siege" starring Steven Seagal was filmed here.

These cannons have accuracy up to 21 miles!

Guns of all sized aboard.

An officer's bunk.

Quite a long ship, 680 feet / 207 meters total.

Very thick, blast-proof doors. From here the Captain could safely navigate during a conflict.

From the highest deck that tourists were allowed.

Under the deck:

The bunks were about as comfortable as they look.

In the engine room.

Analog computers.

You can see the three brown handles on the closer grey box. Those are the triggers that actually fire the huge cannons above. All done remotely.

Shells used by the main cannons.

Dentist office on board.

The Battleship Memorial Park also has a hangar with a few airplane exhibits. Notably they have a SR-71 Blackbird—one of the fastest airplanes!

Detail of the engine.

Another section of the Battleship Memorial Park hosts the USS  Drum: a submarine from WWII named after any of various types of fish that are capable of making a drumming sound (apparently most subs are named after sea life). It was credited with sinking 15 enemy ships throughout the war.

311 feet / 95 meters long and 27 feet / 8 meters wide.

We were told that the crew had to know all the lines, valves, switches, knobs, and wheels on this sub. Blindfolded. 

Amazingly, 72 people fit in this sub. 

Next stop: Florida!