The first place that the kids drew out of the “bucket” was Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan, Alabama. Since we live in Tennessee, the drive is not that long and can easily be a weekend getaway. I booked the hotel through www.hotels.com and actually got a better deal staying in Orange Beach, which is literally right beside Gulf Shores. Throughout the week, I researched some fun things to do with the kids and allergy friendly places to eat. We packed up and left when I got off work Friday afternoon at 5:00pm and it ended up being about a seven hour drive with stops, so we reached our hotel a little after midnight.
Since this was a quick trip to the beach, we stayed at the Sleep Inn located in Orange Beach which is less than 10 miles from Gulf Shores. Seen here is the Water Tower which is located on Orange Beach Blvd and is marked with a sailfish.To get to Fort Morgan, you take Hwy 180 or the Fort Morgan Highway, which is about a 22 mile drive. There isn’t much to see along the drive, unless you know where to look. If you make a right turn a little past mile marker 6, you will find “The Mystery Ship.” This ship is located in a residential neighborhood, but you can still walk out to it to take pictures. There is not any parking, however it is located on a dead in street, so you can just park in the middle of the street and take a quick walk out on the beach.This “Mystery Ship” has been appearing and disappearing since the 1960’s. This ship was first uncovered in 1969 by Hurricane Camille. Over the years the sand slowly covers it back up until another Hurricane hits and uncovers it again. The last time the ship was uncovered was in 2008 by Hurricane Ike and you can see where the sand is starting to cover it again. There are many stories surrounding this ship, but the exact origin is unknown. Some say it was a ship from the Civil War and some say it is believed to be “The Rachel” built somewhere between 1918 and 1923. The Rachel was used to carry illegal liquor during the Prohibition. Whatever the story is of this ship, it is still a part of history and a really neat thing to stop and see if you get the chance.This is the entrance to Fort Morgan which is a connected tunnel that originally had a sand floor, the concrete was added in the twentieth century. Across the drive is a small building where you pay your entrance fee, there is also a small museum with Fort Morgan memorabilia. The admission price is $7/person and $4/kids (ages 6-12). The ground hours are 8am-5pm daily, but the museum doesn’t open until 9am.Construction began on Fort Morgan in 1819 and completed in 1834. It is built out of brick and mortar because those were the only materials that the Army could obtain locally. The Fort was originally called the “Work on Mobile Point” until 1833 when it was named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero Danial Morgan.The State of Alabama troops seized the fort in January of 1861 and turned it over to the Confederate Army in March of 1861. The Fort was the first line of defense for the city of Mobile and served as a blockade for the bay. The Confederates maintained the fort until 1864 when Union troops fought their way into the fort and overtook the C.S.S Tennessee squadron. On August 23rd, 1864 the Confederate troops surrendered after one of the most intense bombardments of a single fort during the Civil War.This is one of my favorite pictures from our trip, the Archways of Fort Morgan. The rooms were arched to protect gun positions for the fort’s cannons, however very few cannons were every mounted here. The rooms were instead used for the storage of food and equipment or for living quarters.As we were walking around the outside of the fort, we noticed these concrete barriers in place to hold the fort up. Since the fort is made out of brick and mortar, the Alabama rains are washing the mortar out between the bricks which has deteriorated it.While exploring the fort you will notice that some sections look newer than other sections, that is because during WWI two thousand troops were stationed here at Fort Morgan. However, in 1923 the fort was ordered to be closed. It was reoccupied in 1941 until July 1944, when Fort Morgan was abandoned for the last time. During WWI and WWII the military added on and made major upgrades.A great picture of where one of the cannons used to be! Fort Morgan was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, and in 2007 was listed as one of the nation’s 10 most endangered battle sites.I love this picture because you can clearly see the line where the freshwater from Mobile bay meets the salt water from the ocean! These are known as estuaries or brackish, the ocean is the blue water and the not so clear water is fresh water. This photo was taken while walking along the top of Fort Morgan.A family photo right outside the Fort.While touring Fort Morgan, you also have beach access that is included in your ticket price. As we made our way down to the beach, we came upon the remnants of an old Fort Morgan pier.The water was cold in March, but the kids loved running and playing on the beach!Everywhere we looked while in southern Alabama we kept seeing the phrase “sugar sand” and we didn’t know what that meant until we walked out onto the beach at Fort Morgan. The sand was so fine and white that it looked and felt just like grains of sugar.Tacky Jacks 2 is located on Fort Morgan Highway, not far from the fort, at the Gulf Shores yacht club and Marina. You go up the colorful steps to enter the restaurant, with the bar being located on the bottom floor. The restaurant is open daily from 8am-10pm.A great photo of the kids at Tacky Jacks 2!The food was delicious! We highly recommend stopping by Tacky Jacks 2, and they were very knowledgeable about Gluten and Dairy allergies. Seen here is the gluten free, dairy free Shrimp Salad.I love how much they love each other!Inside Red Eye Charters, located at the marina with Tacky Jacks 2, we came upon this Bull Shark hanging on the wall. It is a replica of the Alabama State Record Bull Shark of 448.25 pounds.Little Man and I have taken up the hobby of geocaching and sometimes the hunt for the geocache takes you to the most beautiful views that you would have missed otherwise. Here is a view from a boardwalk we were walking on while trying to find a Geocache!Gulf State Park Pier is not only Alabama’s only public pier in the Gulf but also the second longest pier on the Gulf of Mexico. Admission price to walk the pier is $3/person and children 11 are free with a paying adult.The pier is 1,540 feet long and 20 feet wide. It was a beautiful walk out onto the pier!Saturday night we decided to go for a short walk with the kids. Orange Beach and Gulf Shores both have a huge variety of walking trails. We chose Catman Road Trail, which is one of several Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry trails.We took the scenic route to Mobile from Gulf Shores. We stopped along the road near Fairhope, Alabama while driving Alternate Route 98. It was so peaceful seeing the pier and blue skies, a great photo opportunity.Battleship Memorial Park is located at 2307 Battleship Parkway in Mobile Alabama. This is the location of the USS Alabama and the USS Drum submarine which you can tour. The admission price is $15/adults and $6/kids (ages 6-11). There is a $2 parking fee. The hours are 8am-5pm daily from October-March and 8am-6pm daily from April-September.The USS Alabama was commissioned in 1942 to serve in WWII and it was retired in 1962. The ship was brought to Mobile Bay in 1964 and opened the next year as a museum.Welcome Aboard the USS Alabama!There are three separate self guided tours of the ship with each one being color coordinated. As you enter the ship, an employee is there to hand you a brochure that tells about each stop, the tours, and point you in the right direction. The easiest route is to start with the Red tour and then the other tours will just continue, meaning Green picks up where Red stops and Yellow starts where Green stops.Before we started our tour, we explored the main deck of the ship. This is actually the end of the yellow tour, which we did not know at the time.I am not sure who was more excited about the USS Alabama, the kids or daddy!This is part of the Red tour, the barber shop area.This is where the soldiers would line up to get their food, cafeteria style.Seen here is a gentlemen that is in the re-enactment group. He took up with little man and let him wear an authentic WWII jacket, which is actually the one he uses during his re-enactments!During the Green tour, you get to go down into the engine room!Daddy was still checking out the Engine room, so little man decided to wait at the top of the steps.They were so excited to see how large the artillery shells were! Each shell weighs at least 1,900 pounds.Since I am a nurse, I am always infatuated with the medical care everywhere we go. Seen here is the ICU (intensive Care Unit) on the ship!This was on the Yellow tour, we spent about four hours at the Battleship Memorial Park. I would plan on spending at least half a day here.Battleships are for girls too! She was so excited to get to play on the ship with the boys.This is on the yellow tour, exploring the main deck! I am not sure who is having more fun!The USS Alabama spent 37 months in WWII and earned nine Battle Stars. The ship never suffered any casualties or significant damage, earning the nickname “The Mighty A.”In 1962, the military was going to scrap the USS Alabama. In 1964 a campaign was created to save the battleship and become a memorial to those who served in the armed forces. To help, the Alabama school children collected nickles, dimes, and quarters to raise $100,000 to help bring the USS Alabama to Mobile Bay.The USS Drum Submarine also served in WWII and was brought to Mobile Bay on July 4th 1969. The tour of this submarine is included in the admission price.The DRUM is named after a large sea-bass that is found off the North Atlantic Coast. This is one of the original drawings on display inside the submarine.The USS Drum was launched in 1941 and 72 crew members kept the DRUM up during its thirteen patrols. The Submarine became inactive in 1967. During it’s service, she received 12 battle stars and is credited for sinking 15 ships. She is the eighth highest ranking submarine of all US submarines in total Japanese tonage sunk which was 80,580 tons.Part of the aircraft collection at the Battleship Memorial Park.There is a huge area of Military equipment on display outside as well.After spending half the day touring the USS Alabama, we were all starving. We decided to try Baumhower’s, an Alabama chain restaurant. The food here was delicious and they have Gluten Free wings with a dedicated fryer for Celiacs!If you visit for either a weekend or a week, decide to relax on the beach or dive deep into the history, southern Alabama has something for everyone.
