Leslie Anne Tarabella Southern With a Gulf Coast Accent

 

I’m not in the Eastern Shore Camera Club, but everyone else in my family is. That’s why I got to tag along with the group on their sunset cruise of the Mobile River which included an up close look at something I’ve always wanted to see – the Port of Mobile.

 

 

The cruise was through Delta Safaris which operates large pontoon – style tour boats throughout the Mobile Delta, Mobile Bay and Gulf of Mexico waterways. The photo above is from their web site (HERE).

 

We met the boat at Blue Gill Restaurant on the Causeway, and it took us through the bay, right next to the USS Alabama, then up into the river where all the shipping action happens.

 

There’s so much to see and learn about dry docks, oil rigs, commercial ships and the coolest thing ever . . .

 

 

the Navy’s new LCS, or Littoral Combat Ship “Littoral” means the shallow part of the water near the shore, which is where the modern-day pirates hide so our older Navy ships can’t catch them. Not any more. These ships can kick pirate butt and are made right here by Austal, which by the way, someone told me their name stands for “AUSTralia – ALabama.” Since their home base is Australia. That seems to make sense, so I believe them. (That’s a little extra for my new reader, Suzanne in Australia!).

 

Here’s a LCS still under construction inside the assembly bay, or boat barn, ship shack, or whatever it’s called.

 

 

Here’s a photo of the USS Gabrielle Giffords which was christened in February. If you were a no-good pirate holding hostages and saw this coming at you, I think you’d quickly reconsider your career choice.

 

You should have seen all the camera equipment on our tour. We passed a few families enjoying their day on the Bay, and it was as if the paparazzi was following Taylor Swift. Those poor people didn’t know what in the world was going on, but waved and smiled, nonetheless.

 

The camera club members are all so supportive of one another and have a great time learning and developing their skills. “Developing.” That’s a little photography joke.

 

This is the new Maritime Museum in the foreground which will open sometime . . . soon. We hope. It’s taken a while and everyone is anxious to see it.

 

Before 9-11, ships from the around the world would dock here for a month or so, and while in dry dock, the crews would enjoy the fun life in Mobile. Since the terrorist attacks, all crew members are now required to remain on board during the ship’s stay. I think that would be horrible way to see the world.

 

I decided to leave my real camera at home since my husband had his along, so I only had my iphone 6, which was completely dorky in the midst of all the camera experts, but guess who ended up getting some pretty good shots? The photo above and these last few are from my iphone:

 

We stopped close to this area and were told we were directly over the Wallace Tunnel. I’m already freaked out about driving through the tunnel, and our guide didn’t help any when he said the tunnel was only 40 feet below us, and some of the ships have a 35 foot draft. That’s a little too close for my liking.

 

I was able to zoom in to get this shot of the two men on the oil rig. Like the other ships, it was in dry dock for some sort of repair or maintenance issue.

 

Returning home between the two spans of the I-10 Bayway. Such a fabulous new view of a place I’ve passed a thousand times before, but never seen it like this.

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Now, I’m trying to figure out how to get a ride on a LCS! Anybody got the phone number for the U.S. Navy?