2. Holt, FL to Robert, LA

2. Holt FL to Robert LA (Yogi Campground)

 0489

Friday 5/30/14. Considering the weather that is in this area, we have a bright start to the day. We had hooked up the car last night as it was getting dark, just in case it was raining this morning. It rain a little during the night but it was clear at dawn. Hooking up save some time so it was worth it. The campground was a little over a mile from I-10 and soon we crossing Pensacola Bay heading west.

 

Shortly after that we crossed in to Alabama. 

We were talking about a trip we made through here in 2010. We visited a few interesting places in the area like Fort Morgan. I’m including a couple of URLs in case you want to check out these places:

Mobile Al. area May 22-24, 2010

http://jackbarbic.blogspot.com/2010/05/mobile-al-area-may-22-24-2010.html

Fort Morgan May 25,2010

http://jackbarbic.blogspot.com/2010/05/fort-morgan-may-252010.html

As we approached Mobile we could see the skyline and the Battleship Alabama.

500ac                                                     502c

Then it was into the tunnel under the bay. Its been several years since I drove the motorhome through this tunnel. It is always a strange feeling when you approach it. It always looks too small until you get there. Sure enough, the tunnel was bigger than it looked. We brezzed through with room  to spare and it was on our way to Mississippi.

504                                                        505

506                                                            508

After crossing the state line we stopped for gas and then went south and hooked up with SR 90 just east of Pascagoula. It was a little slower due to the populated areas but we wanted to see how things had progressed after Hurricane Katerina. There were a couple of bridges, one was fairly steep. 

511a                                                          512

518a                                                       522a

Several of casinos are rebuilt and doing well. Several years ago we were a bus trip to this area. I believe we stayed at the Grand Casino in Gulfport. The hotel/casino had the casino on a barge that had hugh pilings that anchored (they thought) to the shore line and the rooms were on the north and south side of SR 90. There was an enclosed walkway over the road. Well, I saw a picture after the hurricane, and the barge (what was left of it) was on the north side of the road. When we got there I saw the walkway but the name had changed and the casino was located north of the road. Looks they are not taking any chances.

535a                                                            538a           

We did see signs of building either being torn down or being rebuilt. There were areas where was one for sale sign after another. These were on commercial properties and lots where houses used to be. 

   Along the road there were drive ways leading to empty lots. There large oak trees that had these large limbs with bunches of new growth. I imagine the storm ripped off the smaller limbs and stripped off all the leaves.  Along the way Jackie got a picture of the Biloxi sign. We enjoyed the ride along the shore seeing things there was even a place where some people in RVs were camping. It made me want to shout “Got room for one more?”

 A Florida escapee

 There are 56 pictures on ShutterFly: https://jackbarbic.shutterfly.com/7151

1. Home to Holt, FL Summer 2014

1. Home to Holt,  FL

 

 

On Tuesday May 27 we left home to begin our trip. Jackie wanted to change bedding, towels etc. so we didn’t leave until the early afternoon.  We drove to Chiefland, FL which is about 110 miles from home. We took SR 44 to SR 19 north of Crystal River SR 19 has very little traffic. Here is a picture of the typical traffic. Many bugs (see the spots on the windshield) make the ultimate sacrifice while playing on the road. We are overnighting at the Chiefland RV Park.  Got a pull through site so I didn’t have to unhook the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So tomorrow we will see our niece and her husband who live in Crestview FL.

Thursday May 29, 2014.

Arrived in Holt FL and our campground.

 

 

 

After we got settled we visited and had dinner with our niece and her husband yesterday.  Today, May 29, there is a big weather system hovering over this area and westward to New Orleans & Baton Rouge and we had some heavy rain last night. The weather system is going to hang around for the next couple of days so we’ll call it liquid sunshine and go do some sightseeing. We decided on visiting the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin AFB. They have both indoor and outdoor displays and since it was rain really hard, like a frog choker, we started indoors first. What follows is just a sample of the pictures that I and Jackie took. If you click on the following link it will take you to Shutterfly where all the pictures are available.  FL   https://jackbarbic.shutterfly.com/6971

Before I forget, you can click on any picture to enlarge it.

The museum has planes, missiles, weapons and even a replica of one of the atom bombs dropped on Japan.  Here is  a Panorama of part of the museum.

 The F-105 Thunderchief  had a Gatling gun in it’s nose. I had thought the A-10 was the first aircraft to use it but I think the A-10 was the first plane that was designed specifically for ground support using the gun.

There was a Weapons Display Vault that had a treasure trove of various devices that guns guys would trade their souls for.

I thought this 30mm Revolver gun was unique
 











Here is Jackie with “The Fat Man”……. Yeah, yeah, I know you don’t see me in the picture. The Fat Man I’m referring to was the atom bomb dropped on Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was much information about WWII available for those that took the time to read all it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about the “Bombardier’s Oath? These WWII guys were very special people!

After a while the thunder stopped and it was time to look at the planes outside.  As you drive on to the museum grounds you go passed several of the planes. It’s best to walk around, you get closer that way.

How about starting with the fastest  one? The SR-71

From the front,                                                                                                                  and the back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The B-52 entered service in 1954 . It still is in active service having served in Desert Storm. Besides being able to drop more bombs than any of Saddam’s troops could stand, 70,000 lbs, it also can be fitted with cruise missiles. The B-52 has been the longest-serving bomber U.S. military history.I was standing under the SR-71 when I took this shot of the B-52.

Here is a notable C-130, which has been a workhouse for the Air Force, hauling troops & supplies all over the world. Many countries  bought these aircraft and Australia recently used one of theirs in searching for the Malaysian airplane that went missing. This particular plane was modified as described in the following picture. At least one of the plane, as modified, was known as “Puff The Magic Dragon”.

 

 

 

 

 

 I’m putting too many pictures in this but I have to include this next one. It is a B-47.

Way back in time, like 1964, when I was a kid engineer I started working at Pratt & Whitney. The company owned one of these plane and was using it as a flying test bed for the JT-8D engine that powered the Boeing 727, the MD-11, and some of the B-737s. The plant in East Hartford, CT has an airport on site that the plane flew out of. The Engineering was just off the air strip and before the company had the GE engines rebuilt, it was always exciting to see it take off. The engine created a lot of smoke as it accelerated down the runway, using just about all of it before it lifted off the ground. On hot days it wasn’t much higher than the third floor of the building as it struggled to gain altitude. Sometimes we would give a little cheer.  Ah the memories from the good old days.

So, how ending this first installment with a BANG?

According to the info this is the GBU-43 MOAB. Now the AIR Force definition of  MOAB is “Massive Ordnance Air Blast”, however, it better known by its nickname of “Mother Of All Bombs”. 

There are many more pictures on Shutterfly, if you like planes, ejection seats, missiles, trainers, etc. follow the link.

https://jackbarbic.shutterfly.com/6971