A History of Some of Our Nation's Defenses
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As much as we like dams, we have made some special quests to capture
some interesting Military history.
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First, we went to Patriots Point, in Charleston, SC. There you can see
the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown,
the submarine USS Clagamore, the US Coast
Guard Cutter Ingham, and the destroyer USS Laffey. We spent an entire day
there, and still didn't get to see it all! Plan on at least two days at
Patriots Point, and be sure to allow time to see Fort Sumter and
Fort Moultrie. Also plan to drive by the lighthouse... but don't plan
on climbing it!
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Next, we went in the other direction, to Mobile, AL. There we found
Battleship Memorial Park, home to
the battleship USS Alabama and the submarine
USS Drum, along with a pretty impressive
aircraft display. As usual, we didn't allow enough time.
Mobile also has a couple of forts to explore, Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines.
And the estuary on Dauphin Island... better plan on at least a week!
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A Blackbird on display at Battleship Memorial Park.
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We've also been to Pensacola, home of Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola.
There the Naval Air Museum is a must see. There are
also Fort Barancas, and Fort Pickens to explore. And another Lighthouse!
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Sometimes, we don't have to go anywhere! While "birdwatching"
one day, we had a very rare sighting:
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A World War 2 era bomber buzzed the house! This is Boeing One Seven
November, the callsign she was using while on display at Briscoe Field,
Lawrenceville's airport (The third busiest in the state, second only to
Peachtree-Dekalb and Hartsfield International).
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She is one of a dozen or so B-17s still flying. This one is maintained by
the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and I think she is based in
Texas.
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