Mobile, Alabama

Entering Mobile Ship Channel, the end of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, is a shock.  One moves from quiet, natural river channels to a vastly busy industrial port.  Above, is a US Navy ship undergoing a refit.

Appears that someone did not measure the building correctly to fit this ship inside during construction.

Mobile is also a large freight terminal.

Friends and Family


One of the great benefits of traveling the Loop is meeting new friends, sharing time with old friends, and visits with family.

Robert and Vicki, Gold Loopers (one who has completed the Great Loop)  invited the current Loopers passing through to Thanksgiving dinner at their home in Fairhope (across the bay from Mobile).

The always popular dessert table.

Jim and Pam Shipp, Platinum Loopers (completed the Loop twice) and old friends, hosted us for a couple of great meals and for a lot of wonderful conversation.  Shrimp and oysters were enjoyed at the Dew Drop, one of those traditional good restaurants that only locals know.  (The waitress' unsteady hand blurred the photo but didn't affect the meal.)  Marian, Jim's mother, had an outstanding Low Country Boil at her home the evening prior.  Good food does help make for great times with friends.



Maintenance Time

Dog River Marina is a full-service boatyard with a good reputation.  The stop at Mobile was used to pull Last Dance for some maintenance.

New seals were installed on the Naiad stabilizer shafts and a general check of the underwater gear was completed.  Takes a big machine to lift a 40,000 pound boat.

Remember those White Pelicans first seen on the Illinois River?  They stopped by Mobile, circling over the marina a dozen times, while Last Dance hung from the slings of the travel lift, as if to say: "Time to keep moving south."