Fort Morgan, Alabama

At the western tip of a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico is Fort Morgan.

Now a state park, it has played a part in the history of the US beginning with the War of 1812.

It's a masonry star fort on Mobile Bay.

During the Civil War the fort was captured when Alabama seceded from the Union.

With the North winning the Battle of Mobile Bay the Fort was then occupied by the Union again.

It saw limited use during World War I and then again in World War II.

Read more about Fort Morgan here.

Joining Gosia's Fences

Louisiana to Alabama

Here is a continuation of our trip through the south in January.

We left Louisiana with our next destination to be a beach in Alabama.  A waitress in Memphis had said that Orange Beach was the best place to go so we thought we'd explore that.

Our route took us along the Gulf shoreline in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.  

In Alabama the road was right along the beach.

Jefferson Davis's home was here and we stopped briefly but didn't tour it.

We selected Orange Beach after stopping in the Welcome Center to use their free wifi and PriceLine to find a great rate at the Hampton Inn on the beach.

Our view from our room.

The beaches are white now but not in 2010 when oil was gushing out from the Deepwater Horizon spill. 

Water was too cold to swim so we made use of the heated pool and soaked up warm sun while we were there.

Next stop was Tallahassee, Florida.

Road Trip Overview

On Thursday, January 5th we took a Southwest flight to Memphis, TN arriving in the evening to not the warm clime we were expecting.  We got there just as a storm system was arriving from the west.

We brought our GPS with us on the trip since the rental car didn't come with one.  It was a life saver.

We prebooked only two of our accommodations: one at the start and one at the end of our trip.  We relied on the internet and various booking sites to find the next night's place to stay as we traveled.

The first two nights our pre-booked accommodation was in Hernando, MS just 30 minutes from Memphis at the Magnolia Grove Bed and Breakfast.  We awoke on Friday morning to snow.

From Memphis we drove south to Vicksburg, MS finding a nice Bed and Breakfast for cheap called Baer House arriving on Saturday afternoon.

Sunday, the 8th we continued south along the Mississippi River to a stopover in Baton Rouge, LA the capital city.  The old capitol was closed but it sure was impressive.

We made use of a Hampton Inn that Sunday night and then continued south to New Orleans where we had accommodations for Monday night at St Christopher Hotel, a Best Western property adjacent to the French Quarter.

From New Orleans we headed east to the beach along the Gulf staying for two nights at a Hampton Inn resort in Orange Beach, AL.  Such a lovely spot, too.

Next stop was three nights in Tallahassee, FL at another Hampton Inn.  No alligators in the city but there was a wonderful park south of town.

Our last stopover was pre-booked at the Tropical Breeze Resort on Siesta Key in Sarasota, FL for two nights.

Tuesday the 17th we flew home from Tampa.

So that's the overview.  Stay tuned for the particulars.  It was a fabulous vacation.