Heather Hodges

When we lived in Destin, Florida as a kid, one of the most fun activities we did was play putt putt golf.  We had the chance to introduce the boys to this little game while we were in Gulf Shores.

The pirate ship.

Elijah during his hole in one shot.

And then here is grumpy Wade.  Please feel free to comment on his expression and attitude.  He was mad that he was winning and I didn’t seem to care. (I did care, I just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.)  What is marriage coming to these days?

One of the coolest things we did on our vacation was to visit the U.S.S. Alabama a WWII Battleship and the U.S.S. Drumm a WWII Submarine in Mobile, Alabama. It was a very interesting and educational time for our family. If you are ever in Mobile, Alabama, I highly recommend spending a few hours here.

All my boys monkeying around on the battleship. It’s a wonder the thing is still a float after my crew was done climbing over every square inch.

Elijah at one of the anti-aircraft guns.

There was also an impressive collection of warplanes, including this Stealth Peacekeeper. Very cool!

Wade at the guns of the USS Drumm. This WWII era submarine was deployed in the Pacific. One of the interesting things we learned on this trip was that submarines made up about 2% of the US Navy’s fleet in WWII, but they were responsible for sinking 65% of enemy ships.

Inside the submarine.

Wade helps Elijah look through the periscope of the USS Drumm.

My family has just returned from a fantastic 2 week vacation.  Over the next few days I’ll post some pictures of our travels to Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The view from our condo at the Surf and Racquet Club.

This is the second year my family has bought season passes to Big Splash.  It’s pretty much the only show in town, so they can afford to have dirty bathrooms, dilapidated and outdated facility and unsafe rides.  People still line up to get in, even when it is storming.  They have a string of safety violations, and a drowning several years ago not to mention last year’s notorious catastrophe when a slide collapsed and an 11 year old girl fell from the Master Blaster.

We’ve all been wondering why the large slide tower has been closed this season, well it’s not because of the storms.  It’s because of the rotted beams that failed the safety inspection.

Here is a recent article about the park from News on 6.

I don’t know about you, but I want my money back.