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Break Down Blues #2Feb 12, 2009
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Our home in the Jeep Dealer's lot
Bridge from mainland to St. George Island
Seriously, don't walk on the sand dunes..they are serious!
Well, this is our second break down since we have been on the road – 8 months – but this time it is our Jeep that took the hit. We spent the last couple days in Mobile, Alabama and we were preparing to leave when we discovered that the Jeep’s transfer case (the gear knob that switches the transmission into 4 wheel drive or neutral for towing) was broken. We could not disconnect that Jeep’s transission; therefore we could not tow it behind our motorhome. Luckily, Mobile has a Jeep dealer and we drove the Jeep and our motorhome to their lot. Unfortunately, the Jeep needs a part that has to be overnighted from Milwaukee. So, we are enjoying the southern hospitality of the Jeep dealer’s parking lot and spending the night.
Mobile, Alabama is serious about Mardi Gras. They are proud to announce that Mardi Gras was first introduced to the United States in Mobile (not New Orleans) and they start their Mardi Gras preparations and celebrations in November. There are parades and parties every weekend culminating on Fat Tuesday and the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday (Feb 25, 2009). According to the locals, this is a family celebration and does not have all the lewd and lascivious activities associated with New Orleans Mardi Gras events. I am just curious if any of the celebrants realize that Mardi Gras was a French Catholic festival and has very Catholic significance in marking the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent. Doubtful….but if you want to put the Christ back in Christmas….maybe the Catholic should be put back in Mardi Gras??? OKAY…just a quick plug for the Catholics as they also did not get the credit for establishing the first “American” colony (St. Augustine, FL) as pointed out by my friend, Brad.
Prior to arriving in Mobile and our subsequent break down forcing our extended stay, we explored Saint George Island State Park on the Florida panhandle. The park is truly on an island and you are able to see both the Gulf of Mexico and the intercoastal waterway as you cruise down the main street. After exploring the island, there is not much to do so we spent our time honing our geocaching skills. It was great fun, there are a lot of caches on the island and they directed us to many areas that we would not have seen otherwise.
Well, wish us luck in getting out of Mobile…..until next time…..life is good!
