Day 62 - November 14, 2012: More of Mobile

Today was the two month anniversary of our Great Loop trip! What a great time we are having on this adventure. We have traveled nearly 2,000 miles and have been in seven states since leaving Michigan. Every day we discover something new!

I have learned some things about the South on the trip from Tennessee to Alabama.

• The people are friendly, kind, and generous. 
• Southern food is unique and delicious, even if I can't get past the sweet tea. 
• The SEC is the king, and football is just as big here as in Michigan and the Big Ten. 
• Many people in the South are still fixated on the Civil War; however, this is quite understandable as it was fought mostly on southern soil and there is evidence all around of the how terrible it was.  

We spent another day out in the Mobile area, starting with Anne getting a haircut at the Battle House Renaissance Hotel Spa (she looked great). The original hotel was built in 1852 and was at one point the headquarters of General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. The current hotel was built in 1908 and is an historical treasure that retains the grandeur of the period.

Lobby ceiling at the Battle House

After lunch we went to the Mobile Carnival Museum, where the history of the Mardi Gras and many of the recent kings' and queens' robes are on display. It turns out Mardi Gras was originated here in Mobile, not in New Orleans as I had always thought.

Typical Mardi Gras King and Queen dress and robes