After spending as idyllic a time as one could imagine at Grayton Beach State Park on Florida's Panhandle for two weeks, we had to leave for a minimum of three days before we could return to that or any other state park. Since we'd been driving down to Florida from Denver every summer for the last ten years or so, you can understand we'd already spent those three days away from Grayton at every possible place within a two or three hour radius! That was why we found ourselves heading back to Mobile, Alabama, a place we hadn't seen for a good long time.
We stopped first, though, in Pensacola located close to the Florida/Alabama border to take in an afternoon AA baseball game between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp! It was a scorching hot day but luckily we had seats that were partially in the shade and therefore had a fun afternoon.
The next morning, we drove to USA, aka as the University of Southern Alabama, to walk through the campus. By one of the science buildings was a tribute to the ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, often considered to be the Father of Medicine.
Aquatic plants like Water Lilies colonize the lakes and wetlands on the USA campus. The lilies can grow in water up to eight feet deep and their flowers open in the morning and close in the afternoon. They slowly change from white to pink over their two to three day life span.
We read a quote on the trail by Scottish-American naturalist John Muir who was an advocate for the preservation of the wilderness in the US. "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."
What was more intriguing to us, though, was the exhibit called Reflectorama by Bob Miller where we entered a darkened theater with flashlights the museum provided. Museum patrons were cautioned that the show might cause discomfort for those with light sensitivity, eye issues and epilepsy.
While walking through the Native American Art Hallway, we were entertained by music of the Sioux and the Navajo nations that was recorded in native communities.
There was a surprisingly decent and large Asian Art collection comprised of treasures from various private collections donated to the museum over the years. Most of the objects were made for funerary, utilitarian or devotional purposes. The museum remarked that even though they'd been removed from that original usage, the objects still remained pieces of great beauty, craftsmanship and cultural significance. These were my favorite pieces in the collection.
The last piece I admired was the work titled Wishes by Monica J. Beasley, an artist who throughout her career has explored concepts of feminism, home, marriage, family, race and Southern culture.
Remember the Harry and Meghan characters
There were several large sculptures in the open space around the museum that we made a point of also seeing, including what I think was one of the Holy Bible.
The Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was established as a parish in 1703 by the Bishop of Quebec (!) when Mobile was the capital of Louisiana. It was the oldest religious congregation of any denomination and received its designation as a Minor Basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1962.
We stopped first, though, in Pensacola located close to the Florida/Alabama border to take in an afternoon AA baseball game between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp! It was a scorching hot day but luckily we had seats that were partially in the shade and therefore had a fun afternoon.
We had come to the university to walk along the Glenn Sebastian Nature Trail named after a professor who had taught physical geography there to more than 13,000 students for more than 44 years beginning in 1967. Over the years, he took many of his students on short field trips to see the creek, the wooded ravines and the plants and animals in part of the USA campus.
Summer in Mobile isn't normally the best time to go for a hike but the forest provided a welcome break from the heat and humidity. I loved collecting a few huge pine cones, the largest ones we'd come across since those we'd seen in California's Sequoia National Park years ago.
There was a sign indicating we might spot Gulf Coast and Red-Eared Slider Turtles as well as Gopher Tortoises while on our hike but perhaps the heat had them seeking refuge elsewhere as we didn't see any.
Also on the USA campus was the Mobile Museum of Art where we headed next to get out of the heat. Bottles of water were sold for just .23 each, surely the cheapest price anywhere!
We saw a few massive paintings by Fredrick A. Marchman who called himself a Southern Pop artist who said he was influenced by ancient art, modern painting and sculpture, folk art and other genres.
I read that Miller always had an intense interest in science and technology and their application in image making. A photocopier, instant Polaroid camera, holograms and the pinhole camera all played a part in his development as an artist.
It was really neat seeing his images made with the colorful Scotchbrite tape as I'd never imagined 'art' could be made with tape.
Darlene: You'd have liked looking at the Strawberry Star quilt made by Montanan Frances Weasel Woman Fox as it represented the symbolic beginning of a new day.
The art of quilting was introduced to Northern Plains Native Americans in the 19th century by Christian missionary wives. Aside from their practical usage, quilts also were gifts to honor special people or events or even as a memorial to someone who had passed away. This practice is called the "Give Away" and is often accompanied by a feast and music. Sarah Headdress, an Assiniboine, beautifully captured the movement of swallows, eagles and stars in her quilt.
When have you ever seen a museum exhibit on the Great American Chair?! This was our first time and was a real novelty. It didn't look like many were intended for sitting on, though!
One of the last things I'd ever think could be made into a piece of art was a broom. However, New Yorker Scott Darlington created a cast glass one in 1999 and simply called it Broom.
I was amused seeing Kangaroo by Leo Sewell especially having seen live ones in their native Australia back in March.
Another unusual work was this oil and gold leaf on linen called Probing the Wounds by Gary Chapman. It was part of the museum's Freedom of Speech collection, described as the freedom to speak, to express, to convey a viewpoint as being essential to how we define freedom in the US. Chapman's work involved the sign language alphabet, a silent form of speech that transcended sound through symbols and gestures.
When I met Steven back in 1981 in Mexico, I sure never thought of this wish: I will marry a man who has a passport but our combined love of travel has taken us on many wonderful trips around the world since 2013!
Click on any of these images to make them bigger so you can read the wishes; some are quite amusing!
There were several large sculptures in the open space around the museum that we made a point of also seeing, including what I think was one of the Holy Bible.
After spending time in the Mobile suburbs, we drove downtown to Cathedral Square, a municipal park that used to be the location for the Catholic cemetery in the 18th cemetery.
Zachary: For you!
Nearby, in Mardi Gras Park, were several sculptures of musicians and Carnival participants that marked Mobile as the birthplace of Mardi Gras, something neither Steven nor I were aware of.
The Queen of Carnival aka the Ruler of Our Hearts was first crowned in 1893 by the Mobile Carnival Association.
Chief Slacabamarinico was portrayed by Joe Cain who revived Mobile's Mardi Gras in 1866 by parading through the streets on Fat Tuesday.
One crosswalk paid tribute to the city's homosexual population.
We enjoyed our mini-break from the beach visiting Mobile but have little interest in returning there again anytime soon as we felt we saw and did everything that piqued our piqued our curiosity in and around the city.
Next post: Returning to Florida via Alabama's Dauphin Island and its Audubon Bird Sanctuary.
Posted on August 12th, 2019, from Ottawa, Canada, where Steve and I are for my dear friend's Christine's funeral tomorrow.
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