Integrity Cruise

Day 218: - In Mobile, AL

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Day 218: Wednesday, November 30th: We had planned to stay in the Mobile area for a day or two and Grand Mariner Marina had a nice courtesy car, so we stayed here.

First order of business was to replace the faulty macerator pump on the holding tank. Perhaps a quick, not-too-detailed explanation of the boat plumbing would help. Basically, we have a holding tank for waste from the heads. It's against the law to discharge such waste into the waters of the US. When you are in a marina, you can pump the tank out into proper sanitation facilities. When you are in the open water three or more miles from land you can turn a valve and, using an onboard pump, pump the tank into the ocean.

Our onboard pump had quit pumping over the side, and Bill wasn't willing to repair it. So this morning we replaced it. When we tested the pump, the new one didn't work either. We had shot the wrong thief! Further investigation revealed that the valve that allows the discharge to go overboard was closed. DUH! That mistake took about two hours and about $200. But, we now have a spare pump!

Meanwhile, Ruth went shopping and got a haircut. We were finally back to having cell phone coverage, so Bill worked frantically on these logs and we both caught up some on business calls, etc.

In the evening, we joined Jim and Pam (the crew of Silver Boots) and went to Bellingrath Gardens, the delightful property of Walter Bellingrath. Bellingrath, a very successful Coca-Cola bottler, was also very philanthropic. This property is home to arguably the most beautiful gardens in the world. Tonight the huge property was sporting Christmas lighting that was extremely impressive.

Here we are starting our tour. Yes, it is quite chilly tonight:

This is the mountain of Poinsettias that was behind us:

We were in the greenhouse. Note the trumpet plant blooming in the upper center (they only bloom at night). The flowers were everywhere and Ruth was thrilled. She also had the camera:

As we walked the garden grounds, literally millions of lights presented different scenes along the pathways:

While it was very difficult to get good pictures in the dark, Ruth managed to capture some of the most impressive. The stars and angels here are suspended in huge live oak trees we can't see:

Later, "floating" in a huge pond are these signature swans:

Further along, this scene mesmerized us. The fireworks in the upper portion of the picture weren't fireworks; they are lights in the same action. The center lights are reflected in a large pond and this sight was breathtaking:

Along the major pathway the live oaks were used as supports for, what else, huge Christmas ornaments:

The tickets we got included a tour of the Bellingrath home. This is really something, and we would suggest a tour of these grounds and home to anyone. They don't allow pictures of the interior of the home, but our tour guide yielded and let us take this picture of the main dining room (among three):

It is really a lovely home!

We completed the tour and had supper together at a Ruby Tuesdays, because it was late and our target local restaurant had closed. All in all, it was a fun day.

Position tonight: N30 34.017 W088 05.564

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