Geo Blogging with Mark: Day to state ratio slipping!

Mark's day to state ratio has slipped - only two yesterday! He started the day in Alabama and ended up in Florida- the state with an Atlantic coast. Yes!!

... and here, for those who prefer, is the 'big picture'. In only a few days Mark will be able to dip his toes in the Atlantic and add another ocean to his list. In fact, by the time he reaches Paris, Mark will be able to 'tick off' four continents and four oceans. And they are........?!

Like Mississippi on Saturday, Mark's passage through Alabama was short. Again this is because of the configuration of the state boundary...

Just as Louisiana 'eats' into the coastal lands of Mississippi, so the pan handle of Florida pushes west, leaving Alabama with only a 65 mile wide stretch of Gulf coastline. But what a coastline! here's just a sample ...
Mark's day began yesterday with a circuit of Mobile Bay. The city of Mobile itself is Alabama's only major port but it serves not only as a seaport but also as a 'break of bulk' port at the entrance to an extensive navigable inland waterway system which links the Gulf to the midwest.

Alabama, like Mississippi, suffered considerable economic hardship in the years between The Civil War and WW2. However, diversification of its economy into manufacturing and mineral extraction and more recently into aerospace and high tech industry has meant that it has fared rather better than its neighbour to the west. An interesting recent development has been the choice of Mobile by a German company to locate a $3.7billion steel plant to the north of the city. At a time when few developed countries can compete in steel production, this is an interesting choice of location but is almost entirely the consequence of the need to meet local demand. Car manufacturing is currently a boom industry in Alabama. By 2009 Alabama will overtake Michigan (Detroit) as the major car manufacturing state in the US.

Approaching the top of Mobile Bay, Mark passed McDuffie island on his right where the largest coal and iron ore importing facility on the Gulf coast is located , much of it doubtless destined for the steel furnaces.....

At the head of the bay, before crossing the causeway, is Battleship Memorial Park

Away from Mobile and down the east shore of the of the bay, there are some rather attractive waterfront residential areas with the inevitable out-of-town shopping mall - which, if you look carefully, even has a street named after one of its stores. Watch out for an Asda Avenue near you!!

The second half of yesterday's route took Mark cross country to the Alabama/Florida border at Paradise Beach and on into Florida....

...which by my reckoning is the eighth US state which Mark has visited on this trip.

First 'port of call' in Florida was Pensacola, gateway to the Gulf holiday coastline of Florida.

The Gulf coastline in west Florida is fringed by a line of barrier islands and glorious beaches. Mark overnighted yesterday at Navarre...