A Week in Mobile, Alabama

I was able to visit the area due to a merger that my company was going through in late October. Most days would be geared towards work, but I did have a day and a half to myself on the weekend.

Mobile, Alabama, is a port city that has been around for over 300 years. It has a rich history full of participation in the Civil War, starting with its location being the only connection to both port and railway access by 1864. History buffs can learn all about Mobile’s involvement by clicking here.

Some of the other points of interest is the USS Alabama Battleship, known for its numerous WWII battle stars and the local Bellingrath Gardens and Home renowned for its 65 acres of gardens that bloom all year round.

Mobile Bay waterfront shipyard has recently become one of the latest cruise terminals, due to its deep bay. Carnival® Cruise Lines Holiday is now docked here housing victims of the hurricanes that blew through the area in late summer.

Everyone has heard of Mardi Gras, but did you know that Mobile held the first–known Mardi Gras celebration in 1703, even before New Orleans. Now it is a two-week celebration that ends with a big blow out on Fat Tuesday.

There are numerous museums, an IMAX theatre, 21 area golf courses and a wide variety of restaurants to choose from.

The weather here is very mild. Dictated by the Gulf of Mexico the summers are warm, but breezes from the Gulf waters keep it in check. The average annual temperature is 67.5° and winters are very mild. I went in end of October and the weekend I arrived it was 70° by afternoons, but most mornings were in the high 30’s to low 40’s.

Quick Tips:

Call before booking a hotel to check for availability and how much damage was sustained by the hurricanes mentioned earlier. Mobile was affected, but not nearly as bad as some of the areas west of Alabama such as Gulfport and New Orleans.

Use caution, as always, when in a new area when walking alone at night. I had to meet some friends for dinner at a restaurant only a few blocks from my hotel, but I was cautious to walk it alone and ended up taking my car. Most parking in downtown seemed to require parallel parking but there are parking garages closer to the waterfront.

If you are looking for things to do, check out the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Mobile websites for more information. Also, remember that most hotel lobbies carry displays of pamphlets advertising the local events, activities and areas of interest.

Best Way To Get Around:

RAIL: The main way to get around is by car, but you can get into town directly by using Amtrak’s rail station, which will drop you off at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center, which was right outside my hotel window.

BUS: The Greyhound bus terminal is located in Mobile at 2545 Government Boulevard.

AIR:The Mobile Regional Airport is located at 8400 Airport Blvd. (251) 633-4510

MISC:Also, you can visit downtown by using the free, electric, environmentally friendly trolley that runs daily Monday through Friday, 7am-6pm.

The two main interstate highways intersect in Mobile as well, I-10 and I-65. Airport Blvd. is also a widely traveled roadway filled with various shopping and eating opportunities.

Driving into the hotel I was pleased by its location, overlooking the downtown Alabama Waterfront Shipyard providing a lovely view from most of the rooms in the building.

The hotel has a tiny drive-up entrance to the front door, but I was directed to the attached multi-floor garage. Entrance to the garage can be accessed from all sides, except for the first floor entrance on Water Street. It seems there was some water damage to that level as result of the storm.

I arrived a couple of hours earlier than my allowed check in time of 3:00pm. Told by the front desk clerk that it would be a few minutes before a room was ready, I decided to take a seat in the lobby restaurant and see if I could access my email. There was no free online access at the time and ended up paying $12 for a full week of access. I would need it for business and personal reasons and did not have many other expenses during the week so decided to go for it.

After waiting 15-20 minutes I checked to see if the room was ready, I was again told no. I actually ended waiting until 3pm before I was given my key.

My room was located on the 7th floor and as I unlocked my door, I noticed two things immediately. First was the overwhelming smell of Febreze® that assaulted my nose, and second was the floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall picture window overlooking the bay. The window offset the smell, as I have animals back at home and use the product occasionally myself, just not this much. I expected the smell to wear off after awhile, thinking that they just finished cleaning the room.

The room looked like a million other rooms I have stayed in. Bed, end tables, desk with chair, bureau and T.V. The comforter matched the carpet and drapes, etc. Nothing spectacular, but I do have to say it was a nice size room for one person. The furnishings looked a little worn and there was a ring of rust around the toilet in the bathroom, but it worked. I think I might have been more disappointed if I had paid for the room myself, but it was covered under my business expenses.

I did have a couple of weird experiences here. On the first night, I was settling in with my room-service dinner and the television, dressed in only my nightgown, when all of sudden, my door slams open. I jumped five feet, as it scared the daylights out of me, and yelled out, “Can I help you?” Thank goodness I had the safety chain on, along with the normal lock, as the door just abruptly closed. It seems that the hotel double-booked the room.

The other event was the damn train that pulled into the station across the street and blew its horn every night at 12:30pm and 4:30am. Didn’t make for a good night’s sleep.

On my last night in the Mobile/Gulfport region a bunch of us who were down for the merger decided to get together for dinner. The place that was decided on was Mr. Jim’s Cannon Brew Pub a restaurant only a few blocks from my hotel.

We decided to meet around 8pm, as some had to travel from out of town. It was a Wednesday evening and parking on the street was fairly plentiful although I did have to walk two blocks back. It sounds further than it really was. It seems that there are a bunch of different places to eat in the area. I know I passed at least one other, Indian I think.

The Pub is right on the corner of Dauphin and Joachim and easy to get to from downtown. As I entered and scanned the room for my dinner mates, the first thing I noticed was the live music coming from my right, where a young gentleman was playing his guitar. Directly across from him was a large bar that lined one whole side of the room. I spotted our table near the back noticing that the place was pretty empty. Only about half of the tables were filled. This pub is supposedly known for it's beer selection.

We had 8 people including myself and were seated at a very high table with bar stools for seats; a little uncomfortable but not unbearable. I was the last to arrive and appetizers and drinks had already been ordered. Chili fries, fried shrimp, onion rings and a beer sampler were on their way. Sounds great for late night dining, doesn’t it. The chili fries were good, but messy; the onion rings just crispy enough and I did not try the shrimp, but everyone else said they were good. The sampler consisted of 3 light beers and 3 dark beers. They were all passed around the table, but not being a big drinker I only tried one of the darks…very tasty.

For dinner I ordered steak smothered with onions and peppers with a side of new potatoes and steamed broccoli. Very nice, not tough at all, highly recommended. For dessert, I chose a chocolate mousse pie that was very smooth, but I was so full that I could only eat a few bites.

The service here was not so good, I think there was one waitress for the entire floor and it took forever to get her attention for drink refills, etc. The owner came by once or twice to check on how everything was, so she may have been trying to assist, but it did not help.

One last thing, check out the art on the walls near the back of the building. Images of nudes are integrated into most of them--on some you have to look real closely, but they're very interesting to look at.

I had to create a separate entry just for the room service in the hotel. While my room was only okay, the food and room service was wonderful.

I ate dinner in my room for most of the nights that I stayed in Mobile as we did not leave the office until well after dinner time. I would call as soon as I entered the room and place an order from the numerous choices on the menu. The food ranged from the normal burgers to filet mignon to seafood dishes prepared with a southern flair.

Some of the choices I made were somewhat cautious, as I did have to go to back to work in a few hours and could not risk an upset stomach. I also do not each that much seafood. I have been unable to acquire a taste.

Some of my choices were the Caesar salad; cool, crisp and delicious with just the right dressing. I also had asparagus and ricotta cheese filling in pasta, sooo good if you like asparagus. The mushrooms on the side were to die for, cooked in seasonings that I throughly enjoyed, I think they were sauteed in balsamic vinegar. I also tried the buffolo wings which I am a huge fan of...just enough heat without being overpowering and plenty of napkins provided along with the blue cheese accompianment. For dessert, cheesecake with a chocolate bottom crust was lovely.

At one point, I also tried a bacon cheeseburger that was good, and the bacon was smoked, which was unusual but tasty.

The service was great--the food was always delivered within 30 minutes after the order was placed. The attendant was friendly each time without being too nosy. I even received a call one day in my room to see how I liked the service.

I would recommend trying the restuarant in the hotel if you are in the area at some point.

I had one whole day to myself while in Mobile, and since it was a Saturday I imagined there had to be something that I could find to entertain myself with. I opened the paper and scanned the entertainment section and being a simple girl who likes simple things the “Greater Gulf State Fair” jumped out at me. Running from October 21-30 and for only a $5.00 entrance fee I knew I could spend a few hours out in the warm sunshine and have a good time.

The Fair was being held at 1035 N. Cody Road, right off of Airport Blvd. I used Mapquest to get directions and determined it was extremely easy to get to.

I decided to go fairly early so I would avoid the late afternoon and evening crowds. I left the hotel around noon and got to the fairgrounds within a half hour. Parking was free and I was able to purchase my ticket right at the front gate. I entered into a large Exhibition Hall where all sorts of vendor booths were setup; handmade jewelry, fudge, local fire and police organizations, the Girl Scouts, pet rescue booths, numerous local businesses and various others. I did notice that Hidden Valley had a recipe contest going off at 2:30 that afternoon and being a lover of food, I made a mental note to come back to the Hall to check it out.

Stepping out into the sunshine, the first thing I noticed was the petting zoo. Not only were there your requisite goats and other small animals there were also llamas and camels. Only in Alabama would I see a camel at a state fair. It was so cute to see the little kids feeding the little kids (ha ha, get it??) corn kernels from the quarter machines.

Next I walked down the path through all the vendors and animal attractions. Here you had the opportunity see a monster rat, man eating snake, crocodile wresting and the live shark show. There was also more food vendors than I could count; hot dogs, hamburgers, steak sandwiches, Chinese food, Mexican food, candy apples, popcorn, corndogs, cotton candy, pretzels. If you can think of a food at the fair it was there. I myself tried a London broil sandwich. Not the greatest, but edible--but what do you expect from a fair?

After all the vendors I came to the huge midway. This was one of the biggest setups of rides and games I have ever seen. There had to be close to 50 rides setup from the huge log flume to the gigantic slide to the carousel swings to the flip-do-doo. I also passed a haunted mansion and basket ball toss as well as the endless line of shooting, tossing and balloon popping games.

Being able to spend a couple hours among families having a good time was a perfect. I believe this is a yearly event held at the end of each October.