Mobile Off The Beaten Path

for those visiting alabama and want is go to the beach perdido beach is in my opinion the best gulf beach in the state. a visit to perdido key is a nice day trip when in the mobile area. to get to perdido key take I-10 east, then SR59 south in the direction of foley alabama. pass through foley south to gulf shores. from gulf shores go east past orange beach to perdido key. the drive from mobile takes about an hour and 15 minutes. for more information see my perdido key alabama and florida pages.

bellingrath garden is located near the town of theodor about 25 miles southwest of mobile. bellingraph is one of the finest azalea gardens in the united states. bellingrath gardens has flowers blooming year round but the best time to visit is in late march and early april when the azaleas and dogwoods are in full bloom. see my theodore alabama pages for more information. the gardens are located at 12401 bellingrath gardens road just off of US 90 near theodore.

blakeley state park is located near the town of spanish fort about 15 miles east of mobile on I-10. blakeley was the site of the last major battle of the civil war. blakeley state park offers hiking and nature trails, camping, fishing, canoeing, and a tour boat on the tensaw river. blakeley state park is a very interesting place to visit in the mobile area. from mobile take I-10 east about 15 miles to spanish fort. the park is located about 5 miles north of spanish fort on SR 225.

For some reason (well actually, it is believed to be caused by low oxygen levels in the water on warm nights), groups of sealife will decide to beach themselves in the eastern Mobile Bay area. This is what is called a "Jubilee". Locals will go out and collect as much of the free food as they can in any container they can. You never know when it might happen, but you would probably know if it had happened. Once it starts and someone finds out, the word gets around and whole neighborhoods end up staying up for a good portion of the night catching whatever it is they have found. Crabs, shrimp, and flounder are just a few of the things you might be able to grab in a Jubilee.

The Sea Lab has an Estuarium down on Dauphin Island that's open to the public for a very reasonable price. I LOVE this place. Bobby is very familiar with the Mobile area and I wanted to take him to something that I didn't think he had been to but would REALLY enjoy. I was right! No matter how often I go, I love this place. It's not just any old aquarium but it's only things that can be found locally from the Delta to the gulf. Turtles, fish, alligators, eels, jellyfish...exhibits on birds and invasive plants as well. It's SO well set up and informative. Though I put it off the beaten path, it's much more a must see activity. Truly a wonderful place. When you first go in, there's a short video showing you the area and its importance as a natural and environmental resource. It seems at times, people from this area lose site of its importance and forget what a special, fragile and unique ecosystem they live in. To see more of the estuarium, check out my travelogue.

Take the DIP (Dauphin Island Parkway) to 193 into Dauphin Is. From the T intersection, take a left down to the SeaLab

The Alabama gulf coast is beautiful. There are so many people who don't even think of Alabama having good beaches but they are SO beautiful. The ones that aren't terrific for swimming are perfect for shorebirds and other marine or coastal wildlife. Some of it's protected and granted, there's definitely not as much as Florida or even Mississippi, but Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are wonderful recreation and family area. Fort Morgan is a terrific place for fishing and crabbing. Dauphin Island is local, not touristy and an excellent wildlife viewing area.

This is the site of last major battle of the Civil War. It is an excellent preserved battlefield as well as a nice drive through the trees etc.

34745 State Hwy. 225, Spanish Fort, Alabama.
Just south of Mobile enroute to Pensacola, FL.

The Halloween stuff was also out at the time we visited so no doubt other festivities throughout the year are also supported there.

Open 10:00 am - 6:00 pm, M-F; 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm Sat and Open Sundays from Oct to Dec. Free admission.