Incredible Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama: Vibrant, Historical and Exciting

A lot of people probably travel the I-10 and opt to take a break at a rest area or an exit with some gas stations and fast food restaurants.  If you’ve never taken the opportunity to stop in downtown Mobile, Alabama instead, you should do it.  It will solidify your future travel plans to include Mobile in a future longer visit.

We were in a our 31 foot rented RV from Cruise America and our 17 days on the road was coming to an end the closer we got to Florida.  We opted to take a break and grab a bite to eat in downtown Mobile, Alabama.  I knew virtually nothing about Mobile before arriving other than a good friend from Orlando was from there and raved about it so I knew it was going to be a nice place.

It was easy to access the downtown and find our way to one of the historic areas that seemed appropriate for a quick visit.  We had no problem parking the RV in two metered spots back to back.  We found this directly on a beautiful square called Cathedral Plaza that had a terrific cathedral at the one end of it.

We walked along the historic Dauphin Street where we witnessed some type of film production taking place and some really cool historic buildings and a city that was filled with people walking around.  It was a welcomed site.  The very nice Bienville Square is a leafy city block in the center of the city and with the exception of one parking lot generally had activity all around it.

We settled on a place called Mama’s on Dauphin to have lunch and were seated in short order.  It isn’t a fancy place by any means but it was packed and that was a good sign.  The sign didn’t disappoint.  This food is incredibly good and tastes like Mama herself cooked it with pride and spent the day doing so.  This really isn’t any old quick serve diner.

The food far exceeds anyone’s expectations.  The place was busy with locals and you get a good value.  We had the meatloaf and chicken and the sides were out of this world good.  The service was quick and friendly and honestly you cannot go wrong here at all.  The menu was full of mouthwatering items just begging you for a return visit to try something else.

When you leave Mama’s there are some great shops within walking distance.  Just go wander!  We uncovered an incredible nut store that sold fabulous chocolate and a great little art gallery/gift shop that had very interesting things.  You can’t go wrong just trying to get lost.  While we were walking we saw a film production in place and one of those wandering metal people who sit still for tips.

There is a lot to do outside of walking around.  We didn’t go that far afield but there is an amazing tourism product around with sufficient attractions to make for a great destination.  I didn’t want my expectations to be sky high because my friend from Mobile would tell me how great it was – which I believed of course – but thought there might be a tinge of hometown pride in his feelings.  There might be – but it is fully justified in my eyes now.

So, whether you are in an RV or a car and looking to discover someplace new, try Mobile.  If it is for a couple hours that’s fine – you’ll be back at some point.   I know I prefer to try a destination out first and this is one that I can’t wait to get back to – it is probably a location you can spend a couple days in pretty easily.

Explore my friends!