Bucket List - Mobile, Al

-
We all have bucket lists. On my list is a nice visit to Mobile Bay.
I want to see Mobile and Fairhope, and spend a little more time on Dauphin Island. I just love that part of the world. Lots of history and lots of things to do.


So,  here is a list of the top 10 things to do in Mobile. From the blog: From Rome to Home: My Life in Mobile.  Even thought she doesn't blog much any more, reading her past entries is quite informative.


#1 Take a walk Downtown on Dauphin Street. 
There's a lot of great architecture and places to eat. Don't miss the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the Bishop Portier House. Bienville Books is a favorite haunt and dinner at Wintzell's Oyster House is a must before leaving Mobile.

Photo: Fred Drew


#2 Tour Mobile's Greek Revival Public Buildings.
Buildings of note include Barton Academy and the Presbyterian Church on Government Street and Christ Episcopal Church at the corner of St Emanuel and Church Street (near the Fort Conde Visitor Center). The Mobile City Hospital and Marine Hospital on St Anthony Street and the Washington Fire Station on Lawrence Street are also worth a visit for the architectural enthusiast or history buff.

Barton Academy - blog.al.com

#3 Walk through the De Tonti Square Historic District. 
This is one of Mobile's oldest neighborhoods and includes architecture ranging from raised Creole Cottages to brick Federal and Italianate Townhouses. Just outside De Tonti Square, monthly jazz jambalaya's are held by the Mystic Order of the Jazz Obsessed at the Old Gulf City Lodge.

Joachim Street Richards DAR House WIKI 



#4 Tour the Oakleigh Garden District. 
Stops should include a tour of the Oakleigh House Museum, a stroll through the camelias and under the oak shaded canopy of Washington Square, and dining at Callaghan's Irish Bar. When you need a break, stop by the newly renovated Cream and Sugar Coffee House.

mylifeinmobile.blogspot.com


#5 Visit Spring Hill College. 
The architecture and landscape of the southeast's oldest catholic university provide for a pleasant stroll through the grounds. Stewartfield is an excellent example of an antebellum home that is on campus but don't miss other notable homes in the area including the Marshall-Eslava house on Tuthill Lane, the Gaillard House on Myrtlewood Lane, and Carolina Hall on Yester Place.

http://campuslogo.blogspot.com/2011/07/spring-hill-college-logo-campus.html



#6 Travel along the Old Dauphinway.
On your return from Spring Hill, along Spring Hill Avenue, the Old Shell Road, and Dauphin Street you'll find many exceptional old homes. The Gates-Davy House on Dauphin, the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion on Spring Hill Avenue, and the Calef House on Old Shell Road are a few of my favorites. For a special treat, stop by the Visitation Monastery on Spring Hill Avenue where the nuns have been selling their delicious "Heavenly Hash" since the 1950's.

Bragg Michell Mansion - www.magazineusa.com


#7 Go back in time in Church Street East and Fort Conde Village. 
Back downtown, make sure to check out the on-going renovations in Fort Conde Village and visit the Conde-Charlotte House Museum. Church Street East has a range of architectural styles including many turn of the 20th century shotgun homes. The replica Fort Conde includes great colonial-era artifacts collected at the site and the nearby Museum of Mobile provides additional insite into Mobile's History. No visit to Mobile would be complete without visiting the Mardi Gras Museum on Government Street which celebrates Mobile's oldest tradition.

famouswonders.com


#8 Take a Cemetery Tour. 
Mobile has many old cemeteries and three of them should definately be on any travel itenerary. The Church Street Grave Yard dates to 1820 and includes separate sections for the interment of catholics, protestants, and strangers. Yellow fever quickly helped to fill up the Church Street Cemetery so Magnolia Cemetery, 1838, and the Catholic Cemetery, 1848, were created.

en.wikipedia.org


#9 Go for a Bike Ride.
Mobile has a couple of very active bike groups with group rides available for the novice to the pro. The relatively mild weather through much of the year, flat terrain, street layout, and the many less travelled roads provide excellent biking opportunities. "Mobilians on Bikes" can be found on facebook and provides information on all the rides.

turkreno.com



#10 Tour the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. 
The Mobile-Tensaw Delta is the second largest delta in the United States and provides many opportunities for boating, fishing, kayaking, and nature watching. Eagles, Osprey, and Alligators are some of my favorite sites. The Bottle Creek Indian Mound is a treasure hidden deep within the delta.

marriott.com

I am packed and ready. What about you?

Pat



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seaside Hotel or Badehotellet

-
Image
Amazon Prime had an offer for Season 1 of Seaside Hotel so I thought, why not? It is a delightful series and one I am really happy I found. In the series, the woman go to Skagen for a girl's afternoon out. Never heard of it. But in usual Pat fashion -- I knew nothing about that part of Denmark. I marveled while looking a the pictures of sea oats and sand dunes that look just like the Georgia Coast. Naw, this is Denmark -- where did they film it? Denmark is cold. It couldn't possibly have sand dunes and sea oats ---  I investigated. With my old friend Google Maps, I first had to locate Jutland. Silly me, I checked the south side of Denmark first. Finally I just asked and there it was -- way up on the tip top part. In reality, the show was filmed in Jammerbugten. The hotel is a set. But Skagen is real. Anyway, here are a few things I discovered. There really are some adorable beach cottages. House in Skagen, Denmark   © Gunvor Eline Eng Jakobsen / Alamy Stoc...
Read more

1848 House...Haunted?

-
Image
Originally a home, then a hospital, then a warehouse, then a restaurant, and now...back to being a private residence after being sold to a physician in 2006 and remodeled by Todd Architects -- this 8 bed, 8 bath beauty is still with us. From the book, Marietta, 1833-2003 by James Bolan Glover, descendant of the original owners and Rebecca Nash Paden: “Charleston planter John Heyward Glovers, Jr. built Bushy Park, a Greek Revival plantation house, on his 3000 acre property in 1848. The house had 17 rooms and many outbuildings, including a stone kitchen, which still exists. Heart Pine floors and hand-hewn beams are featured in the house. William King* and his servants occupied the mansion during the Civil War battles in 1864. The house was also used as a federal hospital.”   (*son of Roswell King and Catherine Barrington) Is it haunted? A lot of the paranormal activity is contributed to the fact it was used as a hospital during the Civil War. When it was a re...
Read more

1856 Beauty in Acworth - The Lemon House

-
Image
As we often do on Sunday afternoons, we went for a drive today and visited Acworth, GA. Driving around the various roads in the historical area, we stumbled on this beauty. The sign out front reads "James Lemon Antebellum Home ca. 1856." Immediately I was taken by it. I had to find out more. A few things I learned: James and Mary Davenport Lemon purchased 800 acres of land and built a small frame house.  Just before his marriage, their son, James Lile Lemon, expanded the house to a Carolina style, modified Plantation Plain house. After the Civil War in 1890 the two story porch was replaced with with neoclassical Doric Columns we see today. Why didn't this house get burned when Acworth was burned? Well, for 5 days in June 1864,  Maj Gen William T Sherman took over the homestead and stayed during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in June of 1864. Some sources say that after he left, it was used as a hospital. Capt.,Co.A,18th Ga.Inf.Regt.-CSA. One of...
Read more