Merriment in Mobile

With the little one coming along this year, I've been trying to travel a bit this summer. About 3 weeks ago, I organized a trip with some friends to go to Mobile, AL. Mobile is just a couple of hours away, and I didn't think there'd be too much out there so it was just going to be a day trip.

The day's events would include a trip to Museum of Mobile, a bike tour with Two Wheel Tours, and a stop at the battleship U.S.S. Alabama along with a lunch and dinner.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for the sake of time), we were unable to do the bike tour since it was pouring rain in the morning. The folks (husband and wife) at Two Wheel Tours just started their business, were very flexible with our schedule, and even offered ideas of things to do on a rainy day in Mobile. I will definitely look into them again if I come back to Mobile.

The first stop for the day was the Museum of Mobile. It's a fun place to get an idea of what is in Mobile's history: trading post, slave trade, cotton growing, originator of the Mardi Gras festivities, shipbuilding... It's also not very expensive.

Getting a feeling for what it was like in an early submarine.

Lunch stop was at The Blind Mule. It looks a little run-down on the outside, but the food is good. While a popular weekday lunch spot and weekend evening bar scene, it was hardly busy when we got there. The burgers are great!

Next stop was the Battleship U.S.S. Alabama and the submarine U.S.S. Drum. This World War II battleship has a lot of history, and it's crazy to think about what kinds of ships were built seven decades ago!

Sleeping on the job.

Demonstration from a former Navy seaman on what might be viewed if you were on the lower  bunk.

Steamboat Willie driving the engine room.

What I didn't know about this place was that there was an aircraft museum as well as a submarine, the U.S.S. Drum.

On the deck of the U.S.S. Drum with the Mobile skyline in the background.

Poor guy. I got the idea for this from a friend of mine who did a similar thing with a cannon.

A little kid told my friend here that he wasn't supposed to be behind the rope.
His dad saw what we were doing, laughed, and told his son that it was going to be okay this one time.

What better way to end the day than with a hearty dinner on the gulf at Felix's Fish Camp Grill?

Bienville Fish with Crab-Infused Grit Cakes (one of the night's specials)

There are some things I would like to see and do in Mobile (like the Exploreum and that bike ride) so I definitely want to come back.