My day in Mobile, Alabama started with a lackluster visit to the local visitor’s bureau. Don’t worry, it got better.
I always make my first stop in a new city the Visitor’s Bureau because they provide an opportunity to meet a local, get some interesting suggestions for what to see, and always a great lunch recommendation.
I plugged the Visit Mobile Alabama location into my GPS and arrived at a HUGE riverfront convention center. Luckily parking was free, and I set out to find the office inside of the 3 story building. After about 10 minutes of wandering around outside, I found an open door and saw the visitors center – a single desk with a bunch of brochures. The person behind the desk (Justin) was super nice, but shared with me that he didn’t actually work for Visit Mobile – he was just a customer service employee of the convention center. He didn’t know of many local spots not had he ever been to a museum in town.
Starting my day in Mobile, Alabama
From an accessibility standpoint, I found it interesting that I had to go up all of the stairs to get to Justin’s desk. Why? Because Justin was in a wheelchair. Justin had to use the one elevator in the building to get to where he was, and anyone who couldn’t do stairs would never have found that desk in the first place.
Luckily, Justin was super friendly and told me where I could get the best lunch in Mobile. It was about a mile walk through the historic district, so I set off in that direction. It was a rocky start to my day trip, but I kept an open mind.
I enjoyed a couple of hours of wandering down Dauphin Street and the surrounding roads that make up downtown Mobile. The architecture was reminiscent of New Orleans, which is my absolute favorite city in the US to wander.
My destination was Wintzell’s Oyster House, a local chain. I gorged myself on the best shrimp n grits I’ve ever had and chased it with red beans n rice and a cup of gumbo. When in Mobile, I suppose?
If I wanted to spend more time in town, I’d have visited the History Museum of Mobile and caught some more local music. However, I was tired and decided to move on to my destination of Meridian, MS.
My day in Mobile, Alabama was everything and nothing that I expected, and given the opportunity, I will definitely go back. The only thing I’d do differently is to have more of a plan before arriving so that I could experience a little more of what this southern gem has to offer.