Alabama Bound, On to Foley, Gulf Coast

Alabama’s charming small towns and downtowns feel like home, to me y’all. A lifelong Northerner, my heart now also belongs to Alabama.

My week touring the Mobile Bay area from Mobile to the Gulf Coast with eight other writers and tourism guides impressed me so much I now sing Sweet Home Alabama with gusto. Continuing on a weeklong visit, our tour bus headed south from Fairhope to Foley. Model trains and sweet pies, antiques and friendly souls make Foley a delight.

A friendly little town, filled with some good antique stores and boutiques, town boosters wanted to attract more visitors in Foley, a good stopping point for beachgoers heading to the Gulf Shore. So began Heritage Harbor Days. But instead of just having their own town festival, they invited an Oklahoma town to Alabama to show people all about chuck wagons, cowboy songs and cattle. Then the Foley folk they did the same up north, driving a shrimp boat and bringing Foley's gospel choir to Oklahoma.

The next year, they exchanged heritage with Grapevine, Texas, then Ozark, Missouri, and other towns. When Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina hit the towns, their festival exchange friends drove down to help, bringing truckloads of supplies. Kathy Danielson, a local booster, talked about her enterprising small town about 30 miles south of Mobile. She runs the visitor's bureau for the town of about 10,000. Over at Stacey’s Old Time Soda Fountain, I ordered ice cream sodas. Later, we toured the Holmes Medical Museum (Edith saw a ghost), and the Hotel Magnolia’s regal rooms.

Foley boasts a detailed array of O gauge model trains, set-up inside the original train station. Sixty feet long, twenty-two feet wide, multilayered and full of tunnels, it features a miniature town, freight trains, a circus, circus trains and passenger lines. The firemen slide down a pole, jump into a fire engine, and rush to put out a roof on fire. A team of train lovers in engineer’s caps runs the whole shebang. Many good antique shops line the main street.

Next stop – yummy pies at Sweetie Pie's. “The most popular pie is coconut cream,” Owner Tammy Mason said, handing me a plate with a huge slice. “But the Southern Living magazine judged my pecan pie the best.” My fave? The coconut cream with chocolate that I shared with Michelle along with a huge slice of pecan pie and another of apple – heaven!

Leaving Foley, a shore drive to Point Clear brought us to the elegant 550-acre Grand Hotel Marriott Point Clear Resort and Spa on Route 98, 23 miles southeast of Mobile and 49 miles west of Pensacola Florida. The exclusive golf course is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.


This resort in Point Clear, overlooks scenic Mobile Bay, and offers impeccable service. Two golf courses are part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, a luxurious 20,000 sq ft European-style spa, and a marina for sailboats, yachts and fishing boats. The beaches and pool complex offer families plenty to do. 1-251-928-9201, 1-800-544-9933, 17855 Scenic Hwy 98, Point Clear, AL.

At dinner the chef at the Grand Hotel Marriott Point Clear Resort and Spa used his own vegetable garden for much of his herbs on the food. His Kobe Beef was tender and the seafood risotto, delicious. This resort is right on Mobile Bay, and a boardwalk and pier give walkers a chance to circle around the resort.

Fairhope, Jubilee Fish -- Time for Art, Antiuqes

Touring Alabama proved a feast of art, soul & gourmet food, and charm. After two days in Mobile,on Tuesday my tour mates hopped a bus and drove to Fairhope, about a 40-minute drive across Mobile Bay. Gorgeous bay vistas greeted us as we crossed on the low-rise bridge. Our driver took the scenic route so we saw canals, local landmarks, and oaks. No alligators, though.

On the bus we met Alex Robinson, the young chamber of commerce representative from the Fairhope, population 16,000.
An animated Fairhope native, she excitedly told us, “There’s one thing we have here that only happens in one other place in the world -- the Jubilee."

This is natural phenomenon in Mobile Bay on the Eastern Shore causes fish and shellfish to head for land in the summer as oxygen levels drop in the Gulf. Sometimes it gets so low that all of the fish, crabs, eels, flounders, catfish, crabs and shrimp head for the shallowest water near the shore, beaching, trying to get more oxygen. Locals then pounce on all of this fresh free seafood to bring home in ice chests to their freezers. “I even saw a doctor in his scrubs here once.” When the jubilee call goes out, the whole town turns up to scoop up free seafood.

Well, we didn’t get to go to a jubilee but we did arrive in Fairhope, a lovely “arty” small town. We just missed the annual the 57th Annual Arts & Crafts Festival in Fairhope, sponsored by the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce. Over 200 exhibitors from throughout the nation show and sell work in this juried event. This year, more than 200,000 visitors attended the three-day event.

We began our visit at the excellent Fairhope History Museum where Mayor Tim Kant explained, “the Utopian idealists who founded the town kept the Mobile Bay waterfront, the bluffs, and pier public property. “


Now 100 years later, Fairhope continues its Utopian dream. Check out the pier jutting into Mobile Bay, the old ferry site that used to run from Mobile to Fairhope. It’s the popular place for strolling and trolling for fish (license needed). The Clock is a city landmark as are the downtown flowers and outdoor sculpture. It creates a romantic, colorful feeling in this small town. I toured an outstanding Art Glass exhibit at The Eastern Shore Art Center. Dozens of art galleries line the town along with topnotch boutiques and antique shops. I bought a new pocketbook from boutique.

Walked through the French Quarter, shopped for antiques and collectibles. We lunched at the Old Bay Steamer. Oysters, natch, and fried crabs, fish and huge desserts.

Noted Alabama-born artist Nall lives in Fairhope and Vence, France, and his work hangs throughout the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort Golf Club and Spa in Point Clear, the Battle House Hotel in Mobile, and other RSA properties for which he has selected "Alabama Art" from other artists.

IF YOU GO -- For more information, visit www.alabama.travel.com or call 1-800-ALABAMA.
Stay: The Battle House Renaissance Hotel, Mobile, 26 North Royal St., Mobile, Alabama, 36602; spa reservations, 251-338-5700.
Grand Hotel Point Clear Resort & Spa, a Marriott Hotel, One Grand Boulevard, PO Box 639, Point Clear, AL 36564-0639, www.marriottgrand.com; a resort on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, www.rtjgolg.com, 251-928-9201, 800-544-9933.
The Riverview Plaza Hotel, Mobile,
To Do: The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail begins in northern Alabama and links towns through the state all the way to the Grand in Point Clear. This is considered the top golf courses in the state. For information on the RTJ golf trail, visit www.rtjgolf.com.
Bellingrath Gardens -- at 12401 Bellingrath Gardens Rd., Theodore, 251-973-2217, www.bellingrath.org.

Mobile's Magnificent Bellingrath Gardens

Mobile is a happening city, thanks to business and convention travelers, thousands of new jobs, and new residents. They're moving to Mobile thanks to the new steel mill and shipbuilding contracts. The Port of Mobile is vibrant; the new cruise terminal hosts the Mobile-based Carnival ship and others visit. Hotels have than 6200 rooms in the city.

We took a walking tour of and driving tour along quiet streets lined with Live Oak trees, their branches spreading out and providing shade up and down the street. The houses were Victorian gems, ornate with fancy latticework and turrets, and our guide, Bill, pointed out a rare yellow Azalea bush. The bush behind it was an orange Azalea. "You won't see many of those," he said.

Dauphin Street’s historic wrought iron balconies and architecture reminded us of New Orleans. Government Boulevard runs to the Mobile River. It too was lined with huge houses many of which had been converted into law offices. Bienville Square Historic Homes ranged from modest Cajun and Creole cottages to grand mansions.

At the Mardi Gras Carnival Museum we saw elaborate capes and crowns from past kings and queens and learned that Mobile, Alabama was the first city to hold Mardi Gras carnivals and Parades. This is a big event in Mobile and anyone lucky enough to get invited to the Battle House Hotel’s Presidential balcony has a bird’s-eye view of the floats, revelers and king and queen.

Back to the Battle House Hotel for a tour with the effervescent Bill Lang, Public Relations Director for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and Resorts. The historic and beautifully restored Battle Hotel is a gem that was closed for 31 years. Two years ago, in 2007, the retirement systems of Alabama invested into many tourism facilities such as the new cruise ship terminals and hotels in the region. This hotel's lobby has a round stained glass glass ceiling and balconies so you can walk around and look down on the lavish lobby. Debutantes make their debuts strolling down the wide staircases of the Crystal Ballroom, and the balconies that face North Royal Street are cherished especially during the Mardi Gras parade.

We toured the presidential Suite, with its own outdoor fire pit and hot tub, with views of the river and the vast downtown. At an elegant dinner, we ordered Kobe beef, diver scallops, and fish flown in from Europe.


Monday -- We toured Bellingrath Gardens and Plantation on the Fowl River. Walter Bellingrath, who owned the first Coke bottling plant, built a beautiful house that he and his wife filled with priceless antiques and opened the gardens to the public in 1934. The 73-acres grounds are stunning, paths lined with blossoming azaleas and other spring flowers; the beds are changed with the seasons. Fountains, benches, stairs down to the Fowl River and an on-site porcelain museum complete the grounds. In spring and summer, visitors can take a 45-minute cruise along the Fowl River aboard the Southern Belle and learn about birding habits, ecological systems and civil war history of the area. Magic Christmas in Lights features millions of twinkling lights over the grounds and mansion, with giant swans, toy soldier’s and. Open Friday after Thanksgiving through Dec. 31.

In the afternoon, reluctantly leaving our two-hour tour of the mansion and gardens, we drove back to Mobile. Mobile has an international heritage as both the French and Spanish held the city at various times. After lunch at the charming Spot of Tea, 605 Dauphin Street, just across from a lovely park, we toured the city's downtown, stopping at an old-fashioned peanut shop, and other unique stores. Dauphin Street is lined with French-inspired wrought iron balconies and beaux-arts buildings. A cathedral looks out on a grassy square, one of the city’s many pocket parks.

Oakley, Church Street East, is lined with huge sagging limbs of live oaks, Spanish moss flowing off of them with stately clapboard mini-mansions and Creole Cottages. On one street, we saw a rare yellow Azalea bush. The bush behind it was an orange Azalea.


Our Monday dinner feast was at Wintzell's Original Oyster House in Mobile was a hoot. Wintzell’s has been serving some of the best seafood on the Gulf Coast since 1938. My favorite cooked oyster dish? Cheese covered.

Mobile is Happening, Lively & Welcoming

Mobile and Mobile Bay boast oodles of unique attractions, indoors and outdoors, ranging from: festivals, arts and crafts fairs, literary sites, state and national parks and waterways allure fishing buffs, hikers, water sports enthusiast, dolphin watchers, and golfers (the Robert Trent Jones Trail stretches north to south). In Mobile, history buffs can tour The Explorium (science museum), The USS ALABAMA Battleship, winner of nine World War II battle stars; the fantastic, and the costume-filled Mobile Carnival Museum featuring Mardi Gras Museum. In antique and art gallery-rich Fairhope, art and art lovers overflow onto the streets every March during the Arts and Crafts Fair presented by the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce. The vibrant art communities in Fairhope includes famed international artist Nall.

Photo: Oysters at Winzell's Oyster House, Mobile.

In Monroeville, a short ways east of Mobile Bay, literary heritage is continued at the Alabama Southern Community College at Monroeville with an annual Literary Workshop and Conference. The library displays five commissioned art works by Nall commemorating the state’s top writers.

The Battle House Hote, Mobile, is a treasure that was closed for 31 years. Two years ago the retirement systems of Alabama invested heavily into many tourism facilities such as cruise ship terminals and hotels in the region. This hotel's lobby has a round glass ceiling and on the second floor, circular balcony let's you look down at the balcony. Debutantes sashay down the staircase in the Crystal room, and the balconies that face North Royal Street become prime spots to watch the Mardi Gras parade. The Presidential Suite is has a large living room, bedrooms, even a pool room, an outdoor fire pit and hot tub, with views of the river and downtown. Another popular place to watch the Mardi Gras.
At 3 p.m., I enjoyed a massage in the luxurious spa and After, I lounged in the women’s relaxation area, drank tea, sat in the Jacuzzi, showered, ate some fruit, and returned to my elegant room to dress for dinner. For more about the spa, visit my www.spas.bellaonline.com site.

Sweet Home Alabama's Gardens, Art, Literature Treasures

TRAVEL -- Sweet Home Alabama. Alabama’s Charming Small Towns and Downtowns Feel Like Home, Y’All, my feeling after terrific week touring the Mobile Bay area from Mobile to the Gulf Coast with eight other writers. My group also included terrific knowledgeable guides, especially Edith Parten and Bill Lang, and others who joined us along the way to explain and showcase their areas. We overdosed on great art, food, golf, food, spas, food: sweet tea, grits with cheese, turnip greens, friend crab claws, oysters, fried shrimp, fried anything it seemed! I toured for five days from Mobile, and Mobile Bay, to delightful downtowns and small towns; meeting sweet Alabamians from Fairhope, to Foley, to Monroeville, southern Alabama surprised and delighted my northern sensitivities.

Scenic roads, giant oaks, moss shrimp boats, estuaries, deltas, bayous, bays, rivers, and white sandy beaches. , My tour amazed by the 300 year old giant oaks draped with Spanish moss; the Victorian mansions, Creole cottages and Cajun houses, beautiful historic homes, antebellum Southern mansions, gardens, wrought iron fences, French and Spanish heritage, pocket parks, luxury hotels in the heart of downtown Mobile, delicious gourmet and down-home cooking and most of all, a gracious air of hospitality. It’s spring, and thousands of beautiful azaleas are in full bloom, creating a symphony of color and sweet aroma.

My first-ever Alabama tour lasted five days. A northerner, I’d never been to Alabama and so when friends skeptically asked me, “Why are you going? What’s down there?” I replied, “I’d find out and report.”

Now I know. And I can’t wait to return, visit my southern cousins, eat more pecan pie, fried crab claws, catfish, seafood gumbo and oysters at Wintzell’s Oyster House, dolphin rides in the Gulf Coast, strolls along historic Dauphin Street, and Foley and Fairhope’s’ festivals. Enjoyed gracious southern hospitality and people, the heritage, the new Civil Rights Trail and the Literary Lions. Sweet Home Alabama.