Hey y’all!! So a few days ago my cousin and I left to begin our epic road trip from Florida to Texas. We have been having a blast so far and I have a feeling the last few days will be just the same! Today I’m going to talk about the town that really left a lasting impression on me. Up to now, I can 100% say it’s been my favorite city on this toad trip. What is this city? Mobile, Alabama!

Originally, when we were planning this road trip and trying to figure out what there was to do in Mobile, it didn’t look like much. But it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

When we first arrived, we went to Fort Conde, a revolutionary fort. 1 adult ticket was $7.50 which gained you entrance into the fort where you can do a self-guided tour. There was a lot of history there and it was very interesting and informative to learn about. You can also go on top of the Fort and get a pretty good view of the city. Honestly, the fort wasn’t my favorite thing in the world, but that’s only because history like that isn’t as interesting to me. But for someone who is interested in this type of history, I would recommend it. After the Fort, our plan was to go to the USS Alabama at Battleship Memorial Park, but while we were at Fort Conde we learned about the Gulf Coast Duck Tours and decided to do that instead.

The duck tour was super cool! It was a 1 hour tour of the city inside a bus that also functioned as a boat. The cost was $29 for adults, but if you do both the duck tours and Fort Conde you will get a discount. The duck tours begin at Fort Conde so it is actually quite convenient to do both! Anyways, back to the duck tours… It was a very relaxing and informative tour. Our tour guide, Isabella was great and seemed to know everything about the city. She took us through all of Mobile pointing out historic places, interesting facts, and great places to eat. We also splashed into the water twice and learned about buildings and ships in/near the water. The tour was a bit pricey for our college student budget, but it was worth it to us; definitely the best way to see the city.

After our tour we headed over to our airbnb located about 10 minutes from downtown. For anyone who doesn’t know, airbnb is a company that allows you to stay in people’s homes while traveling for much cheaper than a hotel. Airbnb has become my favorite way to travel. If you click this link when you sign up for an airbnb account, you will automatically get $40 in credit to book your first airbnb! Our airbnb in Mobile was a cute little house owned by a young couple. They were the sweetest & coolest people. We so much enjoyed our time staying in their home and getting a chance to chat with them about their travels and lives. If you’re passing through Mobile click here to see the info page about this airbnb. This is THE place to stay in Mobile!

On top of being awesome hosts, Emily and Corey also gave us great recommendations for dinner in Mobile. And if that wasn’t enough, they are also originally from New Orleans ,which happens to be our next stop on our road trip, and wrote us a list of all the best places to eat and things to do in NOLA.

For dinner we ate at OK Bicycle Shop (mexican food) and although the name can be misleading, IS indeed a restaurant and not a bicycle shop. So why is it called bicycle shop? Well, it did used to be a bicycle shop for a very long time, but was recently turned into a restaurant. This restaurant is unique because it shares a patio and kitchen with its neighbor restaurant, Liquid Sushi Lounge. So when you go to one of these places, you can order off either menu! There happened to be a trivia night going on while we were there, too which was super fun.

After dinner, we walked around downtown and were impressed by how clean and chill the city was. We enjoyed walking around and looking at parks, churches, murals, and more.

That was the extent of our stay in Mobile. Even though we weren’t there for very long, I got a homey vibe there that made me want to stay longer and keep exploring. All in all, Mobile is a hidden gem and has so much more to offer than you might expect. So next time you’re driving through Mobile, make a pit stop and grab a bite to eat or check out some of the history it has to offer.

XOXO,

Texan on the Go

P.S. It’s pronounced Mo-Bill, not Mo-Beal. The locals won’t be too happy if you say it wrong. By the end of the day, we finally learned how to pronounce it correctly.