Well, actually were spending several days at the Fairhope Motorcoach Resort. Not by choice, our first choice being the very nice Meaher State Park about 15 miles closer to downtown Mobile. Fairhope Motorcoach park is nice- and brand new, opening only a month ago. It’s set up as a own your own lot RV Park but is encouraging prospective buyers to stay on a daily basis. We are one of five staying here. One is a work camper who also owns a lot here, his renter, a new owner couple from Mississippi, a full time California Couple from SoCal, and Jil and I. The park is nice but very expensive. Mardi Gras is in full swing, places to stay are rare so here we are!
Our route from Natchez MS to Mobile AL includes a stop in Laurel MS (18,400 souls). Jil has been watching a HGTV home improvement show, Home Town, for quite some time which is based in Laurel. So……. we go! We spent the night at nearby Big Creek 10 campground, then went into Laurel the next morning.
Erin and Ben Napier take pride in improving Laurel by helping local folk buy run down homes and renovating them into beautiful, functional places that the new owners can take pride in. Laurel is a very nice little town making our visit very enjoyable.
Our route to Fairhope via Mobile is a good one. We see a lot of interesting terrain with farms, ranches and lots of woods. Going through Mobile is rather painless as we skirt the downtown area. Interstate 10 splits the Chacaloochee and Mobile bays via a causeway. Twenty miles from downtown Mobile is Fairhope located on the east shore of Mobile Bay.
We took a side trip back into Mobile (190,000 souls). Back over the causeway and past the WWII Battleship Alabama. Boy, is she a big ship and is now a museum. In town we visit the old quarter which coincidently is located just down the way from the new skyscrapers.
We can never pass up a visit to a historic church. The Cathedral- Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is right in old town across the street from the plaza. This one’s history dates back to 1704, the cornerstone of the church laid in 1835. The church is one of the more elegant that we’ve visited.
We like visiting the old sections of any town. Our destinations include the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The cornerstone of the beautiful church measuring 162 feet in length and 90 feet in width was laid in 1835.
We also visited Mardi Gras Museum located a block away. Ironically, the church was open but the Mardi Gras Museum, almost in the height of the celebration, was not.
Next we visit Fort Blakely in Spanish Fort. The fort has the distinction of harboring the last battle in the Civil War. The running battle was fought between April 2 and April 9, 1865, hours after General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. It’s considered the last major battle of the Civil War. Many of the three mile long line redoubts, trenches and artillery positions are still intact. The Confederate Army outnumbered by almost 5 to one put up a good fight but eventually were overwhelmed.
Fort Blakely Monuments and The Sixth Redoubt
We spent a little time in Daphne, mainly to visit the infamous Alligator Alley- only to find one gator- and not a real one. We also visited a preserve in Daphne just to get some exercise.
Magnolia Springs, now that’s a great name for town, isn’t it? This quaint village of 700 folks is just beautiful. Not much here but beauty, some homes, some churches and a famous restaurant. Heck, what more does a person need. OK, a nice grocery store would be nice, I suppose.
Tomorrow, February 25th we are leaving the Mobile area and heading towards the Big Easy. Not sure if we are going into town……who knows?
We and our neighbors were invited to a BBQ by our campground hosts. Hamburgers and sausages were cooked to perfection accompanied by a potato casserole, chili beans, potato salad, veggies and dip. Oh yes, and an adult beverage or two. It was good getting to know new folks a little better.
We’ve spent six wonderful days in the Fairhope, Spanish Springs, Magnolia Springs and Mobile area. Maybe we’ll return some day as we’ve just scratched the surface.
Travel With Jil and Mike 