Mobile

i spent several weeks in mobile in between katrina and rita, so 10/10 for mitigating circumstances. that said: i went to a plexi-glass gas station by a large mall (i was, miraculously, staying in a hotel in the immediate area for a juice. while standing in the considerable line i noted that there was a sign on the window stating “no change given, only change-cards”. the 40-something gentleman in front of me tried to break a bill, and the clerk just pointed at the sign. the man said ‘what’s that supposed to mean?’ the clerk said ‘just what it says!’ the man responded, ‘no, what’s it say?! i can’t read!’. i had never seen such an example of modern day illiteracy, even among homeless populations. blew my mind.

I guess it’s an ok place to visit. I lived here from the age of 3 til I was 7. Though I remember very little of the place, I’ve heard it’s a good place to visit.

I live in Mobile. Although I have never thought of Mobile as a tourist site it does have some things to see. Mobile is consider the home of mardi gras and there is a museum here downtown. Mobile was once the capitol of Alabama. We have a french fort, an exploreum, beautiful old homes and oak trees. There is lots of locally own shops, eateries and some art galleries downtown. Catheral Square Gallery is a art co-op. Though Mobile is not an really artist friendly place there are lots of great artists. Great fresh seafood resturants (Felix’s Fish Camp (Causeway), Captain Rons (west Mobile)Nan Seas (off Dauphin Island Parkway). Best Chinese food is South China (Airport Blvd Before Azalea Road/McGregor) and Mexican is El Giros (Especially at cottage hill & Schillengers). Mobile is located on Mobile Bay which leads to the gulf of mexico. It is a escutary, Beautiful wetlands where you can canoe. Lots of sailing, fishing, boating and swimming. Dauphin Island is a barrier island right off Mobile County. It is still a beautiful area but it is fast becoming built up. It has the Audubon Santuary, Fort Gaines (a civil war fort) and swimming, fishing areas. Across the bay from mobile is Daphne and Fairhope. Lots of waterfront homes, local art communities and still some beautiful rural areas. Gulf shores is not too far and with its beautiful beaches and clear water its a pretty nice place. Bon Secour is a beautiful just discovered little community before Gulf Shores. Also Magnolia Springs which actually has a spring (we use to go swimming there as kids) is a beautiful spot. It is mainly a conservative town the streets do roll up around 10pm unless it is a bar or walmart. Lots of suburbs. People are still friendly but not as friendly as when I was a kid. I’ve lived in another place for 4 years but I came back to be near my family. Though at times I have regreted it I’m still here.

Spent the weekend here for the Alabama Libertarian Party convention. I had no idea what to expect, but had heard nice things about Mobile. It is generally an attractive city, although I found Tillman’s Corner where the convention hotel was to be pretty bland strip-mall-land.

I was fortunate to hang out with some friends who’d discovered a very character-ful coffee house near the U of South AL named Satori. Then we went out on Saturday night to the Dead Blind Mule, a bar downtown where everyone seems to be pretty social and full of life. Hard to assess how welcoming it would have been if i hadn’t had friends who’d already been there, but both seemed like fun places.

I didn’t make it to any of the tourist destinations, but downtown appeared to be picturesque and pretty well-lit. It’s not exactly New Orleans, but it’s got enough of that sort of charm to be worth visiting.

we found Mobile to be a clean & safe New Orleans-like city. we enjoyed it very much!!

Went to visit my friends around Christmas… Great weather, a little boring out in the suburbs, but sometimes that’s a good thing. I went to Wal-Mart, and got called a Yankee! :D

mobile sucks. downtown is gentrified, comprising mainly of shitty clubs for frat kids. west mobile is expanding it’s already massive suburban structure further which is sucking the life out of down town and midtown. more wal-marts are being added, the city is widening the roads, there aren’t any sidewalks, public transportation is so sporadic it’s as good as non-existant, airport road is a death trap, traffic is gridlock. there is zero community oriented planning pertaining to infrastructure, architecture and designing for expansion. the cops are racist, social resources are but mere ghosts of a true metropolitan area, and the city politicians are corrupt as all get out.

you can view my photoset of Mobile Pictures here
http://www.lumis.com/
Enjoy :)

Eat at the original oyster house and also a El Giros. MMMM good food!

It’s very fun there during Mardi Gras!!