A Visit to Mobile

It's been so cold here this week that I'm finding myself, to my horror, longing for hot weather. It doesn't get much hotter than the Gulf Coast, so here's hoping thoughts of this next city warm the bones a bit. 

I went to college in Alabama, and it always felt like I was a million miles away from home (on many levels) when I was in the Heart of Dixie. Which, I should clarify, isn't a bad thing at all. Quite the opposite as far as I'm concerned. You see, unlike many of my peers, I up and left Virginia right after graduation, dying to see a different part of the world and experience life outside of the metropolitan DC bubble. It's a decision I've never once regretted.  Instead, I regret not having seen more of my adopted state while I was there.

I try to make it back to Alabama when I can, and 2013 afforded me several visits back to my state away from home. One of these jaunts saw me driving down from Tuscaloosa all the way down long, solitary stretches of country to the tip of the state to Mobile. I'd been to the city once or twice before, but I'd never really spent quality time wandering around the city and taking things in. I learned that there's a good reason for that, during certain times of the year anyway. 

I don't know that I've ever encountered humidity quite as stifling as that in Mobile in June. Sultry doesn't even begin to cover it. Being so far south, in addition to being right there on the Gulf of Mexico, means that late June can feel like walking through solid swaths of water vapor. It's not the most pleasant sensation, truth be told, but I braved the sweat to take an early morning stroll the morning after the show I had gone to see at the Alabama Music Box. 

The section of the city I had stayed in has wrought-iron whispers of New Orleans, which always leads to the Mardi Gras line of thought. As with many things in history, the prevailing myth isn't historically accurate, and Mobile-ians were celebrating Mardi Gras even before the folks in New Orleans. I couldn't help but smile when I saw Mardi Gras beads hanging from tree limbs as I sauntered around. Parts of the city are exceedingly lovely, and offer architecture afficianados a wide variety of eras to admire. 

All in all, I wish I had had more time to spend in Mobile. I shal definitely need to visit once again, though perhaps in a slightly less tropical month. 

More photos below. 

  
















Photos copyright Megan Petty