What to do in Mobile/Dauphin Island?

[Bobbo]

Hey all. Haven't posted in a very long time (left college, got a new job as a newspaper writer, moved and lost my rangefinder in a box of camping gear).

I'm heading to Dauphin Island (near Mobile, Alabama) this coming week for a family reunion. For the first time in 10 years, I'm only taking one camera and one lens (My Canonet... not any of my DSLRs or Nikon film bodies... don't want to bother with too much on the airline), but I have no idea what all there is to do down there.

What's good down there? Any good sights/events/restaurants? Already planning on going to Ft. Gaines (the location of the "damn the torpedos, full speed ahead" battle during the Civil War) and Pensacola NAS where my Mom was based in the '70s for Photography B school. Also taking my GPS for some GeoCaching (yes, I'm one of those people, haha).

Surely somebody on here has been there before me...

Thanks,
--Bob

 

[Gumby]

Mobile has a great collection of antebellum homes and the battleship USS Alabama (shot B&W since almost everything is gray)... if these sorts of things interest you. It's the wrong time of year but Mardi Gras in Mobile is the original and better than Mardi Gras in New Orleans in some peoples opinion.

 

[robin a]

Good beaches all over the area,any seafood resturant on the Causeway is good.Bellangrath Gardens is a nice 1 day trip.New Orleans is just down the I-10.While on NAS PCola,go to the Naval Aviation Museum and Ft.Barrancas and Ft. Pickens across the bay.This is where I live...............Robin

 

[kansas_parker]

I second the USS Alabama. I haven't been there in a few years but they've got some nice warbirds and a WWII era submarine as well. When you head into P-Cola, I have to recommend Ozone Pizza pub on 12th Ave for some great pizza and beer. It's set up in an old hospital/theater with a castle motif that has that creepy horror movie feel to it. A lot of charm. Enjoy your trip, I can't wait to get back to the gulf coast!

Oh...the Naval Air Museum is one of the best museums of any type I've been to. I would almost put it up there with Duxford, England.

 

[Bobbo]

Thanks for the early tips, everyone. Def. going to NAS Pensacola and the museum... used to be a HUGE airplane nut as a kid (it's how I got into photography). The USS Arizona also sounds promising.

Keep 'em coming
--Bob

 

[dexdog]

make sure that you enjoy a Moon Pie with an RC cola when you are in town...

BTW, the name of that island you mentioned is pronounced "dolphin". If you pronounce it as a French word, you will get some really funny looks.

 

[Roma]

There is not too much street shooting there, unless it's a major festival, but just enjoy the beaches and the brewery downtown Mobile is not bad. Alabama just past the legality of high alcohol content beer law, so there maybe some good stuff to drink too.

 

[mdozier]

We have vacationed at Dauphin every year for several years. 2 hurricanes have devastated the west end and removed most of the houses. The island is now split in 2 to the point that you can't really get over to the old "pristine" west end which was uninhabited.

It's a good beach and a quiet little town. If you want night life there's a pretty good bar near the condo headed out to the west end usually with a few local characters.

I agree that the military anchorage in Mobile is worth the visit but the USS Arizona is in Pearl Harbor.

If you're a diver you can get out to the newest and largest man made dive site/reef the "Mightly O" or the USS Oriskany. An air craft carrier sunk off the coast in 2006.

This is a good place for beach-family photos. Pretty sunsets from the west side with good light and sometimes dramatic skies. Off the coast to the south you'll see the oil platforms dotting the horizon. At night the flames from the burn-off sometimes give a pretty good show. Plenty of near empty beaches and lots of opportunity to do nothing but spend time.

It's a sleepy little island with reputation for getting there and not doing much but relaxing. You'll find plenty to photograph.

i hope you enjoy it.

Matt

 

[Gumby]

... but the USS Arizona is in Pearl Harbor.

I always thought it was in Phoenix Harbor. 😉

 

[Bobbo]

Thanks again, all. Getting really excited now. Have my Canonet packed away with a new Hoya Red25, some Tri-X and other goodies that came in the mail yesterday. Now I need to figure out a bag to carry it around in, as all my stuff is for SLRs... where's that sewing machine and bolt of tan canvas I had...🙂.

It'll be so nice not to pack 20 pounds of camera gear and then not use half of it, haha.

Thanks again,
--Bob

 

[robin a]

Hey,show up on a Tue./Wed. am for the Blue's practice.There's seating just behind the Museum.Start's at 8,free.