Orange Beach, AlabamaThe Sports Chief Photography/Garett — Orange Beach, Alabama
The Sports Chief Photography/Garett

I was down to my final full day on my road trip. I woke up in Mobile and would be going to sleep later that night in Mobile, but most of my day would be spent in Orange Beach, Alabama. It was beach day. I was anxious to see the beach because throughout my pre-trip research, I learned just how nice Orange Beach was. It was, after all, just about five miles down the coast from the Florida border and we all know the amount of love the Florida Gulf Coast beaches get. Considering its proximity, I figured Orange Beach would be just as nice. And it was. But I’ll get to that in a little bit.

Like with most road trips, at this point in the trip I was getting a little worn out, especially from all the traveling and trying to fit as much into my short schedule as possible. So, while my bed and breakfast offered free breakfast until 9:00 a.m., I wasn’t dead-set on making it down there in time. I figured if I woke up early enough, I certainly would enjoy the breakfast, and if I didn’t, then it was no big deal. I didn’t.

But I did get a good night’s sleep and was glad I didn’t set my alarm to get up for breakfast. I wanted as much energy as possible to fully enjoy the beach. I grabbed my things, hit the road, and snagged a McDonald’s breakfast before continuing on to the coast. I hate on McDonald’s a lot, but I do admit they have a good breakfast.

It was only a little over an hour-long drive, and after crossing a bridge and paying the toll, I arrived in Orange Beach. There was quite a bit of traffic, as I expected, and after getting through it all I parked at one of the public beach access lots. That morning I had picked at random one of the many public access lots to enter into Google Maps and let it guide me there. It was only $5 for four hours and I figured that would be all the time I would spend there.

As I carried my chair, umbrella, and cooler to the beach, right away everything felt pretty familiar to me. Vastly unlike the beach in Gulfport, Mississippi, Orange Beach felt a lot like Myrtle Beach. Umbrellas lined the beach while big hotels towered over behind them. And in between the hotels and the ocean were thousands of people. For someone who has gone to Myrtle Beach pretty much every year of their life, this beach felt right.

Unlike Myrtle Beach, though, Orange Beach had very nice sand. You hear people use the term “white, sandy beaches,” and that’s exactly what Orange Beach had. The sand was a lot whiter than the more yellowish sand at Myrtle Beach. And the ocean, while not clear like in areas closer to the Caribbean, was a lot more clear than the water at Myrtle Beach. I could swim in the ocean at Orange Beach and at least see two feet down into the water.

I very much enjoyed my time at Orange Beach. For one, it was just cool to experience a new place and a new beach. And then add in the fact that it was a very nice beach, and it was a great way to spend the day. Like I mentioned earlier, Orange Beach is just about five miles down the coast from Florida. It’s about 25 miles from Pensacola Beach, which is a very popular tourist destination. So, while Orange Beach may not get as much love as the Florida beaches like Pensacola or Destin, its close proximity to them means it’s basically just as nice. It’s just not as touristy…yet. From what I learned, more and more people are beginning to discover the draws of Orange Beach and neighboring Gulf Shores.

After four hours of relaxing and swimming, it was time to start making my way back to Mobile. By the time I would have everything packed up off the beach and drive back to Mobile, it would be time to find dinner. I had decided to stay in Mobile another night for a few reasons. The first one being that no hotel anywhere near Orange Beach was cheap. The cheapest option would have cost me about $300 a night, and that wasn’t an option. So, I could either stay in a decent hotel halfway between Mobile and Orange Beach (in the middle of nowhere) for $100 a night, or just drive 30 more minutes back to Mobile and stay at the really nice Fort Conde Inn again and be in a really cool city. It was a no-brainer, and I didn’t want to be “done” with Mobile just yet.

After getting back to my bed and breakfast, I made the five-minute walk to downtown to find something to eat. I thought barbeque sounded really good, so I decided to walk to Moe’s Barbeque, at the corner of Dauphin Street and Spring Hill Avenue. I am a huge brisket fan and they just happened to have brisket on special, being a Wednesday night. Unfortunately though, they were already out of brisket by the time I ordered, making me think it must have been really good and I missed out.

So ‘Bama-style barbeque it was. I don’t know what that means, but that’s what it said on the menu. The chopped barbeque sandwich came with barbeque sauce, along with something called “white sauce” and a pickle and was really, really good. I have no idea what the white sauce was, but it was loaded onto the sandwich and absolutely hit the spot.

After enjoying the barbeque, I went back to the LoDa Bier Garten a few blocks down on Dauphin Street. I loved that place. The atmosphere was so cool, inside and outside, and I loved the fact they offered 102 different beers on tap from all around the country. If I were a local, I would go to that place quite a bit. So, I enjoyed some more local beer, this time at one of their outside tables while I just enjoyed the sights and surroundings of what I consider one of my favorite cities I’ve visited in this country. Then it was time to head back and rest because a very long day on the road awaited.

Garett

Alabama/Mississippi Road Trip (Day 5)