MobileBama08

Tough game but hope those that made the trip had a good time.  I really enjoyed meeting your fans around town and everyone associated with the University was first class.   Take care and good luck to the basketball team

Buffalo fans have invaded downtown Mobile.  Not an easy trip but you guys are everywhere in Mobile.  Thanks for making the trip down.   Great fans and best of luck tomorrow!   

Mardi Gras parade starts at 6:30 tonight.  Both bands/cheerleaders and lots of local Mardi Gras floats  

The best place to watch is in front of the Hilton Garden Inn - 15 N Conception Street just off Dauphin Street.  I'd suggest grabbing a table on the patio (Eugene's Monkey Bar) around 5:30 so you can have a few drinks/eats and still be right on the parade route.   The parade ends at the Troy team's hotel and most riders will be out of throws by then so you really want to catch it before it turns on Royal.  It's an easy walk from Hilton Garden Inn to Convention Center pep rally.

Loda Bier Garten, TP Crockmiers and the Alchemy bars all at the corner of Dauphin and Joachim Street is a great place to hold your own street party before the parade.  You could go there before Hilton Garden Inn

- If you have kids, bring a bag so they can keep all their stuff.  

- As soon as parade ends, make sure to back off barricades as workers come in yank those things up quickly followed by huge street cleaners spraying and sucking up trash.

- If you're driving, make sure you're downtown no later than 5:30 as streets will start to be blocked.  Look for no parking on parade route signs.  Lots of tow trucks on parade nights

- You can leave bars with drinks but they must be in plastic cups which every bar will have at door.  Grab a to-go drink before you head to parade

- DO NOT jump over or try to cross the barricades during the parade or you'll get a ticket.  You can cross up until parade starts but wait until after to cross again.

- Mardi Gras originated in Mobile, AL not New Orleans (you'll probably hear this a few times)

Have fun!

Looks like decent weekend weather.  I hope all those in town are enjoying yourselves!

Friday 52/35 partly cloudy

Saturday 61/45 sun

Sunday 68/52 sun

46 minutes ago, verandaman said:

So "MobileBama08"....what time do you get off work from the Mobile Tourism Center?  You are such a wealth of information...

Ha, I have no affiliation with the city or any bar, restaurant, site, etc.   Born and raised in Mobile and just happy to help out those making the long trip to spend some time down here.

My wife's family is from Grand Island, NY and Orchard Park so I'm familiar with Buffalo.  Awesome place to visit in the summer.  

For this kids

Saturday morning Santa Run - Carpe Diem Coffee (lots of fun for families in nice neighborhood)  http://www.carpe-coffee.com/

USS Alabama - https://www.ussalabama.com/

Gulf Coast Exploreum downtown

Fort Gaines and Sea Lab - Dauphin Island 

Gulf Shores Zoo, amusement parks and beach

Mobile Delta airboat rides - http://airboatexpress.com/

Three Georges Candy downtown

Mardi Gras Parade - bring backpack or bag to keep throws - best place to watch parade is anywhere in Bienville Square or in front of Hilton Garden Inn (patio with bar so great for adults too).  Once parade reaches Battle House many riders are low on throws.   Bring some cash as vendors will be walking before the parade selling lots of light up beads, swords, cotton candy, etc. 

Five restaurant downtown has a good kids menu 

Original Oyster House on causeway is very kid friendly and has great seafood as is Wintzells

Crescent Theater - looks like Mary Poppins is playing while you're in town (I'd buy tickets early especially Friday night)

Duck boats - fun way to see downtown Mobile http://gulfcoastducks.com/

Kids are welcome at Serda's Brewery, Wintzells, Moes BBQ and many of the downtown restaurants and bars so don't think you have to be cooped up in your hotel room with kids.  Dauphin Street is very kid friendly and has several parks to let some energy out

For the wives and girlfriends

Battle House Spa - rave reviews at this nice downtown hotel

Crescent Theater downtown - one room theater with wine, recliners: https://www.crescenttheater.com/

Mobile Carnival Museum downtown - see the history of America's first Mardi Gras: https://www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com/

Sushi at Chuck's Fish downtown - request to be seated upstairs / great sushi and atmosphere: http://chucksfish.com/mobile.php

Happy Hour margaritas on patio at El Papi downtown:  https://www.el-papi.com/

Nice dinner at NOJA downtown  https://nojamobile.com/

FOY for lunch - healthy stuff downtown  http://www.foysuperfoods.com/

Serda Brewing patio for a beer downtown

Coffee at Carpe Diem then walk or jog through Spring Hill College's campus  and surrounding Spring Hill neighborhood 

(route Coffee Shop - Dilston Lane - The Cedars - College Lane - Old Shell - cross street at coffee shop - Avenue of the Oaks - through campus - back to Coffee shop)

Shopping in downtown Fairhope, AL: 

https://www.southernliving.com/travel/what-to-do-fairhope-alabama

http://www.fairhopemerchants.com/

Shopping Tanger Outlets Foley, AL: https://www.tangeroutlet.com/foley

Shuttle and Parking info

I highly suggest taking Uber to street party/parade so you can have plenty of time to hang out.  Shuttles are slow and won't give you much time to hang out before parade.  Ask driver to drop you off at Wintzells.  It's far enough from parade road closures so Uber driver can easily get you in but close enough to easily walk to parade route.  Once at Wintzells, you'll walk east (towards downtown hotels) to catch parade and street party.

Parking at the stadium is terrible unless you get there early.  Only about 1,500 spots inside the stadium gates and once those are full people park in neighborhood yards for $20. 

Here's the Game Day shuttle/parking guide from 2017.  Should be the same this year:

http://dollargeneralbowl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Shuttle-Flyer_2017.pdf

Stadium - Game Day

I'll go ahead and apologize for Ladd Peebles Stadium.  It's old, has some awesome history and views are good but that's about it.  Luckily South Alabama is building an on campus stadium for 2020 and the bowl should move there.  There is nothing around the stadium so once you are there, you're there.  It's just one big parking lot surrounded by neighborhoods.  Pregame events are pretty boring so I'd suggest "tailgating" downtown then making your way to stadium a few hours before kickoff.   I'm pretty sure the Bulls will be on the West side (home side)

If you want to tailgate at the stadium, there's a Winn Dixie grocery store a few blocks from the stadium (1550 Government Street) with a good beer and meat selection.  Get some Conecuh Sausage (made about an hour north of Mobile)

Concessions are terrible but they do serve beer and liquor.  If you've got small kids, I highly suggest to eat a large meal before the game and have something for them to eat afterwards as a lot of restaurants and hotel food choices will be closed.  Lack of post game food situation and pregame events are always the biggest complaints from bowl visitors.  

19 minutes ago, ChubbyHubby said:

We're not able to change to a downtown hotel, so we'll need to rely on hotel shuttle or some sort of other transportation.  Is Uber or Lyft available?

Uber and Lyft are available and very reliable.  

6 minutes ago, ChubbyHubby said:

I'm seeing Serda and Haint Blue to be a short walk from Dauphin St.  I like it.  Are there any areas we should "stay away" from?

Serda's is just off Dauphin Street behind Wintzells and is a safe area.  You can walk from hotels (Battle House, Riverview, Hampton) all the way down Dauphin Street to Moe's BBQ and it's completely safe.  Wife and I do it all the time.  Think of Moe's BBQ as the dead end street.  You don't want to walk any further than Moe's.  Not too bad just nothing around and quiet.   You've got to get a Bushwhacker at Moe's - think Wendy's Frosty with alcohol and 151 topper.

You can walk a block or two parallel to Dauphin Street and you'll be fine.  Once you start getting three or four blocks off Dauphin to the north and south it can get a little sketchy.  Just stick to Dauphin Street and over to Serda's and you'll be fine.  Once you get to Mobile you'll notice how compact the entertainment district is.  Unfortunately most visitors hit the first bar near hotels and don't venture down Dauphin.  

Haint Blue is in a lesser populated/lower end area and I wouldn't be walking around that area at night.  Day time no problem.  

Oh and Mobile's entertainment district is open container but you must put your drink in special cups that each bar has at the door.  You can bar hop and carry your drinks up and down Dauphin.  

12 minutes ago, ChubbyHubby said:

I'm seeing average highs for this time of year to be around 62 degrees and lows around 45.  Does that sound right?

I'd say a little warmer.  Weather down here can be nuts in December with 80 one day and mid 30's the next.  Unfortunately a good bit of rain this time of year also.  

Last year's bowl game high was 78 low 56 and mid 70's all week.   Toledo fans loved it

a few more things:

Gulf Coast Pedal Tours is a new.  I've heard it's a blast and a great way to see downtown while bar hopping  https://www.gulfcoastpedaltours.com/

If weather is nice, Duck Boats are a great way to see the city.  I've ridden them several times and really enjoyed it.  Great for kids and adults http://gulfcoastducks.com/

Serda Brewing has a good outdoor area if weather is nice https://serdabrewing.com/

7 minutes ago, ChubbyHubby said:

MobileBama08.  Tell me about Brick Pit BBQ.  It's a bit further West of the team hotel where we'll be staying.  I've seen it on TV and it had my mouth watering.  Is it worth the visit?

No problem but if you can, I'd switch to a downtown hotel as it will be a pretty good atmosphere being a weekend and parade / pep rally being downtown.  Lots to see downtown.  Nothing near the Marriott Airport Blvd

Unfortunately the Brick Pit, which was awesome, closed down a few months ago.  Moe's BBQ downtown is your next best option.   Let me know if you have any more questions

Dauphin Street is our mini Bourbon Street with tons of restaurants and bars.  Easy and safe walk from all downtown hotels.  Some must eats on Dauphin Street:

Seafood - Wintzells Oyster - http://www.wintzellsoysterhouse.com/location/downtown-mobile/

BBQ - Moe's BBQ - https://www.moesoriginalbbq.com/lo/mobile/

Chuck's Fish - http://chucksfish.com/

El Papi - https://www.el-papi.com/

NOJA - https://nojamobile.com/

Dumbwaiter - http://www.dumbwaiterrestaurant.com/

many more

Nightlife: something for everyone up and down Dauphin Street.  For craft beer - Loda Bier Garten, Alchemy, Serda Brewery (behind Wintzells Oyster)

Live music:  Veets (across from Troy hotel), Soul Kitchen (two concerts Fri and Sat) others will have acoustic set up

Everything is pretty centralized so you can easily bar hop or walk down Dauphin Street.  There are also pedi-cabs so you could walk the length of Dauphin Street then have a pedi-cab ride you back to your hotel

If you want to get out of downtown, there are some awesome seafood restaurants on the Causeway (5 minute drive) 

R&R Seafood, Original Oyster House and Felix's Fish Camp

Callaghan's Irish Pub - burgers

Things to do:

USS Alabama is fun to tour  https://www.ussalabama.com/

If you're into Christmas lights (get there early it gets packed) - https://bellingrath.org/experiences/events/magic-christmas-in-lights-2018/

Fort Gaines - Dauphin Island http://townofdauphinisland.org/visitors/historic-fort-gaines

Dauphin Island Sea Lab - http://townofdauphinisland.org/visitors/estuarium-at-the-dauphin-island-sea-lab

Spring Hill College - if you want to get some exercise beautiful campus in nice part of town https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=dbOr4ro1&id=3E82E743C7D5342934A9A66F20DC01302F495AAC&thid=OIP.dbOr4ro1d-hI-hkDWCKIaQHaC2&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fstudybest.com%2fupload%2fimages%2fSpring+Hill+College6.jpg&exph=370&expw=960&q=spring+hill+college+avenue+of+the+oaks&simid=608028485475238845&selectedIndex=16&ajaxhist=0

The Mardi Gras parade Friday night is the highlight of the bowl week.  The parade rolls through downtown Mobile and is a blast.  If you have kids, make sure to bring a backpack or large bag to hold all of their Mardi Gras throws.  I would go to Loda Bier Garten for pre-parade beers then walk over to the route then head back to Dauphin Street afterwards.

If you want to make more of a vacation out of your trip, I'd suggest the following (all one hour drive to and from stadium)

Marriott Grand Hotel - Point Clear, AL https://www.grand1847.com/

Fairhope, AL - https://alabama.travel/places-to-go/fairhope

Gulf Shores / Orange Beach - https://www.gulfshores.com/#sm.0014hekrf10w9e3oxsq1qp16vjef8

Feel free to ask me any questions

The Gulf Coast has a ton of high school football talent.  Buffalo should be able to use this game as a recruiting tool while down in Alabama.

Welcome to Mobile and safe travels to all those heading down south.  I know timing isn't great but I think those who make the trip will be pleasantly surprised with the bowl activities and Mobile.   Feel free to ask me any questions about Mobile and the game.  I'll be happy to help out any way I can.

Mobile, AL - https://www.mobile.org/

The UB team hotel is about ten minutes from downtown and in a pretty boring part of town. I'd suggest staying downtown where the pep rally, Mardi Gras parade and bars/restaurants are located. Battle House, Riverview Plaza, Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn are best. Quality Inn is low budget but fine and in safe area.

Marriott Battle House - https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/m...l-and-spa/   (on parade route)

Marriott Riverview Plaza (Troy team hotel) - https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/m...aza-hotel/  (on parade route)

Hampton Inn - https://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels...index.html  (on parade route)

Hilton Garden Inn - https://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/h...index.html  (on parade route)

Candlewood Suites - https://www.ihg.com/candlewood/hotels/us...US-_-MOBAL  (on parade route)

Hilton Admiral - https://curiocollection3.hilton.com/en/h...index.html   block from parade route

Holiday Inn - https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us...US-_-MOBHI  block from parade route

Quality Inn - https://www.choicehotels.com/alabama/mob...tels/al045  block from parade route