Mardi Gras, Battleships, and Birding: Our Adventures in Mobile, Alabama

After leaving DeSoto State Park, we rolled down into Mobile, Alabama—and somehow timed our arrival perfectly for the very first day of Mardi Gras! Fun fact: Mobile is actually the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the United States, long before New Orleans made it famous. The streets were buzzing with parades, beads flying, and music everywhere. Patrick wasted no time diving into the festivities by trying his very first king cake.

Now, king cake isn’t just dessert—it’s tradition. Originally from France, it’s this brightly decorated pastry in Mardi Gras colors: purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Sometimes it’s filled with cinnamon, cream cheese, or fruit, and always has a tiny plastic baby hidden inside. Whoever finds the baby has to host the next party or buy the next cake. (Basically, a sweet treat with a built-in guilt trip.) Patrick didn’t find the baby this time, but he was pretty thrilled just to eat cake in the name of “cultural research.”

Of course, the journey there wasn’t exactly smooth. Thanks to our earlier tire fiasco in DeSoto, our schedule was pushed back, which meant—for the very first time—we arrived at a campground after dark. And let me tell you: setting up in pitch black is about as fun as assembling IKEA furniture without instructions. Flashlights in hand, shadows everywhere, and both of us second-guessing every move—it was chaos. Thankfully, nothing went wrong, but we learned a huge lesson: if we’re going to be late, it’s better to just call the campground, be flexible, and stop pushing it. Arriving in daylight is worth its weight in gold (or in our case, worth avoiding stress wrinkles).

The campground itself was adorable, with one quirky offering: pickleball lessons. I was ready to unleash my inner pickleball champion, but of course, every lesson was scheduled while I was working. Damn adulting.

This was the spot we arrived to, such a cute touch adding the dogs names!

One of our big stops in Mobile was the USS Alabama Battleship. Touring the decks and imagining life aboard during wartime was humbling and fascinating. For Patrick, though, it was something else entirely—Mobile was the filming location for Under Siege, one of his all-time childhood favorites.

About the only shot I was willing to take of this place!

And here’s the thing: I have now watched Under Siege several times, thanks to him. If you’ve missed this cinematic “gem,” here’s the plot: terrorists take over a battleship, but little do they know the ship’s cook—yes, the cook—is secretly a martial arts master, explosives expert, and general one-man wrecking crew. Long story short, the fate of the entire vessel (and apparently the world) rests on a guy who can whip up soup and single-handedly defeat an army of villains. It’s basically “Die Hard at sea,” except with Steven Seagal being… well, Steven Seagal. Patrick loves it, which means I get the pleasure of rolling my eyes through it again and again.

As if battleships and parades weren’t enough, we also got caught up in Powerball fever. The jackpot was sky-high, so we went out to buy tickets—only to find out Alabama doesn’t actually participate in the lottery (like at all). So what did we do? Crossed the border into Mississippi just to get our tickets. Spoiler: we didn’t win, but at least we got an extra road trip out of it.

Another highlight was the Audubon Bird Sanctuary, which was a birder’s paradise. We spent hours spotting new feathered friends, soaking up the peaceful trails, and feeling like proper nature nerds. Unfortunately, my bliss was ruined by one very unwelcome guest: an alligator. If you know me, you know I hate alligators. The fear dates back to childhood when my brother thought it would be funny to read me Croc Attacks as a bedtime story (thanks for the trauma, Bri). So yeah, when I saw that gator, my heart stopped. Thankfully, Patrick was right there to calm me down and reassure me that I wasn’t about to become lunch. Still… I’ll stick to birdwatching, thank you very much.

Absolutely hate these things. I took this picture for my brother and called him.

I love pelicans, or as I refer to them, pelies!

Mobile turned out to be this wild mix of celebrations, lessons learned, quirky surprises, and a little nostalgia thrown in. Between Mardi Gras, king cake, battleships (and their Hollywood glory), birding adventures, and even a detour for lottery tickets, it was the perfect blend of chaos and charm. Definitely a stop we’ll remember for a long time—whether I want to rewatch Under Siege or not.