Explore Alabama: Baldwin County

If you’re looking for a taste of all things southern, beautiful cerulean gulf waters, country side views, and a taste of urban city, Baldwin County Alabama is the perfect destination to indulge in all of the above. I came here on a solo weekend trip after my trip to Bryson City, NC was cancelled thanks to Hurricane Flo, and to be honest I could not be more grateful. The weather was a steady 90 F all weekend long, with hardly any rain. I was able to find a condo for less than $50.00 a night RIGHT on the gulf coast, so I highly recommend going during mid-September as the weather is still beautiful and rates are low due to off-season.

Disclaimer: My dad does live here so a good amount of quality time went to him during this trip, but for only having two solid days to explore, there was so much to see and do and I knocked a ton off of my Alabama bucket list!

Fairhope, AL

I spent one full day in Fairhope, Alabama. Mainly for shopping and pampering. If you’re looking for a place with trendy clothing stores, small locally run restaurants, and great coffee, do not hesitate to spend an entire day here. The entire town screams southern hospitality, and is a very art driven community so there is a lot of very pretty decor and sculpture art throughout the streets.

I started my day with the 2.5 hour full-body massage, foot, and facial package at Mountain Day Spa on Lottie Lane. The entire package itself without tip was less than $200.00. The massage therapist was very gentle, soothing, and seriously great at her job; in fact, I’m positive I fell asleep at some point (sorry). The experience was worth every. single. penny. The website allows customers (whether you’re a first time or returning) to book an appointment online, so I was able to set this up from the comfort of my own home prior to my trip. Note: I live on the East Coast and Alabama is about 1 hour behind us, so if there is a time difference between you and Alabama, make sure you note this when you’re booking your appointment times)!

 

Although all I really wanted after my spa treatment was a blanket and my bed, I headed out for some shopping on the town. Downtown Fairhope; home to the original French Quarter, has plenty of free side street parking near all of the shops. Park your car somewhere, get out and walk! I zigzagged up and down every street and went into nearly every shop. Each store has its own unique atmosphere and the owners of every store are very friendly, make conversation while you shop, and will go above and beyond to make sure that you find everything you came there for (even if you don’t know what you came there for). In fact I got so lost in all of the excitement here, that I failed to pay attention to the time. If you plan to have lunch here PLEASE NOTE that most of the local lunch based restaurants do close around 2 or 3. So while I did not get to try any food here, I received high recommendations from the locals for The Happy Olive and Panini Pete’s for lunch food. There is also a small hidden entrance to Fairhope’s Italian village. If you do not choose to stop here for food, I still recommend walking through. It is absolutely beautiful.

 

My next stop, for a brief history lesson was the historic Tolstoy Park dome hut; home of Henry Stuart, a famous poet who built and moved here when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis in search of a better climate. Pop the name into your GPS and it will take you right there. The dome building is nestled in a parking lot right between several medical offices and if you’re not looking for it, it is actually kind of easy to miss. Just park in one of the parking spaces, get out and walk right in! The doors are open to visitors during the day, and you can poke around inside and stay for as long as you like!

While I was here I was lucky to have the entire place to myself, so I spent a decent amount of time enjoying the very peaceful atmosphere the home has to offer. You can sign your name on the visitors log, and before you leave be sure to leave a donation to support all those who have kept this place alive! This was the perfect place to end my day trip, so after spending some quality me-time in solitude I headed out for dinner with my father and then back to my condo to rest for my big day in Gulf Shores and Elberta the next day.

 

Gulf Shores, AL

Okay, so there’s a beach here, and yes it’s pretty, BUT if you do anything here at all, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do yourself a favor and visit the Gulf Shores Zoo. This was my favorite part of my entire visit. I spent hours here, and loved every second of it.

So I know what you’re thinking, “A zoo? At the beach?” THEY EXIST. The Gulf Shores Zoo is located right in the middle of Gulf Shores off of the main coastal highway. It is a very small zoo (in fact they don’t even have maps) which disheartened me at first when I walked in. Simply pay the — dollars, pay extra for the animal food cup (just do it okay?), and walk out the door to the right. Here you will see small animals, an alligator or two, some reptiles, monkeys, etc. As you walk the path around the zoo, there are small gated facilities that offer one on one encounters with baby animals! Bring cash with you for these because they cost about $5-10 per encounter and it is WELL WORTH IT.

I was able to play with baby lemurs, cuddle up with some joeys (baby kangaroo), hand feed a sloth, and get up close and personal with a couple of anteaters. Other highlights of my day included having a full on conversation with a bird (okay, so we just went back and forth saying hello, and me inaudibly squealing), but still!

It is easy to see that this zoo is incredibly clean, takes very good care of their animals, and their employees are very passionate about what they do. They are even growing to a larger facility within the next few years and I am ABOUT IT. I pretty much had to drag myself out of the zoo in order to make it to Elberta before it started to get too late.

 

Elberta, AL

There were two point destinations that I wanted to see here. 1) The Stonehenge replica “Bamahenge”, and 2) the mystical hidden dinosaurs in the woods along Barber Pkwy. Good new! Found em’ both.

If you type Bamahenge into your GPS it takes you right to Barber Parkway. Drive up the road for a bit and you will eventually see a gravel drive way off of the road that leads to an entrance into the woods. It’s relatively easy to spot. Park your car on the gravel and walk the pathway through the woods. Once you walk a few feet on the path you will be able to see Bamahenge in a field surrounded by trees in all its glory.

 

While I was here I was alone once again. The experience of having the entire replica and the field to myself was mesmerizing. Stand in the center and twirl around, lay on the grass, look up, look around, take it all in. After reconnecting with myself, I made my walk back to the car, and then went hunting for dinosaurs!

Read carefully because these are actually pretty tricky to find. The first dinosaur is about a quarter of a mile past Bamahenge on Barber Parkway. He is a triceratops. You will see him sunbathing just outside of the woods visible from the road. BUT WAIT! You’ve gone too far. Use him as a reference and say hi to him later. Shortly after you see the triceratops you will spot a stegosaurus, also just outside of the woods visible from the road. There is another gravel driveway off of the main parkway to pull into. Turn around here and go back towards the triceratops. Look VERY closely to your left as you are driving. Just past the triceratops there is a very subtle path that opens in the woods. Park the car, get out and walk to it. The Tyrannosaurus Rex (hard to find sounds ridiculous, I know) should be visible.

Okay, NOW you can go say hi to the triceratops and stegosaurus. The last dinosaur to find is the brontosaurus. This one is the trickiest. Brontosaurus is on the opposite side of the road a very short distance up the road from the gravel driveway you turned around in. Look VERY carefully for a small passage way into the woods. There is a small walk through the woods, but this one is very hard to miss once you’re on the path way.

If those directions are crap, please feel free to reach out for a better description! This was such a fun little scavenger hunt for me, I hope you all enjoy it as well. The dinosaurs were the end of my Alabama explorations, but there is so much more to do and see in Baldwin County.

 

Alabama is such a gorgeous state, and the people who live and visit here are so friendly and accommodating. I advise visiting at least once!

 

Happy Travels my friends!

-C

 

 

Other Things to Do and See:

• Mobile, AL (beautiful city, I will cover this the next time I visit)
• Go during the Mardi Gras festival! (January-February)
• Go during Shrimp Festival (October)
• EAT GUMBO
• Leave your mark on a piece of duct tape at TackyJacks
• Eat some crawfish
• History nerd it up and visit Fort Morgan
• Kayak on the bay (Don’t have a kayak? gogokayaks.com rents and delivers!