It has always been the hub of Mobile nightlife

Mardi Gras in Mobile

correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified Alabama Coasting Magazine buy replica bags publisher David Calametti as Steve Calimetti. The story has been updated.

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The cellophane wrapped sugar bomb hurtled toward us in the Alabama night. Jostling for position, I boxed out the 7 year old boy to my right, lunged in front of the grandmother to my left and snagged it out of the sky. Yes! In hand, my first Mobile Mardi Gras Moon Pie.

Mardi Gras as everyone in Alabama routinely reminds you originated not in New Orleans but in this charming city on Mobile Bay, in 1703 to be exact. And while not receiving the publicity of its sister city 140 miles to the west, it easily rivals New Orleans in intensity and fun. good quality replica bags is two weeks of parades, parties, beer, beads, Moon Pies and mayhem. But without the, um, excesses of the Big Easy.

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So, while there’s partying in the streets and liberal open container laws (governing outdoor drinking), it’s not likely that a “Girls Gone Wild” video will be shot at the Mobile Mardi Gras anytime soon.

replica handbags online “We know how to have fun here, but still I have to say we’re a little more family oriented than New Orleans,” said Judi Gulledge, executive director of the Mobile Carnival Association. “Parents are comfortable bringing their kids here.” replica handbags online

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Wholesale Replica Bags Moon Pies are another thing distinguishing Mobile’s Mardi Gras from the New Orleans version. You can find Moon Pies (marshmallow sandwiched between graham crackers and coated with chocolate) in replica designer bags New Orleans, but the concept of throwing them alongside the beads originated in Mobile and remains a staple there. About 3 million are tossed each year. Wholesale Replica Bags

There are 38 parades over the two week period leading up to Ash Wednesday. And Mardi Gras celebrations in Alabama extend well beyond Mobile. Fairhope, the postcard pretty town across Mobile Bay, has its own parades, as do the beach towns farther south Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Each is about an hour’s drive from Mobile.

The wackiest Mobile parade might be the Joe Cain Procession. It takes place the Sunday before Fat Tuesday and is unlike anything in New Orleans or anywhere else. Cain was a Confederate veteran credited with relaunching after the Civil War. He would dress as a fictional Chickasaw Indian chief who stood up to Union forces. The locals ate it up and Cain became a legend. Each year, a local man portraying Cain leads the procession, known as the “people’s parade.” A replica bags china group of women dress up as the “merry widows of Joe Cain” who show up at his grave claiming to be his wife.

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“We prepare for Mardi Gras the way the rest of the country prepares for Christmas,” said Steve Joynt, publisher of Mobile Mask Magazine. “It’s really accessible for anyone who comes.”

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That military presence on Mobile Bay continues today, in a sense, with the World War II battleship USS Alabama. The 40,000 ton vessel is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Mobile, having received 15 million visitors replica wallets since it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.

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Fake Designer Bags Dauphin Street is Mobile’s hot neighborhood. Located in one of the city’s seven historic districts, Dauphin Street is a mile of bars, restaurants, galleries, characters and concerts. It has always been the hub of Mobile nightlife, but lately has expanded its musical bag replica high quality footprint. The Steeple is a recently converted Methodist church that hosts national music acts in its cozy 450 seat theater. It joins the 90 year old Saenger Theatre, a 2,000 seat venue that has hosted artists as varied as Groucho Marx, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Dauphin Street is probably the closest thing Alabama has to musical meccas like Austin’s Sixth Street or Memphis’s Beale Street. Fake Designer Bags

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Designer Fake Bags Jernigan works at Dauphin Street Sound, a studio founded by replica bags online Mobile native and former professional baseball pitcher Jake Peavy. Three years ago, the studio launched the Ten Sixty Five music festival, which attracts 40,000 annually to its stages downtown. Designer Fake Bags

wholesale replica designer handbags Any trip to Mobile buy replica bags online must include a stop at Callaghan’s Irish Social Club. Callaghan’s might not be the best bar in America, but it’s close. Esquire magazine did once call it the best, and USA Today declared its cheeseburger the best in the state. A typical stop here features good music, a well poured drink and a family atmosphere unlike many others. It’s about a mile from the action on Dauphin Street but worth the trip. wholesale replica designer handbags

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If you’re lucky on that walk, you might encounter one of the region’s great natural best replica designer bags phenomena, the Gulf Coast thunderstorm. aaa replica bags Actually, chances are great that you will. Mobile is the rainiest city in America (beating New Orleans by a couple of drops). But high quality designer replica it doesn’t have the miserable, chilly, endless drizzle of, say, Seattle. Rather, the storms of Mobile are wickedly wonderful creations, Mother Nature at her best. Squalls appear over the bay. Skies quickly darken, thunder cracks and a torrent is released from the heavens. Then, just as quickly, a brilliant sun appears.

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To the locals, storms are just another day in their private paradise.

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