April 4 - Day 19: Bellingrath Gardens

We awoke to a cool, windy day in Long Beach, Mississippi. We decided to skip breakfast and head to our next destination: Bellingrath Gardens. Mr. Bellingrath was one of the first Coca-Cola bottlers in the Southeast, owning the distribution franchise for southern Mississippi. Having no children, he and his wife developed a campground property south of Mobile into a lavish estate. Realizing they had something very nice to share, they opened the gardens to neighbors for one Saturday in 1934. They had 4,700 visitors and the response was overwhelmingly positive. They realized they needed to open the gardens permanently, which they accomplished by 1936.

A Water Channel in the Gardens

We got to the gardens and house rather late in the day so go some lunch in the cafeteria. Amy had the vegetable lasagna and I had the meat lasagna. Along with the lasagnas, the dishes included roll, vegetables and salad. A pretty reasonably priced meal.

The next house tour was at 2:00, so we did as much walking around the estate, which is on the Fowl River, as we could. Very impressive expanses and pocket gardens. Included in the ticket package is an 8 by 11 sheet of colored photos showing what is currently in bloom.

While not as manicured and over-planted as Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, there is a lot of southern charm here. We walked several miles, including around the marsh areas to the north of the estate. The house tour was interesting, as well. These folks had a lot of money and were important local business-people, so they did lots of entertaining. Both House and Gardens are worth the visit.

Breakfast Nook overlooking the Fowl River

The one disturbing aspect, to me, was the occasional gunfire from a distance; there must have been a range within a couple of miles. Disturbing because of the intermittent noise. Not too often, but fairly loud.

After Bellingrath, we headed to Mobile's historic downtown to check in to the Holiday Inn. We had drinks in the Sky Lounge at the top of the 18-story, round building. Mobile doesn't have a lot of high-rises, so this bar affords an excellent view of the city and the Bay to the Southeast.

From the Sky Lounge, we headed up Dauphine Street to Wintzell's Oyster House. This restaurant has been at this location for over 80 years. Interesting signs appear all over the walls. The staff is friendly and capable, and the Grilled Seafood platter we shared was excellent. Particularly good were the Broiled Oysters. We headed back to the hotel well-fed and satisfied.