On Sunday, we headed to the inaugural Gautier Antique Fair. Gautier is the next town east from where we are staying at Davis Bayou. It was sponsoring an antiques fair along the banks of the Singing River and was supposed to have about a hundred vendors as well as food stalls. The television History Channel was also to be there filming the first episode of a reality show called "Picked Off", a spin-off of their American Pickers series.
They must have expected big crowds since there was no parking at the site but at a shopping mall about two miles away, with a shuttle to bring visitors back and forth. We went along with Harry and Sally in their Roadtrek, as we didn't want to ride into a traffic jam on the motorcycles. We needn't have worried. Harry managed to find place to park at a market within walking distance and we just walked over.
The crowds were pretty small while we were there. The vendors were more flea market than antiques as we would define them and we found nothing we couldn't live without. Ellen almost succumbed to a Glen of Imal Terrier named Glenda, who was up for adoption by the local animal shelter. They had several small dogs there to be adopted. It was a very cute and well-behaved dog but reason prevailed (adopt a dog a thousand miles from home in a 19-foot van?). Aside from Glenda, the best find for us was the freshly cooked beignets.
We saw the start of the "Picked Off" filming as we arrived and saw the various teams at the booths as we wandered about. The teams competing seemed to be pairs, followed by a cameraman, a sound man and a person with a thick notebook (the lawyer?). The notebook seemed to contain release forms with several pages of small type that the vendors had sign to be on the show. The premise of the show is that several teams are given a small sum ($100) and go off to spend it and find the best bargain, as determined by expert appraisers at the end of the episode.
We used to watch a very similar UK series when we lived in New Zealand. On that series, the teams would be given a sum and buy as many things as they wanted up to that amount. They would have them appraised at the end an would be given the difference between what they paid and what it was appraised at. Obviously, if you made bad deals, you walked away empty-handed. The American version is typical reality TV, the team making the worst deal is booted-off and doesn't come back for the next episode.
After wandering about for a bit, we set off for Mobile, Alabama. It was about a 40-mile drive and we arrived just in time for lunch. The R and R fish restaurant was recommended by the Alabama visitor center, and it did not disappoint. Ellen and I had Oyster Po-Boys, which were very tasty, with large crispy oysters and equally crispy fries. Once again, the sandwich was too big to eat as a sandwich.
After that, it was off to Mobile proper. Tom suggested stopping at the visitor center and picking up a map for the driving tour. Unfortunately, the Convention Center and Visitors Bureau is not the visitor center he meant. It had a boat show going on. After wandering around inside looking for the visitor center a couple of local policemen told us that the right place was the Welcome Center at Fort Conde—it was back to the van and off to the Welcome Center.
They had two tours, a walking tour of downtown and a driving tour through the city. We started with the walking tour. It was basically a stroll up Dauphin Street, through the downtown commercial district, showing off what's left of the southern architecture. Once past the hotels and up Dauphin St, it got a bit seedy in the lower part. It probably looks better at night on a day other than Sunday when the bars and clubs are open. Further along it was mostly small stores. We didn't take the entire tour, turning around at the cathedral which is fronted by a fairly new park. Unfortunately, much of downtown has been "modernized" by urban renewal, so there isn't a consistent architectural theme, just random buildings that haven't been replaced.
After stopping at the local coffee roaster next to the Renaissance Hotel, it was back to the Roadtrek and onto the driving tour. While the walking tour goes through the commercial area, the driving tour goes through some of the historic residential neighborhoods. We opted for the short route which went through the Church Street East and Oakleigh Garden districts. The streets were lined with smaller, wood-framed homes, some shotgun houses, but mostly bungalows and southern-style capes with a smattering of grander homes along the main streets. The highlight was Washington Square, a well kept park with a fountain and many grand old live oaks. The azaleas were in bloom and most homes had yards full of them. It wasn't as grand as in Charleston with their brick homes and formal gardens but an interesting neighborhood nonetheless.
Finally toured-out, it was back on the highway for the 40-mile drive back to Davis Bayou and a final dinner and campfire.
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