Everyone Deserves a Weekend Getaway

Don’t you love to have great places to visit for a weekend getaway? We love it and enjoy traveling to interesting places in the Southeast.

Recently, we enjoyed a four-day weekend in the coastal town of Fairhope, Alabama with our frequent travel companions, Jane and Mike. Nestled on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, this quaint town has lots to offer.

Bay Breeze Guest House

We stayed at the Bay Breeze Guest House. This amazing bed and breakfast is located right on the bay with beautiful gardens and a great dock that is perfect for watching sunsets. Bill and Becky are native to Fairhope and are so welcoming. They gave us ideas on where to dine and shop as well as information about a local potter.

The Bay Breeze has five guestrooms in the main house and three cottage suites. We chose to stay in a cottage suite. The cottage has a small living room area open to a kitchen area with a bathroom and bedroom. It is decorated with some antiques and modern amenities.

The breakfasts that Becky and Judy served us were phenomenal. Each day started with coffee, juice and fruit.

Morning 1 – Eggs Madeline. Eggs with creamed spinach, artichoke hearts and Monterey jack cheese served in a custard cup.
Morning 2 – Shepard eggs with sausage gravy. Croissants and eggs baked in a bunt pan! YUM.
Morning 3 – Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole – enough said.
Morning 4 – Eggs Benedict

All the breakfasts are served with incredible conversation about the town, and stories from Bill and Becky about their life running this bed and breakfast.

Downtown Fairhope – Shopping

The town of Fairhope has many lovely shops. Our first stop was at the Simply Divine Boutique. Loved this shop and purchased quite a few items here. Some of our other favorites were Private Gallery, Cat’s Meow and The Fairhope Store. We wondered into Page and Pallete – Fairhope’s amazing and fun bookstore. They had books, jewelry and gadgets. Very friendly staff and a super cool coffee shop attached. A visit to the and the Christmas Round the Corner Shop are a must. Bill was the pharmacist for many years.

My absolute favorite shop was about a mile from downtown – Green Gates Market. Home Décor and Furniture. Absolutely a beautiful shop with great home décor and decorating accessories. Lots of ideas in this shop!

The Restaurants

While we ate at several places in Fairhope, there are three standouts for me:

Sunset Pointe – We ate here twice – that good. Located at Fly Creek Marina, Sunset serves local fresh seafood, homemade desserts and has a friendly staff. You must eat the Fried Red Snapper Throats – yes the throats. I did not order the throats but did taste them and they were yummy. I ordered Bouillabaisse and that was splendid. The lime curd dessert was amazing!

Camellia Café – OH MY! Scallops over corn risotto were divine!

R Bistro and Pastry – The gumbo was good, but the Triple Chocolate Carmel Pie was AMAZING.

The Municipal Pier

David and I walked out on the Pier when it was super windy and cold. Then we returned on Sunday morning as part of our walk with Jane and Mike. The pier is worth visiting. Our beautiful pelican friend was at the end of the Pier hanging out and waiting for a handout!

Tom Jones Pottery

Bill and Becky’s sideboard in the dining room is decorated with all these beautiful clay pumpkins. We asked about them and they told us all about Tom Jones, a local potter. Each year, Tom creates a pumpkin that you can order starting in May. In 2018 he made 700 pumpkins. David and I visited his shop, met him and his rescued greyhounds and purchased two pieces of pottery for ourselves.

The Veterans Day Parade/USS Alabama Park

While in Fairhope, we had the privilege of enjoying their Veterans Day Parade. We caught most of the parade toward the end of their route. There were several cars and trucks carrying Veterans from several wars including WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, etc. There were also some vans carrying many Veterans from the local Veterans Retirement Home. It was a nice, small town feel and we loved it!

We drove over to Mobile and went to the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. We had all been on the USS Alabama before so we just toured the Memorial Park. Very fitting for Veterans Day Weekend.

Fairhope is a great experience and the perfect location for a quite getaway. If you are in the Southeast and looking for a weekend getaway, Fairhope should be on your list. Be sure to visit Bill and Becky at the Bay Breeze Guest House.