Since COVID started, we have not been spending time with Kevin's Family because initially we were not allowed gatherings, then the year after that we did our #VANLIFE RV Adventure. This year we since we already winterized our travel trailer we decided to do a road trip to Dauphin Island in Alabama.
To prepare for the trip we knew we won’t have a lot of options for food because we are traveling off-season and there might not be a lot of stores open so Kevin made some Filipino dishes for us to eat during the trip. He made some Caldereta, Bulalo and Relyenong Manok
The total drive to Dauphin Island was 10 hours but we are bringing Georgia with us so we broke it up to one six (6) hour drive and another four (4) hour drive. It was also a perfect time for me to take advantage of my workplace policy of "Work from Elsewhere." Kevin was transitioning between one job to another and was able to take three (3) weeks off. Good time to spend an entire week relaxing and adventuring by the beach!
We left the Saturday before Thanksgiving and our first stop was at the Candlewood Suites in Tupelo which was super dog friendly and therefore Georgia approved #bringfido #georgiaadventures
As you can see Georgia got immediately comfy in the hotel. It was quiet for the most part.
We left the next day to get to head to our VRBO rental
Finally we’ve arrived… the sounds and the smell of the beach
After about 4-5 hours (stop overs for lunch and bathroom breaks included we finally made it to our rental. They allowed us to check in a couple of minutes early so here we are... our home away from home for the next 6 days.
Here is our Dauphin Island Thanksgiving Travel Guide:
Day 1
For the first day I mostly worked in the morning and tried to squeeze a run in to explore the area while Kevin walked Georgia and went on bike rides.
That afternoon we wanted to explore around while there is still some daylight out. Our first was Fort Gaines which turned out to be also dog friendly even the small artifact section of the hotel allows dogs.
Fort Gaines has a twin fort that we had planned to visit at some point but for now here is Georgia exploring the fort.
For Gaines is one of the crucial sites during the Civil War and where the famous like “Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead!” by Admiral Farragut was uttered and therefore became famous. That’s cool and all but what about these toilets that according to site literature was flushed when the waves comes in… what happens on low tide?
There was a giant anchor in the middle of the field which I thought was pretty cool that they had preserved well
Day 2:
Another work from elsewhere day, Kevin still biked around the island after walking Georgia.
It was a bit too cold to do much of anything and we wanted to chill after the long drive.
Day 3:
It’s getting slow at work with Thanksgiving approaching so I get to log off early. It gave us enough time to visit Bellingrath Gardens which was a recommendation from by excellent by my former work bestie turned overall good friend Jillian.
It is about 30 minutes drive from Dauphin Island and it is in Theodore, AL
Unfortunately, Georgia was not allowed in the garden but they did have “Pet Motels” available where is a covered outdoor structure in the side of the parking lot area. You can borrow a lock from the reception area after you had paid your ticket and put your pet in one of the cages in the Pet Motel. Luckily there were no other dogs and it was not very busy so Georgia was the only dog and there was no line.
We also did the house tour which was worth in because we kind of got a sneak preview of the Christmas Decor inside the house. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable of Mr. and Mrs. Bellingrath and their efforts to build the gardens themselves. The house is opulent with plenty of valuables but the garden in the house still deserves the praises.
The garden was massive with this river with boardwalk.
What I cannot show is how Georgia disliked being in the cage. Every now and then we would hear her barking and howling. We are not sure if she was doing that the entire time and we just couldn’t hear when we are in different parts of the garden or just when she have had enough again and restarted her barking. Either way we were already finished so we rescued her from her captivity and brought her home.
Day 4: Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving is the world premier of the hoodies that Jillian (same friend mentionedfrom up top) that made for us! I think every family should wear matching hoodies for Thanksgiving!
For Thanksgiving we wanted to do a quick hike and there was not a whole lot of trails in the island but we did find the Audubon Bird Sanctuary which was also dog friend. #dogfriendly #bringfido
It was a decent 3 flat miles that connects multiple trails. Georgia enjoyed sniffing around. It was a combination of pine trees, wet lands and beaches. Georgia approved!
After our hike it is time for our traditional Thanksgiving food which was oddly enough Filipino Spaghetti. While we eat Georgia is lounging around in her hoodie. It was mostly relaxing and watching movies after that
Day 5:
There was another attraction that we wanted to check out. Kevin had already seen when he was little but I haven’t. The plan was that Kevin would stay with Georgia while I explore. They had a pet hotel similar to Bellingrath Gardens but we did not want to leave her in those anymore. I told Kevin instead of leaving him with Georgia we should try to see if someone can watch her through Rover. Luckily we found one. We did a quick meet and greet and when he agreed to watch Georgia we left her food and off we went to explore USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park.
Before going inside the battleship we walked around the grounds where we saw a B52 Bomber plane called “Calamity Jane”
There was also a big airplane hanger that is called the Aircraft pavilion that displayed retired fighter planes including a retired Presidential helicopter.
It’s now time to walk around the USS Alabama which is massive. It had 5 above deck and 4 below deck. We started on the deck and worked our way up. Someone also decided to get goofy.
Then we went below which housed all the armory.
After the USS Alabama. We still had a little bit of time so we decided to make a stop again at the Bellingrath Gardens to see their Christmas light display.
It was pretty nice display and we are glad we took the time to see it. Even more we are thankful that we found someone to watch Georgia.
After the Christmas display we picked up Georgia and headed back to the rental. We are checking out the next day so we started to pack up. We were going to do the drive straight through so we wanted to get as much of the packing done the night before
Day 6:
Going home day! Georgia and I went for a quick run to tire out Georgia for the drive and Kevin went on his bike ride.
Quick clean up and pack up and off we go for our long drive home!
Hope you enjoyed reliving our Thanksgiving adventure! Would you consider a celebrating Thanksgiving using our travel guide in Dauphin Island?
TTYL!