I first met Fairhope on a visit to the Grand Hotel at Point Clear. We got a golf package through an advertisement in Southern Living magazine, and were enthralled by the hotel and all of its amenities. The golf—according to John and the boys—was great. I know they were chauffeured to and from the beautiful course, which left the car for me to go exploring in. Problem was, the Grand was too appealing for me to want to leave, so it wasn’t until our last evening there that I discovered the wonderful little town just a hop and a skip away.
Although we had enjoyed the food at the hotel’s restaurant, we decided to go downtown on our last night and look for a different restaurant. On the way, we passed a candy kitchen that looked inviting, several restaurants, then a great little public park with a pier sitting at the foot of a hill. The view when we rounded the corner was breathtaking. Of course, we had to stop and watch the seabirds and look out over Mobile Bay for a while before moving on.
Continuing on our journey—we were all pretty hungry by then—we traveled a few more blocks and found an idyllic downtown area all gussied up with flowers and trees and cozy little nooks and crannies restaurants and bed and breakfasts—and oh, the shops!
Gift shops, furniture shops, art shops, bookstores—there is no end to the delights in the unique shops that abound. There is no hint of the mass-produced or the boring here. Fairhope appears to be an artist’s colony of sorts, with lots of studios and galleries to browse through. You’ll find paintings, sculpture, pottery, and lots more.
Fairhope is the kind of town most people dream of retiring to—and many people do. The pace is slow and leisurely, as if everyone in the town is on vacation. Everyone certainly appears happy to be here, including me. I must admit that John and the boys were a little less enthralled than I was; but we all enjoyed the tour and the meal and have returned several times since then.
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