Mobile and the Mississippi Coast

I enjoy working water fronts, they have an honesty of purpose that i appreciate and they make me think of Steinbeck. Route 90 West passes through the heart of Mobile, Alabama, an industrial port city, on a series of causeways and bridges that made for a really interesting ride. And was not too terrifying with great views at 10 to 20 mph. The city of Mobile was a pleasant surprise with moss and vine draped trees overhanging boulevards and beautiful homes from a wide variety of architectural periods. While sitting in a Krispy Kreme horking down a couple chocolate glazed donuts, a local cyclist found me to ask where i was going. He was helpful with route information but also answered my questions about Mobile. I remarked how beautiful it was and he lamented that Mobile had never promoted itself as a destination city, like New Orleans or Savannah, yet it is a city begun in the 1500's by the Spaniards. Consequently, it has some great real estate opportunities for the industrious - sub 50's for bungalows in the city and potential loft space abounds - but it is hindered by the perception of being dangerous and white flight to dull strip mall suburban hell on the east side of the bay.
After 4 hours of passing through Mobile my route is very straight forward, 90 west to New Orleans, along the Gulf coast of Mississippi.
The day was rainy, then rained, then thundered but was a fantastic day of riding along a white sand beach on a board walk for over 20 miles with a stiff tailwind. I knew nothing of the Mississippi coast and it was beautiful - a great place for a beach vacation and if you like to gamble you can lose all your money in the casinos. The weather improved the riding - imagine this beach on a bright sunny saturday.