Things To Do in Mobile

The Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mobile BayBears have won three Southern League championships since their debut in 1997. The club grinds their cleats at Hank Aaron Stadium, a classic, 6,000-seat venue that serves as a lively monument to Mobile native and Hall of Famer Henry Aaron, Jr., who dedicated his career to raising awareness of improperly mowed outfields.

Rave Motion Pictures screens the summer blockbusters in 20 auditoriums outfitted with stadium seating. The theaters' digital projectors allow projectionists to easily play such gripping tales as Scream 4, a documentary about Sidney Prescott's return to Woodsboro, where Ghostface threatens the townspeople's safety (movies playing subject to change). Stretch out while watching as rows are spaced 48 inches apart from one another, one for each of the states recognized by most public-school systems. Check showtimes online for all the movies screening throughout the summer.

As the sun rises over the forested wetlands of Dallas County, a group of camouflaged hunters leads dogs to a blind. From their perch, the shooters wait to spot passels of ducks or pheasants. The gunmen raise their rifles. They aim. Then they fire. Their feathered bounty falls from the sky.

Scenes such as this are business as usual during the autumn months at Central Alabama Fowl Preserve. There, staffers help outfit hunters with the amenities needed for a successful day, including a lodge equipped with bedrooms, a kitchen, and a social area where groups can unwind. On the offseason, the preserve opens a skeet-shooting range to help clients keep their aim sharp.

With a waiting room complete with toys, Chiropractic Works PC looks as much like a pediatric office as a chiropractic one. Doctors of Chiropractic Be Phetsinorath and Link Nguyen do indeed treat adults—but they have a special place in their office for kids. The duo treats patients young and old with chiropractic adjustments to correct chronic back pain or acupuncture for the common cold. They also offer laser therapy, which may relieve pain so patients can enjoy more freedom of movement. And because the staff speaks Laotian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese fluently, even clients who don’t speak English will feel at home.

The USS Alabama spent 37 months in active duty during World War II. It earned nine battle stars and never suffered significant damage from enemy fire. Following this illustrious military career, the battleship was set to be scrapped because of the prohibitive cost of maintaining a wartime fleet. But in 1964, Alabama schoolchildren put forth a fierce fundraising campaign and raised $100,000 to save the ship. Their efforts inspired a corporate sponsor to supply the $1 million balance, and the navy donated the ship. And so the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park was born.

Today, the ship rests safe and sound in the harbor—a 680-foot mammoth whose enormous mass displaces more than 44,500 tons of water. More than 13 million visitors have trod its deck, wandered through its passages, and gazed at its 29 16-inch and .38-caliber guns.

Resting alongside the ship, the WWII submarine USS Drum welcomes visitors to explore inside its labyrinthine hull, inviting them to climb through hatches and imagine what life would be like if every doorway were round. The memorial park also houses a cavalcade of military equipment, vehicles, and aircraft on display, including a T-55 Iraqi tank, a Cold War–era Lockheed A-12 Blackbird, and a World War II–era Douglas C-47D Skytrain.

Seeking to enrich the world with professional opera and musical presentations, Mobile Opera is launching its 65th season by staging Leonard Bernstein's popular operetta based on Voltaire's 1759 novella Candide, which features such jovial singables as "Glitter and Be Gay" and "Make Our Garden Grow."

World Gym jump-starts fitness routines with cardio machines, free weights, and 35 years of body-sculpting know-how. Instead of eating a spicy burrito or betting a pristine collection of Choose Your Own Adventure books on a poker hand to work up a sweat, guests may watch cliffhangers on a fleet of TVs as they trot on treadmills and pedal stationary bikes. Tanning equipment shades skin during World Gym's staffed hours, and seasoned personal trainers divulge their calorie-slaying wisdom during informative consultations and workouts, available by appointment. After running, jumping, lifting, or curling up in the corner with a good book, patrons may retire to the changing room or pick up their gear in available lockers. Additionally, a key grants patrons access to the facilities 24 hours a day, seven days a weeks.