It is not an image that easily fits the stereotype of small town Alabama. But there isn't a lot in the state that does.

In the small town of Monroeville (population 6,800), Sandy Smith, executive director of the town's chamber of commerce, wore a Truman Capote T-shirt. She stood proudly in a section of the town's museum dedicated to the gay author who spent his early childhood there.

I asked her about what Capote meant to the town. She lit up in a broad smile. Smith described how he stood out, even as a little boy. When he went swimming with other boys he always was impeccably decked out in a small fashionable bathing suit while the others wore cut-off hand-me-downs. Smith added that he always made a grand entrance during the many times when he returned home.

"When he came back, you knew he was in town," she said, describing the fancy car and flamboyant entrance he made when he returned. Smith added with pride, "Even when he lived here, you knew he was in town."

But the late author is not Monroeville's best-known citizen. That distinction belongs to Capote's close friend, Harper Lee. The reclusive author of To Kill a Mockingbird still lives in town. She is 83 now. Her older sister lives in town and still practices law, at the age of 97.

Capote, Lee, and several other lesser-known authors have made Monroeville the undisputed literary capital of Alabama. The town is about an hour and 15-minute drive north of Mobile and about halfway between Mobile and Montgomery.

The charming town's biggest attraction is the courthouse upon which the dramatic courtroom scenes in To Kill a Mockingbird were based. Each April and May, a play based on the movie is staged outside and inside the courtroom. The town runs a literary walk that includes the courthouse and other parts of the town that are reflected in Lee's book. For those who want to stay overnight in Monroeville, there are more than 200 mostly motel-type rooms from which to choose.

Mobile: New Orleans light, in a good way

Many of the more than 30,000 tourists who trek up to Monroeville each year start out in Mobile. The city has a population of 200,000, or double that if you include the suburbs. That is more than enough to support a lively gay scene. New Orleans is a little more than a two-hour drive away. After Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, thousands of evacuees permanently relocated in Mobile.

Seated on Mobile Bay, which opens onto the Gulf of Mexico, Mobile very much resembles New Orleans. In fact, Mobile is the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the United States, not New Orleans. It began there in 1703, 15 years before New Orleans was founded. The city celebrates Mardi Gras with a series of celebrations, including 34 Mardi Gras parades in the two-and-a-half weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. The most sought-after of all the Mardi Gras balls is the one put on by a gay organization, the Order of Osiris (http://www.orderofosiris.com). The event has been growing in popularity since it began in 1980. It is usually held around the beginning of the city's Mardi Gras celebrations. The city's gay pride celebration is in April and it is marked by a series of activities and events spread out for three days and highlighted by a parade. This year, it featured a concert by Jennifer Holliday.

Despite the recession, tourism has remained strong in Mobile because it is still an easy and inexpensive drive for people coming from nearby cities and towns throughout the Gulf region. And unlike marquee cities like Las Vegas, New Orleans, or even San Francisco, which can raise public relations issues for executives spending corporate money for conferences, Mobile is seen as a more modest place to host a convention.

The city is known for its great restaurants. And you won't leave one feeling hungry. They don't skimp on the portion sizes here. Don't be afraid to ask for a doggie bag. You may be hungry again in another 12 hours. Wintzell's Original Oyster House in Mobile is a must. I am not a big bread pudding fan but the delicious bread pudding made me an instan

A drag queen performs at B-Bob's in Mobile. Photo: Ed Walsh

t convert. But brace yourself. The portions are huge.

The city's downtown has seen a huge resurgence over the past 15 years. Many of the older French-style architecture that is more commonly associated with New Orleans can be seen throughout downtown. That's also where you will find the city's gay neighborhood, known as the "rainbow district."

The rainbow district is in the heart of downtown and is surrounded by other mostly non-gay bars and nightclubs. The city prides itself in being one of the safest cites in the world. Surveillance cameras can be seen throughout downtown. A strong police presence also adds to a very safe feeling.

Nightlife

All of downtown Mobile is easily walkable and the gay bars in the downtown rainbow district are all within steps of one another. Mobile bars are allowed to stay open around the clock and it is a very late night scene. The only exception is on early Sunday morning when bars are prohibited from serving booze from 2 a.m. until noon. But many are licensed to as private clubs. That means they can stay open all morning on Sundays. You have to be a member to buy a drink at a private club but you can buy a one-day membership for as little as $1. The rules say you have to be sponsored by another member, but they can arrange that on the spot.

B-Bobs (http://www.b-bobs.com) in the heart of Mobile's rainbow district is on two levels with a dance floor and its renowned drag shows on the second floor. It is mostly gay men but is gay/lesbian mixed. It is not a private club so no membership is required.

Gabriel's (http://www.gabrielsdowntown.com) is Alabama's oldest gay bar. It is also officially a private club. If you don't want to go through the hassle of getting the bartender to sign you up for a membership, you can get a free temporary pass through the bar's Web site. It clicks through to Mobile's visitor's bureau with a printable pass that you can take with you. Gabriel's has a very friendly neighborhood atmosphere. It is known for its late-night crowd and its decked out patio.

The lesbian-owned Vision's Twist (http://www.visionstwist.com) is just a block away from Gabriel's. It is also a private club but it cultivates an earlier crowd than Gabriel's. The bars in Alabama allow smoking but the bar's newly remodeled outdoor patio and bar means plenty of fresh air if you don't smoke.

Accommodations

The gay-friendly Battle House Hotel is the crown jewel of downtown Mobile's renaissance. It had been closed for 31 years before it was restored to its current splendor a couple of years ago. A new 35-floor tower was added onto the old building and is the city's tallest skyscraper. The hotel is perfectly situated within walking distance of everything downtown. The Battle House's state-of-the-art spa is just what every gay man or woman needs. Even if you aren't staying there, be sure to check out its lobby with its stunning glass=domed ceiling. And experience the "whispering" arch on the balcony above the lobby. You can whisper on one side of the arch and be heard by someone else on the other. The Battle House Hotel is a Marriott Hotel so you can charge up your hotel points in style. The Battle House's sister property, the Riverview Plaza Hotel, is a beautiful 28-story tower and is the shorter twin to the younger Battle House Hotel tower.

The other Bay Area

The Mobile Bay Area has a number of inviting small towns that surround the bay on the Gulf of Mexico.

The upscale community of Fairhope is about a half-hour from Mobile on the opposite, east side, of the bay. The town of around 16,000 boasts a 40,000-square-foot public library and a very active arts community. It is famous for the flowers that line the town's downtown sidewalks. The Fairhope museum explains the single-tax philosophy on which the town was founded in 1894. The Fairhope Single Tax Corporation owns downtown and a little less than half of the rest of the city. The idea is to retain the value of the property for the community as a whole. People who own property on the single tax land rent the property on a 99-year lease to the corporation that in turn pays all the local, county and state taxes.

The Grand Hotel Marriott Resort Golf Club and Spa in neighboring Point Clear is the largest hotel in the area. The resort's 400 rooms are spread out over 550 acres overlooking Mobile Bay. The resort was swamped by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, forcing a renovation that resulted in the resort being better than ever. The property deservedly scored at the top in independent guest satisfaction surveys among all Marriott Resort hotels.

The town of Foley is about a half-hour southeast of Fairhope. According to the town's convention and visitors bureau, Foley gets about 5 million visitors a year. That's an amazing statistic considering that the city's population is only 12,000.

 If you have any interest in medical history, the Holmes Medical Museum in Foley is a must stop. The museum once housed Foley's hospital until it closed in 1958. The museum curators saved some of the old medical instruments and equipment that were used in the hospital's early days. It is a great reminder of how far medical science has advanced.

Model train lovers will find their nirvana in Foley at the Alabama Railroad Museum housed in the old L&N Train Depot built in 1908. Here you will find the model train exhibit that consists of over a quarter mile of model train track. It is one of the most elaborate model train displays you will find anywhere. An entire city is recreated in the display, down to the tiniest detail. And not just the trains move. You can watch tiny firemen putting out a building fire and waitresses on roller skates take orders at a drive-in restaurant.

For a glimpse into Foley's past, check out Stacey's Old Time Soda Fountain. It has the best bargain in town, 10-cent coffee. Foley's most famous hotel is the Hotel Magnolia, which dates back to 1908 but has artfully managed to incorporate modern conveniences without losing its old world southern charm. The Sweetie Pies shop in Foley lives up to its name, with three different kinds of pecan pies alone.

The famous Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area is on the Gulf of Mexico, just 15 minutes south of Foley, and just east of Mobile Bay. It is about an hour's drive from Mobile. It is a must-see for any visitor to the Mobile area.

Lulu's Restaurant in the town of Gulf Shores is owned by Jimmy Buffett's sister, Lucy. The sprawling complex at the Homeport Marina always draws a crowd, especially when a name entertainer performs.  

 If you have ever wanted to see dolphins in the wild Orange Beach is the place to do it. The popular Dolphin Express Cruises guarantees it. The dolphins usually play and jump the boat's wake.

Most of the accommodations along Orange Beach are condominium rentals.   Suncoast Rentals is a good place to look for a rental that suits you (http://www.youngssuncoast.com).

For more information

Mobile Bay Convention and VisitorÕs Bureau: http://www.mobile.org.

Mobile's Pride celebration: http://www.mobilealabamapride.com/.

A calendar of events for all things gay in Mobile: http://www.mobilerainbowconnection.com.

You can also e-mail Harriet Shade Sharer, of the Mobile Convention and Visitors Bureau at mailto:harriet-sharer@mobile.org. She is very in tune on what's going on in the LGBT community.

Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Info: http://www.gulfshores.com.

Foley info: http://www.foleycvb.com.

Monroeville info: http://www.monroecountyal.com.

Fairhope info: http://www.cofairhope.com.