Grilled oysters, fried oysters, raw oysters, oyster stew; I sound like Bubba Gump and his shrimp choices, yet this is what we tasted at the Annual Fort Morgan Oyster Festival, held the weekend of February 24- 25 at the Beach Club. Since festivals of every kind are held in our area, I expected long lines and crowds, but this festival was like a big private party, in a beautiful setting, with music, games, and incredible oysters!

A few weeks ago, Linda and I ventured north to attend the Monroeville Literary Festival. This two-day event is held annually in the upstairs courtroom of the Monroe County Courthouse, the setting of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. By all measures, it exceeded our expectations.

The 72nd Annual Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival took place this past weekend, and the exclusive broadcast partner was the news and weather team from WKRG News 5. On Friday, I was invited to tag along to watch a full day of festival reporting. By all measures, it was a fun-filled experience!

Market by the Bay has always been a go-to for me because of the delicious fried seafood and gumbo. With two locations in Fairhope and Daphne, I was a frequent visitor. A few years ago, the Fairhope restaurant closed (now the OX Kitchen), and then the Daphne store closed a year later. I was sad to see them go.

Lila Pennington Ryals’s mother died in 1931, just days before her ninth birthday, and her dad didn’t want to care for the last of his six children. She and her younger brother, Buddy, were left to their own devices to feed themselves, manage their health care, get through school, and provide for their safety. 

Meeting up for lunch at The Barn at Hope Farm with the dynamic event coordinator, Tonya Dalhaus, was an exciting hour for both of us. We discovered we have a mutual friend, Heather Mitchell, a sketch artist. 

Having just returned from my third cruise in Belize, I can report that it is still one of the most beautifully pristine pieces of water a sailor can visit in this part of the world. 

You may recall that we did a piece on David Cooper’s book, The Laundry Man for the holiday gift-buying season. When I got a call from my friend, Joe Brown at Portside Advertising about a story on a commercial laundry, I thought there must be something in his water. “Seriously, it’s an incredible story. You should meet Sean Chappell and check it out,” he told me.