With the holidays upon us, we all know the temptation to splurge is in high season. Is there any way around those extra pounds, feeling better about ourselves, or even improving our health and wellness this time of year? Do we really need to wait to get on a better track?

It was the end of World War II. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz ordered that a flight demonstration team be organized to raise and maintain public interest in naval aviation. Within 90 days on June 15, 1946, a group of Navy aviators performed their first flying demonstration at the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Jacksonville, Florida. They were then called the Navy Flight Exhibition Team and were led by Lieutenant Commander Roy “Butch” Voris, who flew a Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat.

Now that the peak tourist season of Summer has passed, many beachgoers look forward to Fall for quiet, leisurely, and more peaceful vacations at their favorite beach community. Come Winter, things will pick up as snowbirds seeking a respite from the frigid northern climates descend on beach towns. The migration from season to season is predictable, but it does change, and, kind of like the weather, especially as economic conditions fluctuate. 

Joey Mason of Mason Hills Farm in Grand Bay, Alabama, has done a lot in his 40 years. He’s the kind of man who doesn’t let the moss grow under his feet. He’s not afraid to take a risk, hard work doesn’t scare him, and he always sees a bigger vision for what things can become.

There weren't many vehicles in the parking lot on this weekday at the B.B. King Museum, but all of them had out-of-state license plates. Foreign accents from a few of the visitors reinforced the enormous reach of this Mississippi Delta native, who is perhaps the most famous blues musician of them all.

One of the smartest things I ever did was move to a town so beautiful that my friends quit asking when I’d come visit them and started asking how soon they could come to Pensacola. Like many Saturdays before, this past Saturday, my best girlfriends and I kicked off another fun-filled girls’ weekend with a little breakfast at The Coffee Cup, my favorite local diner, catching up over hash browns and cheese eggs before diving into our weekend festivities.

I was recently invited to sit in on a roundtable discussion with the principals of Portside Advertising and three of their long-term clients. The occasion was Portside’s 20th year of being in business, providing clients with advertising counsel and marketing execution. The subjects were how methodology has changed and progressed over the years, and what subsequently, the future holds.

On a recent trip to the Emerald Coast, Linda and I went to the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Destin / Fort Walton Beach. This was my first time visiting the park in about 50 years, but it certainly felt familiar. It was Fall Break, and there were lots of families enjoying the beautiful weather. Of special note, the park is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

On a beautiful day in downtown Mobile, one might drive down historic Dauphin Street, windows down, feeling that mix of live oaks, bay breeze, and the hum of the Port City at lunchtime. The street is lined with restaurants, shops, and bars, each with its own story, but there’s one spot that carries a little extra flavor of fame.

The Fall Festival Season is overflowing with chances to get out and enjoy the cool weather. It’s a great chance to relax before the hectic holiday season gets into full swing and there is something for everyone with festivals of all sizes and themes being offered across the Scenic 98 Coastal Area.

If you're dining at Cheeseburger Randy's and want to speak to the person in charge, don't ask for Randy because there isn't one. There will be plenty of people extra willing to engage with you, though, including Alex and Marcus as well as Faith, Caleb, Sam, and Sand.

Matthew Jacquette is new to the Scenic 98 Coastal music scene. When he says he’s only been playing guitar for 9 months before ripping off some incredible riffs, you’ll get caught up in his infectious personality. He's a jokester, for sure, but the high energy and guitar skills he’s honed over the years belie his youthful exuberance.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know what a “Parrot Head” is: a devoted fan of the late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, known for his tropical-themed music and associated lifestyle. I knew that Jimmy had a huge fan base, but I was astounded to learn that these folks have conventions where members of Parrot Heads in Paradise, which has around 200 sanctioned clubs with 20,000 members, meet every year in late October and have been doing so for 33 years!

Even though he usually leaves his instruments at home, Mr. Proctor's students know he's crazy about music. A big clue is that one of their classroom's walls is filled with artfully arranged posters of rock bands like R.E.M. and Wilco alongside blues greats like Muddy Waters and Little Milton.

This Saturday, October 25, the Bluegill Restaurant on the Mobile Causeway, will host the second annual Causeway Classic Wooden Boat show. Saturday’s show will feature several wooden boats, but mostly Stauter-Built Boats. The idea to host a wooden boat show was conceived last year by Channing Flowers to raise funds for his father, Chan, who was recovering from a debilitating disease called Guillain Barre syndrome. A wooded boat enthusiast himself, Chan is doing much better and has made this year’s show his calling. 

The older I get, the more I want to revisit the fun experiences of my youth. I want to feel those feelings again: carefree, fearless, curious, and anticipatory. On a recent Friday night at the Live at Five Concert Series in Fairhope, I went down a musical memory lane, back to the 1970s, when the band Wet Willie played a greatest hits set list that took all in attendance back to our glory days.

Having grown up along the Gulf Coast, I have early impressions of the communities that make up the Scenic 98 Coastal area. Mobile was home, but fishing trips with my family out of Dauphin Island were a weekly occurrence in warm weather. We logged many days at my cousins’ summer home on the Little Lagoon down Ft. Morgan road, and spent time on Cotton Bayou with friends in Orange Beach. Eventually, my folks bought a home in Pt. Clear where we spent summers from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

On a picture-perfect Thursday afternoon in early September, Zeb Hargett and I decided to treat ourselves to lunch in downtown Mobile. The air had that feeling that fall was around the corner, and the downtown streets were alive with people strolling, chatting, and enjoying the day.

On a recent visit to Mobile’s Museum of Art, as I entered from the picturesque lobby overlooking Municipal Park, I was taken aback by the immersive experience of the two main exhibits on display. The hallway leading into the main gallery begins the journey. Cryptic Underwing is a glass and mixed-media exhibit created by local Fine Arts Professor at the University of South Alabama, Rachel Wright.

In 1965, Kelley Wolff’s grandmother, Betty Joe Wolff, opened Page & Palette, the renowned fourth-generation bookstore in Fairhope. She opened a second store location in Perdido Key’s Coquina Village shopping center in 1985, and Kelley worked at this store. Her identical twin, Karin, took a break from the family business and worked in the Orange Beach location of Coastal Video.

When you live in Pensacola, you don’t have to go far to feel like you’re on vacation; here, the best adventures are right in your own backyard. Throughout the year, my family and I often slip away to one of my favorite little spots, Perdido Key. Like a pearl, it was once a hidden gem waiting to be discovered, but today it’s a place you can’t wait to tell your friends about. So listen up, friend, you’re gonna wanna hear this! From the moment you ease down Perdido Key Drive, that salty stretch slipping beneath the Theo Baars Bridge, you can already feel the experience that awaits.

Summer 2025 is officially in the rearview mirror and there are all kinds of festivals and outdoor events happening so you can get out and enjoy the cooler weather. In addition to the Top 5 below, don’t miss our breakdown of events happening across the Scenic 98 Coastal Area over the weekend in the newsletter’s Tidbits and Best Bets – or visit the Scenic98Coastal.com homepage for easy access all weekend long!

There are many adages in marketing, such as “When economic times are bad, you should increase your marketing presence.” However, the marketing budget is usually the first item cut by businesses when times are tough. Who’s right? A common premise is that nobody knows what does and doesn’t work in advertising, but nothing works if you don’t advertise. 

When Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville first landed on Dauphin Island in 1699, he came face to face with a sight that would unsettle even the bravest explorer. Scattered across the beach were piles of human skeletons and bleached bones resting in the sand, as if left behind by some gruesome event. Believing he had discovered the aftermath of a massacre, he named the island Massacre Island.