Bucky’s Birdcage Lounge at the Grand Hotel is the perfect setting to capture the essence of a sunset on Mobile Bay. Surrounded by beautiful ancient live oak trees, warm fire pits, and comfortable outside seating areas, when the sun sets to the west, it feels special every time.

Gabriel Hargett is a native Mobilian but spent most of his growing-up days on Mobile Bay at Point Clear. An avid mountain biker, fisherman, and all-around good guy, Gabriel’s tale has lots of twists and turns but is always forward. It’s an impressive story that just gets better and better every day.

‍On rare occasions, neighbors peer into shallow waters along our Bayfront with shouts of “Jubilee!” Like an Eastern Shore alarm, the excitement from the sight of fresh fish coming ashore spreads word of mouth, prompting Baldwin Countians to “Come, now!” and gather as much wiggly shrimp, fresh crabs or flounder as their coolers can hold. The phenomenon of a free, bountiful catch is one of legend. When I raise the subject with artist Katherine Taylor of Jubilee Flowers, Jubilee Flowers Fairhope – Wedding & Events Florist in Fairhope Alabama Eastern Shore, she laughs.

One of Scenic 98 Coastal’s missions is to raise awareness for the conservation groups that are working hard to preserve and protect our coastal lands and waters. South Alabama Land Trust (SALT) is one of those important organizations. I sat down with Katherine Kuhn, Outreach and Communications Manager for SALT to learn more about what they do.

Health experts say we should eat like a King at Breakfast, a Queen at Lunch, and a Pauper at Dinner. Since I consider myself a Queen, Lunch is my favorite meal of the day for many reasons: it's less expensive than dinner, the portion size is perfect, and you can have a nap afterward (if you are retired) so it's okay to have a glass of wine.

After hearing of a local performing arts studio celebrating its 10th Anniversary, I called to learn more. When I arrived at our scheduled sit-down, I was immediately impressed. Brandon Marcus is an energetic, multi-talented performer that exudes enthusiasm for what he does and the educational performing arts studio he opened ten years ago, The Studio.‍

Golf is the only sport that I know of, where most of the game is spent driving a cart around to find and hit a ball. For me, it’s kind of like a scavenger hunt. These continuous interim periods of driving an open-air vehicle provide all kinds of time for socializing, cocktails, cigars (yuck), and enjoying the great outdoors with beautiful scenery- both manicured (fairways) and wooded (rough). I am naturally drawn to wooded areas.

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Rebecca Dunn Bryant and her architectural firm, WATERSHED. The more we visit, the more I learn how we can better plan ways to tie the Scenic 98 Coastal community together. It turns out that WATERSHED is involved in many wonderful projects from Bayou La Batre and Mobile, to the Eastern Shore and Gulf Shores. It’s just remarkable.‍