We just got home
from a most delightful week in Orange Beach, Alabama. The weather
was perfect, lows in the mid 50's and highs in the mid 70's. Our
tenth floor suite at the recently renovated Island House Hotel in
Orange Beach was super clean and spacious. The view and the beach
were beautiful. The waves sounded amazing. There weren't many people
around until Saturday and even then it wasn't really crowded.
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| Pecan Encrusted Grouper - DeSoto's |
And, oh my, the
seafood!
Our favorite Gulf Shores restaurants, Mikee's Seafood and DeSoto's Seafood Kitchen,
are still providing mouth-watering meals. Mikee's fried shrimp, fried
red snapper and pan grilled grouper are so delicious. DeSoto's pecan
encrusted flash fried grouper and Parmesan breaded flounder were the
best I have ever eaten. We tried a new spot, Doc's Seafood Shack,
which claims to have “the best fried shrimp in the entire civilized
world” – and I believe they may be correct. Medium tailless
shrimp with a light flaky batter were fried to perfection. Several
new places looked promising, but there are just too many restaurants
and not enough time!
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| Shopping load from the beach |
Of course, there
was shopping. Fabrics By The Pound, located in Summerdale, has an
outstanding inventory of high quality quilting fabric and batting.
What I bought wasn't sold by the pound, but the prices were
reasonable at $7.99 per yard and sale prices of $4.99 per yard.
Their decorator and upholstery fabric was nice, and the staff was
very friendly. I was there for a while; filled a buggy with fabric
bolts. Our car was a bit heavier on the way home. At Foley Antique
Marketplace, Jerold found a $50 bargain with a Zenith Transoceanic
radio, circa 1954.
There's
new construction going on with condos and beach houses in Gulf Shores
and Orange Beach. Fort Morgan is still mostly houses, thank
goodness.
To cap our trip,
as we were sitting on the balcony on the last evening, we saw some
unusual activity on the beach. A guy in khakis set out a blanket,
cooler, and a sign of some sort, then left it and hid behind a dune
with a girl in a dress who had a huge camera. Got our binoculars, and
another well dressed couple was hiding behind another dune nearby.
Soon after, a young couple came down the beach and stopped at the
blanket. You guessed it, a proposal. They hugged, he dropped
down on one knee, and she said yes. How cool is that? I hope they
stay married at least as long as we have.
The beach is truly
my happy place. I love being there, feeling the breeze, smelling the
sea air, and hanging out with my guy. If we had an opportunity to
move there, I would have to think about it, but it might not take
long to decide. It is a magical, relaxing, calming spot.
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| Perdido Pass Bridge, Orange Beach |
