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.

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.

If you want to have a taste of authentic Mexican food without booking a flight and waiting in TSA lines, then look no further than El Paisita in Loxley, Alabama.

Soulful electric blues plays in the background as the kitchen staff gets a few orders ready. First up are two half-pound hamburgers fully dressed with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and onions served with sides of jambalaya, red beans and rice.

Having lived in Fairhope since 1977, before it was chic, I have seen many changes. Often, my husband and I talk about the old days and try to remember what was where in town. The lovely home at 63 South Church Street has been a special landmark for us for a long time, and now, as The Fairhope Inn, it is one of the jewels of Fairhope. 

Chad Kirtland knows that food lovers along the Eastern Shore are pretty savvy, but there's a certain segment of his clientele that he really wants to satisfy. He can spot them right away from the distinctive accents that he's known all his life, and that they have no trouble pronouncing the names of popular menu items such as jambalaya, muffaletta, or étouffée.

There is a paw print in the logo of Cosmo’s Restaurant and Bar, and I never knew why. While lunching there with girlfriends, I learned that the restaurant was named for the owners, Brian and Jodi Harseny’s, beloved black dog. His portrait is prominently displayed on an outside mural and on a particularly nice silhouette painting of Cosmo and his cat friend, Junior Mint, looking at the moon. Junior Mint is still alive, living the good life with the Harsenys, but Cosmo is in Dog Heaven.