I love stories about women who turn setbacks into opportunities, making lemonade out of lemons, if you will. In Sally Stringfellows case, she made a champagne crab bisque! A single mother with 2 young girls, she needed to figure out a way to make ends meet. 

I love stories about women who turn setbacks into opportunities, making lemonade out of lemons, if you will. In Sally Stringfellows case, she made a champagne crab bisque! A single mother with 2 young girls, she needed to figure out a way to make ends meet. 

With May Day upon us, we have lots in store. This week’s Top Five Things to Do in May is front-loaded for the first half of the month. Keep up with each week’s entertaining things to do throughout the Scenic 98 Coastal area featured in Tidbits and Best Bets in Wednesday’s newsletter and on our website at scenic98coastal.com. Thank you to the good folks at Chuck’s Fish and Dharma Blue for sponsoring Top Five each month!

Lots of people love the Alabama coast for its beautiful beaches, its many open-air restaurants, and its easy access to saltwater fishing, but it was something else that drew Norman and Jane Lindsey Thomas to the area. They were camping at Gulf State Park and set out on a bicycle ride that would change their lives. 

I love menu tastings: smaller portions, more variety. It’s the epicurean experience featuring the best creations from the resident chefs. I kind of wish every fine dining restaurant would offer “The Experience,” so I don’t have to make tough decisions.

I love menu tastings: smaller portions, more variety. It’s the epicurean experience featuring the best creations from the resident chefs. I kind of wish every fine dining restaurant would offer “The Experience,” so I don’t have to make tough decisions.

Today marks the beginning of our 5th year of publishing Scenic 98 Coastal. It seems like yesterday that we started on this adventure. On April 14, 2022, we launched the first issue without a clear path to what this newsletter would become. “Your readers will let you know what they want,” we were advised. And that’s exactly what has happened. Baby steps.

The Shuck Cancer fundraiser held at Oak Hollow last Thursday had all the elements needed for a great party: beautiful weather, beautiful people, a plethora of local oysters, and bourbon! Oak Hollow in Fairhope is a perfect venue for an event such as this, as guests could stay outside sampling oysters under a huge tent or go inside in the barn, where live music, delicious food, and bourbon tastings were enjoyed. 

This past weekend, we planted our spring vegetable garden. It’s a fun activity to do with the kids. It’s one of those things that you hope teaches them something beyond just the surface level of digging holes, putting plants in them, watering, etc. Indeed, tending a vegetable garden is ripe (pun intended) with potential lessons about life, growth, and death, responsibility and caring for things, and fostering a connection with nature and the food we eat. This spring planting has me reminiscing about our last growing season. For which I will provide a brief recap.

One of the more interesting and entertaining documentaries I’ve watched is Commanding the Table. It is a 2016 film by Academy Award-nominated director Leslie Iwerks about the life and influence of New Orleans Restaurateur Ella Brennan. The film chronicles her role in revolutionizing Creole cuisine, creating the jazz brunch, and launching the careers of celebrity chefs like Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse.

Spring turkey hunters have long held themselves in high regard. They are considered (by themselves) to be cerebral, spiritual even, when it comes to their craft. They are the higher order of huntsmen, the gentle woodsmen. 

Speaking of birthdays, numbers have a way of creeping up on us. Friday, April 3, was my father’s birthday; born in 1925, he would have been 101. Born and raised in North Carolina, he met my mother at Duke University. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering in just three years after enlisting in the Navy’s accelerated commissioned officers program during WWII. He served as a captain of a converted PT boat assigned to rescue downed pilots in the Pacific Theater.

This April is lining up as a great time to take advantage of the Spring weather with a variety of outdoor events and festivals. Be sure to check Tidbits and Best Bets each week for the latest music, live performances, and festivals in the Scenic 98 Coastal communities along the Gulf Coast!

It’s the early 2000s, and the Back Door Poets are hosting a poetry reading at Van Gogh’s coffee shop. Seating is couches from thrift shops or donated. Folk art hangs on the walls. Punk rockers, nerds, geeks, hippies, vegans, and other cast-asides of society gather to share stories and camaraderie, and outside they share beers and cigarettes. Many of the patrons walked around the corner from a house known as the 309 Punkhouse.

The word "stunning" is often used to describe the sounds of The Krickets, and it doesn't take long to understand why so many people feel that way. Even if their songs weren't captivating on their own, the beautiful blend of their voices would instantly make you want to lean in and listen.

Three years ago, I was fortunate to see the film, En Selle: The Kyrgyz Ride, when it was screened in Ashley Parsons' hometown of Mobile. It was an incredible tale of Ashley and her partner, Quentin Boehm’s, travels on horseback on the Ancient Silk Road, a 1600 kilometer (994 miles) journey through the mountains and steppes of Kyrgyzstan. 

Lexi Angeles’ shop on West Cervantes Street creates a space for vintage lovers and local vendors to grow together.

If brunch is one of your favorite meals of the day, you’re in luck: The Ruby Slipper Café, located at 100 N. Royal Street in Mobile will fit the bill nicely.

We’ve all heard the jokes: What’s the difference between a savings bond and a bass player? The savings bond matures. What do you call a girl on a bass player’s arm? A tattoo. Three musicians and a bass player walk into a bar. There are so many more jokes. 

“We could be in San Diego,” my friend Ellen said. “Blue skies, low humidity, and eating lunch outside.”

Located at 1808 Old Shell Road, the Dew Drop Inn has survived hurricanes, recessions, inflation, and a pandemic. There’s a reason it is Mobile’s oldest dining establishment: it’s just that good.

Pensacola has a long history of people who have been successful in their business endeavors and have reinvested in the community in important ways. Not necessarily seeking recognition, their involvement in lending time, talent, and treasure to the arts, health and wellness, and support for those needing a helping hand through local programs raises the overall well-being and appeal of their hometown. These philanthropists see their largess as an opportunity to leave their community a better place long after they are gone.