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.

With the Ryder Cup Golf Competition this weekend, it seemed like a good time to check in on one of the PGA Tour’s preeminent golf legends, Jerry Pate. As he is always on the go, we managed to meet at his office at Jerry Pate Turf & Irrigation in Pensacola. We reminisced about life, his company, his golf playing days, the people he has encountered, and his role in helping build Pensacola into the city it’s become.

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.

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.

The South Alabama Land Trust (SALT) announces the return of its annual Gulf Coast Nature Expo, a free community event celebrating conservation, environmental education, and family fun. This year’s Expo will take place on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, from 9-2 p.m. at the picturesque Weeks Bay Plantation in Fairhope. 

Cam Marston is a man of many talents. His latest creation, Alabama Writers Showcase, is on Alabama Public Radio and features writers like John Nielson, telling his fictional story set in John’s hometown of Evergreen, Alabama.

This year’s Labor Day weekend was also the twentieth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The almost 1400 lives that were lost, reduced from the original 1800 estimated in Mississippi and Louisiana, are a reminder that Mother Nature is undefeatable. Realizing that Labor Day is in the middle of prime storm season, it is hard not to recall the hurricanes that have been part of my life since childhood.

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. 

Two and a half years ago, we wrote a story about Courtney Dombroski, her start-up business, Feed the Fish, and her non-profit, Eco Clean Marine. I was impressed with Courtney’s passion and drive, and wished her much success as she ventured down her entrepreneurial road. 

“It’s like someone just plopped a town down in the middle of a National Park”, says the driver of the shuttle. This is true as the city is surrounded by towering, sculpted red rock formations that are incredibly vivid against the clear blue sky. Compared to the Gulf Coast, I felt as if I were on another planet. Every driver we had, and we had a lot of them, marveled at the landscape and called sites to our attention. “ Look at the Spaceship clouds!’ Becky, with Intown Rides, said. Known as lenticular clouds, they are stationary and appear to hover in the sky. 

Anyone who's been to Gulf Shores knows there are beautiful beaches there, but sometimes that's just about all they know. A visit to the city's museum can fill in many blanks.

You are all alone for the rest of your life, stuck on a deserted island, and you could only have one musical artist (or band) to listen to. Who’s it going to be? What goes into the thought process? Are you happy with your selection?

If you haven't been by the big piece of property long known as "the Triangle" in a while, you're in for some surprises. It's now home to Flying Creek Nature Preserve, which is the newest sparkling jewel in Fairhope's shiny crown.