Crab Cakes for breakfast

I get the ‘family discount’ at the marina now, so I’ve been taking home a few of Billy’s frozen crab cakes on the weekend for breakfast after our morning walk on the beach.  Could there be a better way to start the day?

The marina at Fort Morgan (now called the Gulf Shores Yacht Club and Marina) http://www.gulfshoresyachtclubandmarina.com/index.htm   has a freezer stocked with flash-frozen seafood from ‘Billy’s Seafood’ at Bon Secour just up the road (motto:  “If it swims, we’ve got it”)    http://www.billys-seafood.com/.

The boys and I have always gone out County Road 10 to the picturesque fish market for fresh shrimp and flounder when we vacationed here, but a bag of jumbo shrimp or scallops (the size of biscuits) conveniently available in a freezer 2 miles up the road is soooooooo tempting.

And fishing at the marina has certainly been exciting since the opening of Snapper season.  Honestly, it’s like Disney World for adults – everyone is happy to be here and the entertainment is absolutely world-class. Even I have several bags of snapper frozen in ice for the next lucky visitors to Thérapie in Fort Morgan!

The new marina is a far cry from the old dock where we chartered with Captain Ron’s twin brother 15 years ago. When my Mother flew into Pensacola to vacation with us after my Daddy died, she decided to treat the boys with a ‘deep sea’ fishing trip.  Our captain arrived 30 minutes late and obviously hung-over. The boys, having seen the movie, were delighted, but my poor mother was white-knuckled for the entire outing.

We never saw a fish, but my boys considered the trip a bigger success than the charter out of Orange Beach where they caught (and had to eat  in omlets, casseroles, salads, etc.) a zillion mackerel.

The new marina is efficient, professional, organized, and friendly.  I’m sure they have bad days, but I haven’t seen one in 4 weeks.  Last night the waiting line at the cleaning table was 45 minutes…. and no one was complaining.

Doctor Sam

My son, the doctor!

Although I dreaded the long trip, I have anticipated this journey for 7 years. After all the hard work and the unexpected detours, my youngest son is graduating from the University of Kentucky’s prestigious College of Pharmacy with his Doctorate. Next year he will be a Resident at St. Claire Hospital in Morehead (and spend his weekends on the lake at Cave Run).

So… I hit the road to Kentucky with the dog in the passenger seat and the poor cat in a crate and Willa Cather on the stereo.

Thank heavens!

Tom in limo

The weather was seasonally horrible in Kentucky, but Buck & Lane had anticipated this and reserved  a limo for the festivities!  We bypassed the parking and tornado problems and arrived at UK safe and, on time. The ceremony was absolutely awesome and Tom, Melinda, Buck & Lane and I had red hands from the applause and achy knees from the standing ovations.

Congratulations!

We were delighted when Sam and Erin accompanied us to dinner afterwards.

Erin and her family held a celebratory picnic Saturday

The picnic

at her home and I had the opportunity to meet her wonderful parents and brothers, Sam’s classmates, and some of his long-suffering teachers.

Beer pong?

And it was a real treat to see some of the old buddies from high school and learn  about their families and their successes.

Old friends

And the next day was, happily, Mother’s Day so I had a triple dose of family on my trip to Kentucky, plus lunch in Lexington one day, and Thursday Girls in Paris.

Poor, tired Erin!

My lovely grandchildren

After the parties

The trip was too short, but I loaded up and headed south Saturday with a smile on my face… secure in the knowledge that I will get the “good” drugs when I am in the nursing home!

Guilt Trip

Thelma & Louise tour LA (Lower Alabama)

With a detour through Jackson, Mississippi  (for the Raoul Dufy exhibit at the Mississippi Museum of Art – not exactly on the way from Kentucky to Alabama) Melinda braved the storms and cell phone problems and arrived for her FIRST visit to Fort Morgan in the wee hours of the morning.  Most of my buddies have been here at least once so Melinda claimed peer pressure and guilt were her motivations for renting a car and making the trek down here alone!

When the sun came up that morning we discovered her rental car was, TA DA, a convertible! The perfect car for the perfect weather. 

Thelma & Louise???

We had a week of walking on the beach, shopping, shelling, and rum drinks. We made a list of all the places she’d heard about over the years, and crossed them off as we sipped Bushwackers at the FloraBama (twice), selected fish at Billy’s, found the perfect mirror at Connie’s and hats & scarves at the Waterfront Rescue,  munched lunch at Lulu’s, met friends for drinks at The Happy Hooker,

Sunset at The Happy Hooker

closed down the Liz Claiborne outlet, and found gifts to take home at Al’s and Souvenir City. 

And we were styling in that sleek black Sebring Convertible!

One afternoon we donned our Thelma & Louise shades and headgear, and loaded Sophie in the backseat with her ‘doggles’, and motored to the legendary Pines for boiled peanuts, beer, and hardware.  We were quite the  sensation.

I think our Derby celebration was my most memorable since the year Betsy helped the waitress at Big O’s make Mint Juleps with dried mint flakes from Brunos (not a memorable recipe).

Derby menu

We were crabbing in the bay with Horton & Sharon until post time, then we zipped back to their beach house just in time to pour the Bourbon.

While we watched the coverage, wearing our hats decorated with sea horses and shells, Chef Horton boiled our catch in a turkey fryer (!! Who knew??)  We didn’t pick the winner, but loved the fairy tale ending and toasted to long-shots.

Then we were escorted to the deck with trays of crabs, rolls of paper towels, and butter and we were instructed by experts on the ‘right way’ to eat a crab. They were absolutely right! Too much fun and too much fabulous food.

That evening she unveiled her creative contribution to my little Thérapie beach house. 

I have many precious gifts contributed by my many wonderful guests and it makes me smile when I dust to remember the visits and those thoughtful mementos. I have Betsy’s Craftsman furniture, Sam & Erin’s Margarita bar, Laura’s pottery, Danny’s bamboo curtain rods, Allison’s frame, Ted’s garden, Claudia’s frog, Charmaine’s beads, Terry’s kitchen faucet… and now Melinda’s mirror.

After relentless shopping, she finally found the perfect vintage mirror, coated it in our white sugar sand and then collected, arranged and glued the shells to create a masterpiece for the blue bedroom. 

Melinda's Mirror

The collage includes Blue’s molted claw, driftwood collected in the fall, barnacles found five years ago, seaweed from the recent storm, and my favorite weathered shells.  It is a treasure!

But the visit was over too soon and on Sunday she was headed back for another tour of the exhibit in Mississippi and then home to Kentucky with her colorful hermit crabs.

It is my hope she found LA as enchanting as I do and will be back very, very, very soon for another week of Thérapie.

Thursday Girls at the Beach?