A Chill is Okay

There is a term "half-back" that refers to those people from the Northeast who moved to South Florida but later move "half back" to North of South Carolina. The reason is usually that they miss the seasons. I can understand that reasoning because we've had unusually cold weather for November with highs in the 80's or at least high 70's most days. All that changed as a cold front with rain on Tuesday night moved through and left us with 60's in the daytime and 30's at night.

The amazing point is that the chill in the air is really okay, even at the beach. When you are sitting on your balcony overlooking that gentle curl of a wave lapping sleepily at the shore it is a wonderful sight for the eyes. The smell of salt air is also refreshing and then there's the wonderful sound to delight the ears. Besides the gulf front there are fabulous sights and sounds on the back bays, which are abundant in our area of the world.

Even my rare opportunity to play golf this week was not at all hindered by the cooler weather, it was indeed very pleasant. We are so blessed to play golf year round on some of the most beautiful courses in the whole world.

Fishing is abundant now too with lots of tournaments occurring both inshore and in the gulf waters. In fact one group just left our area and the tournament winner is going back home $75,000 richer. And it never seems to ever get to chilly to fish.

Basically our gulf coast region consisting of Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach (Alabama) and Perdido Key (Florida) have the variety of seasons without the severity. So right now the chill is okay and soon it will be warmer.

Music Fills the Air

Ever heard the creator of a song actually perform their music with the passion only the songwriter could evoke? For two weeks each year on the gulf coast a variety of venues come alive with music. All the famous spots such as Florabama, Lu Lu's, Live Bait and Beach Club will play host to the Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival. There are also some local favorites like Pirate's Cove, Bama Keys and Tin Top Restaurant where the music will fill the air during the 10 days of the Festival. It is definitely worth checking out when you visit the coast. The event has grown every year and continues to attract talented songwriters to perform their special tunes to an appreciative audience. As always the scene is relaxed and comfortable. To find a complete list of venues and the schedule for this year's event, that ends November 13th, visit http://www.fbisf.com.

Recently my husband and I experienced a unique musical treat when we met friends from New Orleans for dinner. We began the evening at Louisiana Lagniappe with one of the most delicious meals possible. The seafood dishes at this wonderful restaurant in Orange Beach, overlooking the SanRoc Cay Marina, are as close to the New Orleans cuisine as possible on the gulf coast. Because we had not seen these friends since their traumatic Hurricane Katrina experiences we were in no hurry to order our meal. The waiters were very aware of our demeanor and allowed us the time together without pushing us to finish our meal. In fact they were very attentive without being pushy and we spent 3 hours catching up and enjoying our four course meal.

Other good friends had recently recommended a new music venue, Bama Keys, so we all decided to try it out since we weren't ready to go our separate ways yet. Well, it was just the kind of music mixed with comedy that we all needed. The dueling piano players involve the audience in a variety of ways - all fun and funny. They have preset routines but the most fun is watching their improvisation to the song requests from the crowd. Located at 24252 Canal Road, Orange Beach, this rockin' interactive dueling piano bar is worth trying.

Looking back on the evening it had a decided New Orleans flair with both the food, music, restaurant and piano bar atmosphere. We had not intentionally planned to recreate a New Orleans experience but our friends told us later that it was just what they needed since they are missing their favorite spots in their hometown.