Thanksgiving of 2010

WHEN? Thursday, November 25

WHERE? Magnolia Springs, Alabama · find us on the map


When we first came down to Alabama in January of 2008, we had no idea we would find a second home at Magnolia River Bar and Grill. Today we enjoyed our third Thanksgiving there. To make this a short blog post, just let me say I had the best food there I have ever eaten at any time or any place.

Not only is this a nice, relaxing way to enjoy Thanksgiving, but, when compared to all the Thanksgiving holidays when most of the food preparation was done by a few people, these past three Thanksgivings have been a cooperative effort like a potluck. I would not want to give the impression that it was not a much bigger effort on the part of some people. In the first place, this restaurant and bar always goes out of its way to decorate for holidays, and this was no exception. In a few days the beautiful Christmas tree will be decorated with many other decorative touches as the season quickly follows on the heels of Thanksgiving.

Most of the photos taken today were of decorations with only a few of some people. If you could have seen the place as more and more dishes came out to be set on the table, you would have had no doubt many people worked very hard to make this its usual success. The Flickr photos taken today may be seen at:

Thanksgiving 2010 in LA

Third Annual Oyster Cookoff

WHEN? Saturday · November 13

WHERE? Gulf Shores, Alabama

We had heard about the Oyster Cookoff at The Hangout last year, but it may have been after it had already taken place. This is not to be confused with the Oyster Fest in Bon Secour, which we did attended last year.

Anyway, if it had not been for a phone call from Diane Saturday morning, we would have missed this one, too.

This was actually the first time we had really participated in any event at The Hangout, located at the "T" intersection of Highway 59 and Beach Boulevard. It is set up for entertaining all ages with it's own sand mountain with a tunnel running through it for youngsters to romp and play on. The outside Beer Garden was where teams were set up in booths cooking oysters to vie for some kind of honors with judges and all. For us it was just a chance to get out and enjoy the gorgeous weather while "people-watching."

The three categories for the competition were: Oyster Rockefeller, Cajun Oysters, and Chief's Choice Raw. I had a couple of the first two categories and one raw one, which was served in a tiny martini glass. Meanwhile, "Bust" was entertaining us with their music on the outdoor stage.

If Diane had not told me about the gift shop inside The Hangout, I would have missed a special collection of trolls on their wall there. During the craze, just about everyone had at least one troll. Of course, all one needs to have of anything is two, and you have a collection.

Only the burning rays of the sun caused us to leave when we did, but visiting with friends in such perfect weather can't be beat.

Check out our photos on Flickr at:

Third Annual Oyster Cookoff at Hangout