Fourth Annual Oyster Cookoff

WHEN? Saturday · November 5

WHERE? Gulf Shores, Alabama

We attended last year's Oyster Cookoff at The Hangout ,but the milder temperatures this year made it more enjoyable.

We knew the "lay of the land" which was about the same as it was last year outside The Hangout in the Beer Garden with teams set up in booths cooking oysters to vie for honors with judges. When we arrived, we found some friends at about the same table in the garden. An event for entertaining all ages, it was a good chance to "people watch."

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 but left before the final competition began. Recorded music was played until around 1:45 when The Rantmakers, a band from Nashville, Tennessee, began performing live on the stage. They were very good. I had hoped to show you a video of one of their songs, but I did not punch the right buttons on my camera. I did manage to get a photo of one of the band member's bare feet, which was sort of like Jimmy Buffett's concerts. I love anything that laidback and could not resist including such a photo.

Check out our photos on Flickr at:

Fourth Annual Oyster Cookoff at The Hangout

National Aviation Museum

WHEN? Wednesday · November 2

WHERE? Pensacola, Florida ·

WHY? Practice by Blue Angels

Ever since we've been living in Lower Alabama, we've been meaning to visit the Aviation Museum in Pensacola again. Today we combined that with also seeing the Blue Angels practice behind the museum.

We can now tell you that this was just as enjoyable as the air shows put on annually at the Pensacola Beach without all the traffic congestion. We will tell you that the air shows at the beach include other air planes as well as the Blue Angels. In that respect, they are special. We are considering going to an actual air show at the museum later this year to see how that is from the standpoint of the close visibility.

It is just about impossible to take photos of the Blue Angels because by the time one hears them they are already gone because of their speed. That is why we started taking videos instead. Even those are the typical amateur non-award-winning variety, but they do prove we were there :)


National Aviation Museum and Blue Angels Practice.