Weekend Getaway

Last weekend, my husband and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary with a last minute trip to the Gulf Coast. If you’ve been in this space with me for any amount of time, you’ll know that my favorite place is the beach. There’s something about the serenity of the waves continuously crashing against the shore, whether in gentle laps or violent crashes, that instantly brings my nervous system from fight or flight to peace and calm. Add to that the Lord’s natural morning and evening red light, the salty mist of sea spray lingering on your lips and skin, and the ocean’s breeze, what more could you ask for? Except good snacks, of course. And I just so happen to be the queen of beach snacks. 

Those who beach with me know that I’m typically not one to worry about going out to eat. I’d rather spend my time with my toes in the sand and eat my little snacks. But this weekend’s trip wasn’t all about me, and we ate all of our meals out, so I wanted to share with you a few of our favorite things from this trip. 

A few years back, we took a trip for my 40th birthday. Obviously, I wanted to go to the beach, but decided to look for some place that wasn’t directly on the beach to save a few pennies. I came across a cute little studio condo overlooking Mobile Bay in Daphne, Alabama. The owner, Felicia, is one of the kindest souls and has a few units on the property. I’ll leave the Airbnb link to units here for you to check out. If you click her photo, it will take you to her 3 listings there. This was our fourth time in one of her units and we’ve never been disappointed. She has each one decorated differently, but each with a little modern boho flair, so cozy, with plenty of amenities. I promise you won’t be disappointed. The town of Daphne and on down to Fairhope are some of the most beautiful and quaint little coastal areas, with plenty of coffee shops, good food, and shopping. 

One of the best parts for me is that it’s only about an hour drive, depending on time of year, to get to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Perdido Key. Some call me a little bougie (and I’m ok with that) cause I’m spoiled to the more blue-green, clearer waters a little further east, toward Pensacola and Navarre. And even that drive is roughly an hour and fifteen minutes away. I had the perfect weekend planned out, weather permitting. We’d drop our things off at the room and head straight to the beach. There’s a section of public beach between Pensacola and Navarre that most times is uncrowded, with beautiful white sand and blue-green water. My plan was to sit on the beach until sunset and then head over to one of our favorite spots to eat on the beach, Crabs on the Beach. I know it’s a popular tourist spot, but the food really is so good and fresh! I’ve eaten here countless times and it’s always been just as good, if not better than the last time. This time was no different. They start you off with their fried cinnamon sugar bread rolls with a side of cinnamon honey. The menu is full of a variety of options, including some of the best appetizers. My absolute favorite is the crab, shrimp, and spinach dip. I’m a sucker for shrimp tacos so I almost always opt for the shrimp and crab tacos, and they’re always FULL of meat – so fresh and delicious. We’ve had the seafood platters, sushi, and naked fish platters as well. And none of these have disappointed. But possibly the best thing on their menu is the double decker key lime pie. This is most definitely a dessert for sharing, as it’s basically 2 large pieces of key lime pie with the most decadent cinnamon-y crust you’ll ever find. We usually just order ours to-go as we’re too full from our main courses to eat anything more, which is exactly what happened this trip. 

We made it back to our condo late and sat out on the balcony watching the neighborhood raccoon climb the big oak trees, while the bay water danced beneath the starry sky. The perfect ending to a beautiful day!

The weather was forecast to be cloudy at best, with spurts of sun and afternoon rain showers for our anniversary day on Saturday. I decided we could head to the beach for the morning, knowing we would need to be leaving early in the afternoon for our anniversary meal we’d been looking forward to at Gambino’s Italian Grille, near the bay in Fairhope. It turned out to be the most beautiful day–almost no clouds, and the rain held off until the night. We sat in our beach chairs listening to the waves, making our cute little social media anniversary posts and eating our favorite snacks of cheeses, meats, and crackers, and a side of cajun crab dip. If you haven’t had the Publix cajun crab dip with Ritz chips, you’re totally missing out. And my love of LMNT electrolyte packets has turned into an obsession with their new canned sparkling drinks. We had the black cherry and pineapple, and they are both phenomenal!

My husband and I were both excited for our anniversary dinner as we had eaten at Gambino’s in Fairhope several times before and their food has always been amazing! This time was vastly different and I’m not sure that we’ll be back again. From the time we walked in the door, everything felt sloppy and rushed, so polar opposite of all our past experiences. We were seated quickly, which was a plus, and our server came to the table not long after. She brought our water and our complimentary house salad and breadsticks, which she literally dropped on the table and walked off. I didn’t even bother to take a photo of either, as the presentation was sloppy. I’ve always enjoyed their fresh seared scallops, and although they were as good as always, the grilled veggie skewer left a lot to be desired, as did my husband’s dish, which he's gotten and loved other times. Thankfully that tasted better than it looked or it might have gone back to the kitchen. I won’t bore you with the other details of disappointment we experienced. It used to be one of our favorites, especially for a nice celebration like an anniversary dinner. But this time was not it.

The only upside to a rushed and undesirable dinner that close to the Fairhope Pier, is that just a short little drive to park the car and you can walk all around the bay, and onto the pier. It ended up being cloudy, so I didn’t get my sunset, but the fresh air and just being on the water was good enough for me. It truly is a peaceful place to sit and admire the beauty of our Creator. We finished our night on the balcony of the condo again, watching the raccoon and the cats chase each other, while listening to someone’s live music somewhere close by. 

Check-out is 11am so we had a slow morning drinking coffee on the balcony, watching the clouds and bits of rain around us – so peaceful and calm. Our plan for our last meal was to go to another of our favorite little spots we found a few years ago–Market by the Bay. I had THE BEST dish of BBQ shrimp and fried green tomatoes there a couple years ago and I’ll never forget it. It was their "special of the day", so it’s not on their regular menu; however, the last time we went our server did her best to create a similar dish. I was looking forward to this, only to find out they were closed. Sheer disappointment came over me, but husband to the rescue! We found a place nearby that was open and had great reviews. I’ll just say this–thank God my favorite was closed or I’d have never tried this new place. It was literally down the hill from where we had been staying and we had no idea it was there. The Waterfront welcomed us right in and we were seated on the back patio overlooking the bay. Our server was the sweetest little southern soul, who knew her menu inside and out. On Sundays they serve brunch, as well as their regular menu, which was full of bright and fun options. I made a meal of the Poké Nachos, while my husband opted for the shrimp poboy. But neither of these options are just traditional.

The Poké Nachos were FULL of beautiful, fresh tuna pieces piled on top of fried wonton chips and topped with diced tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh tropical salsa, spicy mayo and cilantro. Fantastic!! The shrimp poboy had the perfect size shrimp drizzled with key lime aioli and dressed with lettuce and tomato, served with a side of french fries and remoulade. I’m a sauce girl, so I need to taste all the sauces and make sure they're up to par. That key lime aioli was so fresh and bright. And the remoulade, although not the best I’ve had, ranked in the top 5 for sure. This is now a go-to anytime we’re in or passing through Daphne. Five star service and dishes!

I hope you enjoyed learning about some of our favorite foods and places along the Gulf Coast. And if you’re ever in that area along the coast, stop in and check out some of them!

All my love, 

Angie