It wouldn't be breakfast on the Alabama coast unless we had breakfast at Hazel's in Orange Beach.
And then, of course, we had to go shopping for the proper clothing.
The beach road was beginning to get really crowded because of the Shrimp Festaval.
Linda couldn't find the beachwear she was looking for at the first store so we to one of our favorite haunts -- Souvenir City.
Ah! Just the right shirt! And a hat, don't forget the beach hat to shield our head from the sun.
In case you're wondering, the t-shirt celebrates the Shrimp Festival of course.
And such a festival. Look at that Jumbo Shrimp.
Yes, they do serve it there. It's those folks from Louisiana that love it, doncha know.
Didn't believe me, didja?
This is called "Low Country Boil" for those who never ate like this. It typically consists of boiled shrimp and/or crawfish (it ain't pronounced "cray fish" so I don't spell it that-a-way). Side vegetables are boiled corn and potatoes. There is special seasoning in the boil or it wouldn't be low country boil. And it's usually served on the table on top of a paper towel or something.
No plates. Of course they had to have plates here since most folks didn't have a table to eat off of. But usually you serve this with friends and neighbors outside on a picnic table and eat 'til you can't stand up any more.
Like I said, there were crowds.
The ice man cometh!
Bubble tea is something that came out of Taiwan. They mix it with tapioca balls ("boba").
Young people on the beach played volleyball.
We saw the proverbial silver lining you've heard tell about.
The festival agenda was posted so people could schedule which events they wanted to see.
There were dozens of these "craft" tents where people sold their wares. Here, Linda looks at old photos for sale.
Her Uncle Andy had a Big Green Egg last time we visited him. It's a very nice (and very heavy) ceramic smoker.
I LOVED this old timer. It was a one-lung hit-and-miss farm engine by J.D. This placed used it to make homemade ice cream. These old engines had a very long stroke and small bore so they turned rpm's so low you'd think they'd stall. And the flywheel kept them turning even when the spark didn't choose to fire, hence the "Pop, hiss, hiss" sound of the hit-and-miss engine.
If you'd like to download a 4MB video of the engine running, click the photo below.
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Here's the entertainment tent. I got this closeup but there was actually quite a crowd.
Here was my last shot of the day, the beach walk behind the festival.
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