ORANGE BEACH IN WINTER...

 We are kind of creating a tradition heading to the Gulf Coast each winter for a couple of weeks (snowbirds in training?) and this year we chose Orange Beach, Alabama.  The Hubs worked and we squeezed in a lot of fun between his responsibilities. 

This was our second time in Orange Beach.  We picked a small-ish condo.  We like the small ones because we like the idea of less people and no lines at the elevator.  We like to get privately owned VRBO places that seem well cared for and have fresh furnishings.  That's what we got this time at The Breakers.  It wasn't fancy or brand new, but it was nice, with a magnificent view of the ocean!  We found ourselves with the balcony doors open most of the time.  Pretty great in January!

We did a lot of the same things we did last time we were here - daily walks on the beach, hiking and biking the Hugh Branyon Backcountry trails.  We did find a couple of new things we loved, though:  

A short drive away you can hunt for dinosaurs along the highway in Elberta!

Near the dinosaurs there is also "Bamahenge." It's pretty big - see me in there?

Part of the Hugh Branyon trail in OB

Along the Jeff Friend trail

We reached the lagoon at the end of Jeff Friend trail!

A new Paula Deen restaurant opened in nearby Foley since we were there last time.  We had to try it out and opted for lunchtime.  It's the same menu as dinner but cheaper, of course.  We also got $10 off using a tourist book coupon we picked up at a local grocery store.  Score!  The biscuits were delicious!  I think that and the broccolli casserole were my favorite things about the meal.  

YUM

Buzzcatz is a coffee shop that we frequented often - they have a Happy Meower (Hour) and sell their cookies 1/2 price!  I think we tried all the different kinds by the end of our time there.  :) We went to another great fish place, Doc's Seafood Shack.  We were told by a local that is the best fried shrimp in the area. - fresh, handbreaded - not from Sam's!  It lived up to the hype!  

We shared this - the fried shrimp is buried under all that!

In the meantime, I re-organized my recipe album and did some reading.  I shopped one day and discovered a family owned supermarket (Rouses) that I liked that had a lot of Cajun specialty foods and King cakes!  I visited an artists gallery that houses about 50 local artists' works, Prosperous Pelican, and then enjoyed a little variety store called Al's 5 & 10 - it reminded me of the old TG&Y variety store I grew up with in OK.  

Another fun thing about the Gulf Coast in winter is that they are getting ready for Mardi Gras! 
I got this mini raspberry filled King Cake at Rouse's Market.  
 

See ya another time, Orange Beach!

I love this new tradition we've started - if you're an emptynester what kind of getaways do you do?

P.S.  I always like to find fun places to eat or see along our route and this time on the way home we stopped in Baton Rouge.  We ate lunch at Elsie's Plate and Pie.  It was pretty delicious, too!