Last week, Paige, Liz and Gabriel joined me at the "Pier Relief" cottage on Mobile Bay, just outside of Fairhope, AL. Once we got beyond the travel traumas of cancelled flights, circling New Orleans in Ms. Penny with the doggies, and finally getting to the bay, it was wonderful to have a glass of wine and watch the sunset.
This is the cute little pavillion at the end of the pier in front of our vacation cottage. They had baited the crab traps for us and the next night we had what was my first "independent" crab boil. That means we got the friggin' critters out of the cage and seasoned the water, got the cooker/gas tank going and dumped the catch into the boil. Once you get the whole mess going, you dump a bag of ice to let it soak to infuse the spices and all into the crabs. It was soooo delicious to pick crabs, have a cold refreshment and feel the Gulf breeze as we enjoyed the culture and togetherness of family.
Night view of the pavillion and the crabs boiling. What fun.
The next day we went to Gulf Shores to the beach. White sands, lots of people, deck chairs, umbrellas and tons of people watching. Gabey loved the sand. He thought everyone would just love having cup fulls of sand on their towels and chairs as well. I think he was the most protected child on the beach.
Gabriel now can call for his "Abuella" or "Miss Margaret" so at least he knows who I am. He called the crabs, "Craps" until we told him it's "Crabs". He then announced that "Crab-bas" were there! And, so we just enjoyed the remainder of our visit.
