Orange Beach, Alabama – Part 4 (the end)

Here we are, winding down the trip to Orange Beach, Alabama. Make sure you read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Thursday morning started with breakfast. Earlier in the week, when we went to the Mexican Restaurant, I saw a place to get Beignets. Now, I know that’s more of a signature New Orleans item, but still, I wanted to try them. I mentioned it to hubby and he was all for it. So off to Café Beignet, we went. Again, we left my MIL and little one to get dressed at the hotel. Note: They never got dressed when we’d go off to get breakfast. 

Café Beignet

Rouses Market
25405 Perdido Beach Blvd
Orange Beach, AL

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Pensacola Beach Eats: Peg Leg Pete’s

I definitely wouldn’t have nearly as many posts about Pensacola Beach if I didn’t break each restaurant down into its own post… that’s for sure. I think I might think about food way too much too…. look how much I’ve been talking about food. And it’s not like everyone enjoys looking at what we ate… but that’s okay, it’s memories. Some day when we’re all eating pills for our nutrition… the future will be able to see how we pigged out on real food :). You’re welcome future!

btw, I’m eating animal crackers right now. 🙂

When we got back from Deep Sea Fishing we were hungry. The night before we’d tried to get into Peg Leg Pete’s but the wait was so horrendous we wound up at Hemingway’s Island Grill instead. We decided at 3 pm on a Monday, surely we could get in for lunch, right? You betcha we did so we finally got to try the… Peg Leg Pete’s.

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Pensacola Beach Eats: Hemingway’s Island Grill

Sunday night after we went parasailing, we ran back to the hotel, quickly changed clothes and went to dinner. Everyone was waiting at the hotel for us because we didn’t even go out to parasail until 5:15, but they didn’t mind, or that’s what I keep telling myself. :).

We decided we’d take the suggestion of Peg Leg Pete’s that everyone said, YOU NEED TO TRY, but they were packed. With our party of 9 it would have been at least an hour and a half wait. We didn’t want to do that, especially not with a one year old so we threw out the suggestion of Hemingway’s Island Grill.

Initially my mom didn’t want to go there because she figured it was like the one in Springfield, but when I looked up the menu it was obvious that it was nothing like the restaurant in Springfield. So we were sold. Especially since we got there and they were able to immediately seat our party of 9.

We decided to start with Mary’s Onion Spirals. Fresh thin-sliced onions, hand-breaded and deep-fried, served with our key lime mustard sauce.

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Pensacola Beach: The Trip Home, Starbucks, Funny Stories & Cantina Laredo

I’m sorry, these Pensacola Beach Posts have drug on way toooooooo long! If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading them all but want to:

And then, it was all done. It was time to pack up and head for home. Dad had left for home Monday night… technically he went to Atlanta for work. Mom left at the crack of dawn Tuesday morning and we were scheduled to leave out around noonish on Tuesday.

Now I probably should just do a post all by itself on this picture… I probably will, but know that we took a piece of the beach home with us :).

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Pensacola Beach: Deep Sea Fishing

I baited my own hook.
Wait, what?
Okay… if you know me at all, you know I don’t like fish. Something about them… I don’t eat them (although I went to the dark side), I don’t touch them, I don’t like them. Although I did poke one with my finger when we went scuba diving at Mermet Springs… then I screamed… Underwater… Loudly.

The only plans that were made when we went to Pensacola Beach was to go Deep Sea Fishing. Dad mentioned it, hubby thought it sounded like fun, so he did some research and then they decided to mention it to grandma. Grandma was all game.

Back in the early 90’s when I went to South Carolina with my grandparents I had the opportunity to go but got talked out of it by my ex-uncle. I just don’t think he wanted me to go…. So when hubby and dad were talking about it I said, I WANT TO GO!

I’ve never really been fishing… I have but I haven’t… it’s hard to explain and too long of a story right now. (As Ross says on Friends…. “I believe the word you’re looking for is… Anyway…”)

We decided to go with a private charter. They were set up for 6 people and there were 5 of us, so it was perfect. Dad, hubby, Grandma, Tbug and me.

We had to get up around 6 to get ready and head out. We were supposed to check in around 6:40-6:45. Oy, these crazy fishermen :). (more…)

Pensacola Beach Eats: Crabs on the Beach

Saturday for lunch we met with Lee, Kiran and their clan, then after that hubby and I had appointments to get massages. When we left for the massage it started to sprinkle, while we were getting our massage it was pouring. Pouring rain so hard that we could hear it inside the building. I said the thunder and rain added to the ambiance.

When we got back to the hotel we all just hung out for a little bit before the question was posed, What’s for Dinner?

One of the recommendations we’d had was Crabs on the Beach. We decided that sounded like a good deal. So hubby went out, got the suburban, came up to the door, and chauffeured us all around.

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Pensacola Beach Eats: Red Fish Blue Fish

How many people can say they travel 10 hours or so from home and eat lunch with friends from your area? *raises hand*

So one of our friends is from Florida, not exactly sure where. His girls went to Florida for the summer to spend time with their mother and families down there. He just so happened to be headed down to pick them up around the same time we were headed down for vacation, so it was time for a friends meet up 10 hours away.

We decided to meet up at Red Fish Blue Fish which was right there on Pensacola Beach. I thought it was cool that it looks like the building is made of old shipping containers.Then I went onto the website and found out that the entrance was made of old wooden planks that were from an old Coca Cola warehouse north of Pensacola. Then they verified that the building was in fact re-purposed shipping containers. So there ya have it.

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Pensacola Beach: The Beach

I really think in my former life I lived on a coast, in a house right on the beach. Knowing me it would either be the Gulf or the Atlantic or maybe Hawaii. I can sure tell you though, when I came in to this life, I got rid of any ability to tan. Yeah okay anyway if you believe any of that, I’d believe the tanning part. I even have Greek in me and I don’t have that pretty olive complexion they get although what little tan I do achieve does give me a pretty, very light, olive complexion. Now I’m just babbling. I think it’s because I start school this week and I’m freaking out!!! Moving on!

The reason I was babbling above is I’m still talking about our trip to Pensacola Beach. Today though, we’re actually talking about the beach! Yey! The whole reason I wanted to go on this trip, to plant my butt in the sand and put my feet in the ocean. If you think I’m kidding, I’m not!

Pretty much the minute we checked in to the hotel, I jumped into my swimsuit and was headed to the ocean. I truthfully couldn’t wait. I guess that’s what happens when you live in a landlocked state that is 10+ hours from any ocean.

 

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Pensacola Beach Eats: Landry’s Seafood

The last night we were at Pensacola Beach, my dad had to take off for Atlanta for his job for a meeting the next day. Earlier in the day we had gone deep sea fishing, when we came back, we showered, had lunch, and then hubby and I crawled into bed and slept for like 2-2 1/2 hours. The heat/sun took it out of us. Plus we were on vacation so naps are totally allowed.

Around 6 or so, I don’t know, I was asleep, my mom and aunt came into our room and tried waking us up for dinner. I opened my eyes when she yelled at me and asked if we wanted dinner. I muttered something semi coherently that sounded like I don’t know ask him and fell back asleep while kicking hubby to get his attention.

I did hear a conversation between my aunt and Tbug when my aunt asked how I slept through his snoring. Tbug answered she doesn’t, that’s why she kicks him. ha!

Anyway he said yes to dinner so we both drug our butts out of bed and down to the car. I know we didn’t, but we felt like we kind of exhausted our food options on Pensacola Beach so someone suggested Landry’s Seafood which was just over the bridge. We all thought that sounded good so plugged it into the GPS and away we went.

This happened to be our night for drinks apparently. When we were in Hawaii we all had Mai Tai’s and they were friggin awesome. I’m not much of a drinker, but I had some of those in Hawaii… During the planning of this trip, that’s all mom and hubby talked about. They had one at the hotel, but said it wasn’t nearly as good as the ones in Hawaii. So when they saw this on the window they decided to try one. Hubby said this was pretty darn close (PDC) to the ones we had in Hawaii. (more…)

Pensacola Beach Eats: Riptides Sports Grill

Hi, I need to be reading. But right now I think my brain is still on vacation mode, even though I got home around 10:30 pm on Tuesday evening by the time we got our luggage and Tbug taken to her mom’s house.

Today I’m going to share pictures of one of the restaurants we ate at while at Pensacola Beach. Please don’t judge these pictures as we all know I’m a photo snob (or so my husband tells me)! The lighting was HORRIBLE.

After traveling all day to Pensacola Beach Friday the 7th, we went and jumped in the pool and the ocean first thing. Around 7 pm we finally decided it was time to go upstairs and get ready for dinner.

Before our trip I asked Janna for recommendations on where to eat in Pensacola since that’s her stomping ground, plus I found a blogger who was talking about Pensacola Beach. Finally, we talked to the driver of our car company about where we should eat. The consensus was Peg Leg Pete’s. We discussed going there or Red Fish Blue Fish that night but decided we’d just eat in the hotel restaurant that night since we were right there, our rental car hadn’t been picked up yet, and mom and dad hadn’t arrived in Pensacola yet.

That meant we’d eat at Riptides Sports Grill. Note: This picture was taken during the day on Sunday versus the night we ate here… that’s why the lighting is good here!

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