National seashore . . . and ice cream, of course !

The weather was SO warm, we chanced a trip waaaay out to the end of Perdido Key, to the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Gulf Shores is a beach town , but the national seashore is pure, unadulterated beach. For miles, there are no buildings. Just the gulf, a beach, a road, dunes, and the bay.

The dunes look a lot better than they did after Ivan! Steve and Allen went off to explore them, crossing the road from the beach to the bay side. They saw great shells in the shallow water, picked them up and... Surprise! Someone's home! Hermit crabs!

That side of the tiny island is more sheltered from the wind, which was pretty harsh on the gulf side. The water was a lot colder than at our "urban" beach house! Daddy and Allen dug a hole that was half an Allen deep. We saw two herons posing and preening and circling around...One pranced off toward where the Crabbes sat in the sand. They spooked it... so it flew right back at me! Boy, I wish my zoom worked better.



Did I mention it's isolated? The closest buildings are just a speck in the distance. Allen tried out the boogie board! And Steve braved some mighty big spray! For a while, anyway... I got some shots of sandy feet that make a great Facebook profile photo.

After Emilyn went on a walk, I saw two dolphins surfing!! They lined up perpendicular to the breaking waves and jumped and rode them right in. It was the most awesome thing, but too far away to catch with the camera. I wish someone had seen it with me!



A pretty long drive back to Alabama... We stopped at Lillian's pizza for lunch -- where I took the best picture I've ever taken of a candle holder -- and used our coupons at Bruster's ice cream. Emilyn tackled a double Dreamsicle cone. Bring your own banana day?? Shoot! We didn't know! Steve dove in to a Key Lime Pie waffle cone. Mmmmmm. Allen had a cool Dino sundae, and I had chocolate-peanut butter buckeye that rivaled Oberweis back home. But just rivaled.

For all the photos from the day, click here.

Lunch at LuLu's

On a great, busy day, LuLu gets a whole post of her own...

One place we drive by all the time but have never stopped is Lucy Buffett's (she's Jimmy's sister) restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway. It's right under the Gulf Shores causeway bridge, and next to Jack Edwards Airport.

Well, it's a landmark, and with good reason. It's a pink and yellow paradise, equal parts theme park, bar and restaurant. Well, maybe heavy on the bar. There are three of them!

We treated ourselves to -- what else? -- Cheeseburgers in Paradise! The burgers were just OK, but the desserts were to die for. We had a huge slab of key lime pie and Krispy Kreme bread pudding! Next time, we're going back just for booze and desserts. Maybe at sunset!




We bought a shotglass for Pete, who's the biggest Parrothead we know.

While Allen was busy playing in the sand, guess who showed up? Spontaneous Abby! Our new friend from the beach! She was sportin' a little sunburn, for sure. Overheard, Allen to Abby: "Do you remember the three tips I told you for learning Swedish?"


A great day overall. Tell LuLu we'll be back for more pie and pudding!

Full family fun in the surf

It's probably a good time to mention that this is the best weather we have ever had at the beach. Best. Weather. Ever!!

So warm, in fact, that we ended up getting Emilyn a boogie board (with evil dolphins on it) -- and all of us ended up using it! There aren't photographs of that all-Crabbe party in the waves... Because Mommy, the photographer, was having way too much fun!

But there are plenty of pictures from Wednesday, starting off with seagull feeding and ending up with sandpipers at sunset. It was really a perfect day at the beach.

For the rest of the shots of the day, click here.

Dolphin cruise !

Emilyn was the first to request our annual dolphin cruise... When I first called on Monday, their sunset cruise was sold out. There's a reason we want the sunset cruise... So we waited until Tuesday.

We were back with Cetacean Cruises, some real fun people with a very comfy glass-bottomed pontoon boat. The tour guide and captain are always so nice, and the two-hour dolphin and nature cruise takes you back into some really neat bayou areas... It wasn't our best year for spotting dolphins, but we did see a few, and got a couple of "Jaws"-like shots.


On the way back to dock, all the kids get a turn steering the boat. Allen's a veteran by now! And this year, our tour guide even snapped a quick family portrait for us!


Another beautiful evening on Wolf Bay. To see all the shots from our cruise, click here.

Back to Swimmy's birthplace

It was a nice, lazy day... We went back to the home of Swimmy, the Original Oyster House, where we bought that great stuffed shark five years ago. Swimmy is five! How time flies for that floppy fish!

Out front, Emilyn posed in front of a new wooden sign... They still have the cutout of a diver, though. When Allen saw it, he said, "I want to be the astronaut!" Upon closer inspection, he said, "I want to be the fishtronaut!"

They've done a lot with the Boardwalk shopping center since we were here last year... There's a lot more boardwalk, and they painted it pretty colors. Sharky's Arcade, an exciting addition, seems to be only open in season. We did, however, go next door to Incredible Candies, and we loaded up a bunch of goody bags to go.

Eating is a major part of Beach Week. And watching some pretty bad movies. This week, we buckled down and let Emilyn watch "Dinner for Schmucks" -- which is rated PG-13, but probably was a bit too racy for the girl!! She thought it was pretty funny, though, and assured us she's plenty mature enough to handle it. I guess it's Mommy and Daddy who are going to have to get used to that concept!

A foggy start . . . and our first tarballs

We noticed right away on Saturday how clean the sand and water were. Truly, the water was as nice as it always has been, and the sand was cleaner and softer than ever!

But it stood to reason that we couldn't totally escape the effects of last year's devastating BP oil spill. On Sunday, after a foggy start, we started noticing our first tarballs.

They were not plentiful, by any means. They showed up about as often and randomly as sticks, seaweed, seashells or anything else you'd see at the beach. They look like little pebbles, but with bits of rock and shells embedded inside. And they're a little gooey, leave dark smears on your hands, and smell a bit icky. There, full disclosure. That said, they in no way ruined our day at the beach. Daddy even collected some to bring home, but Allen vetoed that idea and tossed them back. So all the evidence we have is this photo!

A bit later in the day, we saw an odd orange slick in the water... But Steve said that seemed more like algae or something. It was little specks, not oil. And all the while, I was shooting for the Luxe 365 theme of "Water," so I kept trying for just the right picture. I picked the lonely-looking seagull, but the rest were great too!



To see all the photos from Day 2, click here.

We're heeeerre !

Allen and Emilyn took a little nap to make up for a long night at the hotel...

It was a pretty long drive, and with lots of traffic because we're here on a Saturday instead of our usual Sunday. But the weather's warm and we are here.

Sure, when we got to the realtor's office, we found it totally empty! They'd moved!!? Where?!? After a couple frustrating walks up and down 59 in the heat, we found them. I was mad, but that quickly evaporated when we got to our beautiful home away from home.

We didn't waste any time getting into the water! Like I said, it was very warm out! Over 80! This is not our usual beach weather.


It's warm enough for somebody to jump right into the waves. No caution this year. We're gonna have to watch him closely! Beach Girl, of course, never misses a step.


After our traditional dinner at the Crab Trap, we were treated to a great sky show... the super-bright, super-big full moon!


Yep, we're here! Time to relax and have fun -- and just all be in the same place at the same time. Ahhhhhh...

For all the shots from Day 1, click here.

Beach bound, at last !

We've had such a tough winter that all the Crabbes have been mentally at the beach for months! But now, we're finally on our way to the real thing. Thank goodness!

After lunch at our new favorite place, the Greek restaurant in Blytheville, Ark., we crossed the Mississippi in Memphis and were well on our way. The water was mighty high!

The kids were so very good in the car. I had bought Allen a set of crayons and a note pad... when he asked why, I said, "To keep you entertained." Well, this was one of the many masterpieces he drew in the car:


(If it isn't already obvious to you, that's a picture of two sandwiches cut into 30ths.)

Later we crossed the Pearl River -- in Mississippi, just south of Jackson. Then it was time for Daddy to get his favorite award-winning rice and beans. A little inchworm hitched a ride on Mommy's pants! And look what they have in Jackson -- leaves!

Allen at the river park

My assignment for Luxe 365 was "water"... so we headed over to take pictures of the Meramec River. Little did we know that there was a little too much water! Made for an even better picture!

Allen wasn't captivated by the water... He wanted to play on some rocks and downed trees instead. (I wouldn't have let him in the water anyway! Those are not our shoes!)


The best thing about Missouri woods, as I think I've mentioned before, is how nice and dry they are... Well, they're usually dry, unless there's a flood right next door!

Anyway, it was nice and warm and a good break from getting ready for our trip to the beach!

Southwest Showcase

The stars came out... well, future stars... at Southwest Middle School's annual talent show. We saw a traditional dance from India (Allen's favorite), funny skits and lots and lots of singing. Too bad the microphones were working so poorly!!

Emilyn was a part of the fabulous finale, the Crescendo Singers' "Dance Evolution." She did really great. An amazing amount of footwork to keep straight! And a great mini-solo, too.

Two certain former Stage Krew members in the audience were happy to note that some things never change... Note the hand holding up the flat in this picture! That never happened to us, right, Steve? *wink*

Basketball tournaments are long for little brothers

Last night, Emilyn played in the last games of her basketball season. Tournament schedules aren't the best! She had a game at 5 and another at 8. We had to hang out in Arnold for hours. Luckily, there was a Cici's Pizza, and I had to take my last photo for Luxe 365's Night Shots. Memo to organizers: 8 p.m. on a school night is too late to begin a sixth-grade girls' basketball game!

But I digress. Although the Future Lady Patriots wrapped up their season winless, I feel like Emilyn learned and grew a lot; had tons of fun and plenty of exercise; and bonded with her teammates. And she looks super in her uniform. And made some excellent shots on Sunday!

Allen has had a long season too! He has spent his in the bleachers. Lots of different bleachers. And, as you can imagine, his head is not really in the game.

But Fox High's bleachers are really cool! And you can reach the nets!

Holy '80s flashback !

Maybe we shouldn't tell her how cool neon splatters were when we were her age...

Emilyn is performing in the Southwest Showcase talent show in a few weeks with her singing group, the Crescendo Singers. They have to wear their trademark pink T-shirts, but they're allowed to wear "wacky" pants to go along with their song.

Emilyn decided she wanted to transform an old thrift shop pair of black pants into a neon, paint-splattered masterpiece. Fun driveway project!

This look certainly reminds me of when I was 12... Ahhhh, 1984. Maybe she'll get the leg warmers, jelly shoes and plastic charm necklace to go with it?