The Drift
What we're paying attention to this week — openings, the fishing, what's happening at the Bama, what showed up in the mailbag.
We read the actual headlines so you don't have to feel anything about them. Fresh batch most mornings.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 89: how to walk past a surf fisherman
The guy with four rods in the sand at 7 a.m. is not in your way. You're in his. Here's what he's doing, what he's catching, and the simple rule that keeps everybody on the beach friendly.
The Salt Line, Vol. 80: A Radio Station in the Final Five Twice, a Fish That Lost to a Peach by One Run, and $50,000 to Ask Mobile Whether It Would Like a Dock
A Pensacola radio station is one of five finalists in the entire country, twice. The Blue Wahoos lost to a peach by one run. And Mobile, a port since 1702, is paying $50,000 to find out if water is useful. Notes from the coast.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 88: what an hour of driving gets you on a gray day
Most September rain here lasts about forty minutes, not a day. Here's what sits 20, 45, and 90 minutes from Perdido Key when you need off the sand — and the one drive that is never worth making.
The Salt Line, Vol. 79: The Minutes — A Boardwalk Authorized by a Binder From 2018, a National Search That Found One Guy Already in Town, and 80 Yards of Immediate Answer
A national search for a college president ended with one finalist, who already lived here. A Baldwin County senior turned a five-yard out route into 80. And a document nobody has opened since 2018 is still quietly running Navarre Beach.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 87: the fees on a condo booking, line by line
The nightly rate is not the price. Cleaning fee, damage waiver, amenity fee, parking passes, platform fee, lodging tax — here's every line that shows up at checkout on a Perdido Key or Orange Beach condo, which ones are normal, and the five questions to ask before you book.
The Salt Line, Vol. 78: A Four-Month-Old Lab Joins the Weather Department, a Sidewalk Named for the Two Highways It Touches, and Four Road Wins That Moved the Number Zero
A four-month-old Labrador is now part of Pensacola's weather coverage, Garden Street is getting sidewalks described entirely by the highways at either end, and the Wahoos won four of six in Montgomery and came home with exactly the number they left with.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 86: the bushwacker, explained by somebody who has to drive home
A Bushwacker isn't from here, isn't a daiquiri, and isn't a first drink — it's a milkshake with a rum problem. What's in it, where the benchmark is on both sides of the line, when to order it, and the one-per-sunset rule.
The Salt Line, Vol. 77: A Fishing Pier Gives Back Everything It Ever Snagged, an Interstate Resurfaced Entirely in 'East Of,' and a Magic Number Down to Six
Divers went under the Fort Pickens pier to collect decades of 'I think I'm on the bottom.' Also: I-10 is being resurfaced 'east of' two things, Orange Beach scored 56, and the Wahoos' magic number is six.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 85: what actually changes at the state line
You'll cross a state line on this beach and nothing on the sand will tell you. Your sales tax, your fishing license, the flag system, the area code, and who answers 911 all change. Here's the list, and the one locals' rule that comes out of it.
The Salt Line, Vol. 76: The Correspondence — A Fire Department Now Certified in Corn, 4.4 New Miles of Somewhere to Ride Besides the Shoulder of Fort Morgan Road, and a Friday Night Final That Belongs on a Baseball Card
Escambia County firefighters are now trained to pull you out of a grain bin. Gulf State Park added 4.4 miles of trail. Foley approved a proposal to develop a plan. And somewhere Friday night, two football teams combined for eight points.
The Friday Report: Florida snapper reopens Tuesday, a billfish weigh-in tonight at Zeke's, and the Gulf stays small through Monday
Florida's private red snapper season comes back September 1 — four days out — Alabama's is still open until the quota says otherwise, amberjack reopens the same day, and NWS has seas at two feet or less through Monday with the showers leaning toward the mornings. Confirm before you launch.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 84: the sandbar everyone is standing on
That bright-green stripe of water sixty yards out is a sandbar. The dark band between you and it is over your head. The calm gap in the waves is the way out to sea. How to read all three before you wade in.
The Salt Line, Vol. 75: The Index — One Football Game With Two Final Scores, a Lane Named Springsteen That Stopped Running, and Six Months of Foley Not Thinking About the Cloud
The same TV station reported two different final scores for UWF's first-ever Division I win. Both had the Argos winning by three. Also: Foley wants six months to think about server farms, and a road named Springsteen is not running.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 83: the six-dollar park you drive past on the way in
Six dollars a car gets you an observation tower, a lagoon your toddler can stand in, and the best sunset on the Florida side — and it's the park you blew past on the way to the Key. Big Lagoon State Park, explained.
The Salt Line, Vol. 74: Field Notes — A Species Asked to Stop Posting Its Own Migration, a Library Now Housing the Loudest Animal in Florida, and Humans Who Paid to Swim in Alabama in September
The Wahoos gave Montgomery ten runs and eight walks, UWF finally plays a real DI football game tonight, and the Navy would like the species to stop posting where it's headed. Field Notes from a quiet week on the coast.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 82: the season doesn't end on labor day
The Gulf is at its warmest of the year right now and the crowds left with the school buses. September is the best-priced month on this beach — if you read the hurricane clause before you book.
The Salt Line, Vol. 73: Forty-Five Christmases Without a Raise, a Boat Ramp Charged With Being Parking, and Five Straight Wins in Biscuit Country
Foley is spending $8,535 to replace parade reindeer that have worked 45 straight Christmases without a raise, and Gulf Shores discovered a boat ramp was 'underutilized' right up until the public showed up. Minutes inside.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 81: why your umbrella keeps leaving
The wind that flips your beach umbrella arrives on a schedule, and it isn't the one you set it up in. How to anchor a Gulf-front day so it stays put, on both sides of the state line.
The Salt Line, Vol. 72: Pensacola Joins the Hunt for Amelia Earhart, a Sausage Festival Changes Hands, and a Wawa Closes an Acceleration Lane
Two Pensacola archaeologists are off to find Amelia Earhart's plane this fall, which puts a plane lost in 1937 slightly ahead of the Creosote cleanup on the schedule. Also: a sausage festival changes hands, and a Wawa closes a lane.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 80: how to watch the tropics like you live here
The cone is not a blast radius, one check a day is plenty, and the calmest people on this coast are the ones who've been through the most. A visitor's guide to hurricane-season watching.
The Salt Line, Vol. 71: The Correspondence — Football Delayed 1,400 Years, a $9 Million Handshake, and an Answer to a Letter From 2020
UWF went to build a football stadium and dug up artifacts from 600 A.D. — somebody has been claiming this coast for fourteen centuries. Also in the mail: a home run robbery and a lemonade-stand investor.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 79: the correct way to eat a royal red
Royal Reds are not red because they're cooked. They come out of the Gulf that color, from 1,500 feet down, and most visitors eat them wrong. Here's the local way.
The Salt Line, Vol. 70: The Index — Two Police Dogs With No Job Description, a Town Government Hosting a Meet-and-Greet, and a Lightning Detector Assigned to Friday Night Football
Pensacola hired two police dogs and admits it hasn't decided what they're for. Escambia schools bought a lightning detector for football. The Wahoos won 4-3 the hard way. The numbers, ranked for whiplash.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 78: the free show at the fillet table
You don't need to book a charter to see the best fishing in Orange Beach. Show up at the docks mid-afternoon — the boats, the fillet tables, and the pelican audience are free.
The Salt Line, Vol. 69: One Boom With a Twelve-Hour Arrival Window, a Condo Tower Asks Permission to Keep Not Existing, and Four Runs That Outwaited the Sky
The Air Force scheduled a single boom for 'sometime between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.,' which is also how the cable company schedules things. Notes from a coast that heard it coming.
The Friday Report: seas a foot or less through Monday, Florida private snapper still shut till September, and the heat still owns the clock
NWS has the nearshore Gulf at a foot or less through Monday, water's still 88, Florida private snapper stays closed until September 1, and Alabama's is still open — confirm before you launch.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 77: the chair caravan leaves at eight
The 8 a.m. beach caravan is fighting for parking, not sand. When the lots actually fill, what the leave-nothing-overnight rule really means, and why 3:30 might be the smartest chair on the beach.
The Salt Line, Vol. 68: The Docket — Foley Invents Bowling for Bulldozers, a 'Perpetual' Trophy Comes Home After 53 Years, and the Argonauts Take the Field Pre-Represented
Foley's hosting a heavy-equipment 'Roadeo' where a skid steer bowls, a trophy called 'perpetual' just returned after 53 years away, and UWF's athletes now enter the stadium with legal counsel sewn on.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 76: the fort you can see from johnson beach
Your Johnson Beach vehicle pass already covers Fort Pickens — same park, good for seven days. Geronimo did almost two years there. You can do two hours. Here's the fort day, both sides of the line.
The Salt Line, Vol. 67: Democracy to Two Decimal Places, Football Under Whatever the Radar Allows, and a Recount for Best Brunch
Escambia counted its primary to two decimal places — 27.23% showed up. The brunch election got recounts. And football kicks off tonight, radar permitting. Coastal priorities remain fully intact.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 75: the dolphins were here at seven, you were asleep
The dolphins are not out there at 1 p.m. They were out there at 7, fifty yards off the sandbar, and you were asleep. Here's when they actually show, where to stand, and how to tell a fin from a fin.
The Salt Line, Vol. 66: The Correspondence — Nine Runs Before the Rain, a Referendum on Holding Referendums, and a Loggerhead Who Did Three Months for Somebody Else's Hook
Knoxville scored nine runs before the first beer was finished, then it rained and the game just... stopped. Also: Escambia voted to vote more, Gulf Shores packed a room over a boat ramp, and a loggerhead named Skipper is back in the Gulf.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 74: gulf front, gulf view, and the road in between
'Gulf front,' 'gulf view,' and 'steps to the beach' are three different vacations, and one of them involves crossing a state road with a cooler. Here's how to read a rental listing like a local.
The Salt Line, Vol. 65: The Index — 900 Boxes of History Leave for Georgia, the Feels-Like Hits 112, and a Hockey Team Announces Ice Anyway
NAS Pensacola shipped 900-plus boxes of local history to Georgia the same week the heat index hit 112 and a hockey team announced its first game. The numbers are real. The commentary is ours.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 73: the afternoon storm is not the end of your day
The August storm that wrecks your 3 o'clock is usually gone by 4:15. Here's what to do with the hour — and where to go, both sides of the line, on the rare day it isn't.
The Salt Line, Vol. 64: Field Notes — a Phone That Is Never Allowed to Sleep, a Street Traded for Applause, and Six Straight Nights of Biloxi Regretting the Schedule
Pensacola Beach wants every rental to name a human who picks up at 2 a.m. Robertsdale closed a street for a concert that doesn't exist yet. And the Wahoos took six straight off Biloxi on 83 pitches.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 72: how to spot a local without asking
A local checks the flag and the cam before they put on sunscreen. They bring less than you think, leave before the sand starts flying, and never ask where the state line is.
The Salt Line, Vol. 63: Four Rescues, Ninety-Three Ballots, and a Fish That Kept Coming Back
Perdido Key's seasonal lifeguards closed the books at four water rescues and more than 9,000 conversations. Century cast 93 early ballots. The Wahoos, somehow, made five in a row look like a plan.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 71: which way you turn on 292
Perdido Key Drive is one road with two honest mornings. East is the national seashore. West is the state line. Here's how to pick before the car behind you decides for you.
The Salt Line, Vol. 62: The Alligator Had the Right of Way
A Pensacola alligator closed Graffiti Bridge at 4:15 p.m. and took no questions. Perdido Key showed up with evidence. The Wahoos, somehow, made winning look ordinary.
The Friday Report: still the August clock, Florida snapper still shut for private boats, and two weeks of the same honest advice
Back on the Friday schedule after last week's miss. Water's still mid-80s, mornings are still the only clean window, Florida private snapper is still closed until September 1, and Alabama's is still open — confirm before you launch.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 70: the back bay, before the wind wakes up
The Gulf gets the postcards; the bay gets the glass. The calmest two hours on this coast happen before the wind does — here's where to launch, what to keep an eye on, and why the dolphins are already there.
The Salt Line, Vol. 61: The Correspondence — Lifeguards on the Winter Payroll, a Fire Fee Put to a Vote, and a Horse Arena Priced Like a Timeshare
Gulf Shores lifeguards just signed up for winter — because the beach doesn't have an off-season and neither, apparently, do the rip currents. Plus: a fire fee you'll get to vote on, arena math, and a baseball team that took 'hold on' personally.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 69: the sandbar, explained
Those people standing waist-deep a hundred feet out aren't walking on water — they're on a sandbar that moves every storm. Here's how to find it, read it, and spot the one gap you should never swim through.
The Salt Line, Vol. 60: The Index — One Pig, Three Escapes, Two Thousand Shipyard Jobs, and a Bay Sitting the Week Out
Pensacola police are three calls deep on the pig beat and the going rate for surrender is a sleeve of Oreos. Florida bought 2,000 shipbuilding jobs for $9 million, and dragon boats are invading Stockton. All true. We did the math.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 68: the secret season just started
The beach lost half its crowd this morning and nobody drove over a bridge to do it. School's back — the locals' season just started, and here's the playbook.
The Salt Line, Vol. 59: Field Notes — a $15,000 Nose Reports for Duty, Shake Shack Migrates South, and the Wahoos Win by an Even Dozen
The airport just acquired a $15,000 nose, Shake Shack is migrating to Foley, and the Wahoos won 12-0 — a score that suggests the other team simply left.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 67: audit the gear closet before you buy anything
Your rental's beach closet is usually holding $200 of free equipment, one chair that will betray you, and — if you're lucky — the wagon. Check it before you shop.
The Salt Line, Vol. 58: A TV Network Discovers Our Beach, a Report Card Worth Defending, and a Baseball Score That Belongs to a Different Sport
Fox Weather is broadcasting from Gulf Shores for exactly one morning, the Wahoos surrendered 19 runs to a team named after breakfast, and a building will be demolished so a Chick-fil-A may rise.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 66: how to order seafood like you live here
Royal Reds cook in two minutes and taste like lobster, the no-oysters-in-summer rule is a century out of date, and the word grouper on a sign is not a promise. Order like a local.
The Salt Line, Vol. 57: A Bayou Losing an Argument With Old Plumbing, Farmers Objecting to a Map of the Future, and a Welcome Party for the Only People Who Know What's Coming
Farmers, mayors, and commissioners who don't have the job yet all turned out on a weeknight to object to one zoning document. Plus: a bayou versus 1970s septic tanks, and a ballot about how to hold ballots.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 65: the pier is the best show on the coast, rod optional
Vol. 65 of Sand in the Coffee makes the case for walking a fishing pier when you don't fish — what you'll see, when to go, what it costs, and how not to get yelled at.
The Salt Line, Vol. 56: The Correspondence — a Festival Taking a Gap Year, a Horse Losing Ground to an Orthopedist, and a Tax Holiday That Outlasts the First Day of School
Volume 56 opens the mailbag: a Gulf Shores festival taking a sabbatical to find itself, horses losing a turf war to a medical office, and a $20 million library with a room for your feelings.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 64: the flora-bama, for people who think it's not for them
Vol. 64 of Sand in the Coffee walks you into the most famous bar on the state line and shows you the calm, friendly version most visitors never realize is even there.
The Salt Line, Vol. 55: An 1877 Tall Ship Parked Downtown, a 21-Year-Old Who Used the Interstate as a Runway, and a Concert Legally Required to Reach Eleven
Volume 55 of The Salt Line arranges the week by the numbers — a 105 heat index, a 149-year-old boat, a 24-run pillow fight, and one very important 11 — and lets the whiplash do the comedy.
The Friday Report: tarpon at their peak, Florida's private snapper on the September clock, and the afternoon storms are running the schedule
Deep-summer heat, mid-80s water, and calm mornings before the sea breeze — tarpon along the beach, kings and Spanish off the pier, and a snapper split you need to know before you launch: Florida's private season is closed till September, Alabama's still open.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 63: the wild end of johnson beach
Vol. 63 of Sand in the Coffee heads to where the condos run out — Johnson Beach, the undeveloped end of the key, and how to do it right without a single service in sight.
The Salt Line, Vol. 54: Broadcasting Live From the Dune Line — a Sea Turtle That Outran the Whole Beach, a County That Voted the Robots Off the Island, and a No-Hitter Undone by a Single Out
Volume 54 of The Salt Line goes full nature documentary: one hatchling beats an entire beach to the water, Escambia evicts the data centers, and a no-hitter dies one out from history.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 62: why the gulf feels like bathwater in august
Vol. 62 of Sand in the Coffee explains why the August Gulf reads like a warm bath instead of a cold plunge — and how locals time the water, the shade, and the sweat you can't see.
The Salt Line, Vol. 53: The Standing Committee Rules — an Airport That Reads the TSA Line for You, a University Investigating Its Own Homework, and a Dig That Found the Last Locals Who Managed Without Any of It
Volume 53 convenes the Standing Committee to rule on a phone that now grieves the security line for you, a truck waging foggy war on Beulah, and a pottery dig older than the agenda itself.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 61: the dolphins you don't have to pay to see
Vol. 61 of Sand in the Coffee tells you exactly where and when to watch wild dolphins from the sand for free — and when the paid cruise is actually worth it after all.
The Salt Line, Vol. 52: Teachers Beat the Kids Back to School, a Ballgame Finished a Month After It Started, and a Ribbon Cut on the One Door Built to Keep People In
Volume 52 of The Salt Line finds a July baseball game limping across the finish line in August, a courthouse throwing a party for its new jail door, and a ball club that has already scheduled October.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 60: the chair you're renting by the day
Vol. 60 of Sand in the Coffee does the math on the beach-service chairs — that tidy row of loungers and umbrellas someone sets up before you wake — and tells you exactly when it's worth the money and when it isn't.
The Salt Line, Vol. 51: The Mailbag — a Road Fixed Before Lunch, a Flight Suit With New Tailors, and a Library Cutting Its Ribbon at Ten Sharp
Volume 51 is a mailbag, which means I made up the letters and the news made up itself — a drainage pipe fixed in under a day, a $24 million road, new tailors for the Blue Angels, and a library with a schedule.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 59: the rainy-afternoon playbook
Vol. 59 of Sand in the Coffee is for the day the radar turns purple at 2 p.m. — how the summer storm actually works down here, and exactly where to point the car until it blows through.
The Salt Line, Vol. 50: By the Numbers — a Water Park Measured in Acres, a Flight Suit Contract Older Than the Jets, and a Return-to-School Date the Kids Can Already Smell
Volume 50, and this week the news came pre-loaded with digits — five acres, forty-three years, twenty-six thousand dark houses — so we counted them out loud instead of writing sentences about them.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 58: the saturday changeover
Vol. 58 of Sand in the Coffee is about the one day the whole island swaps hands at once — how to survive the Saturday rental turnover, whether you're leaving, arriving, or just trying to buy milk.
The Salt Line, Vol. 49: The Local Ecosystem Report — a Pollinator Garden That Finished on Time, a Teenager Doing Barrel Rolls, and a Ball Club That Forgot How to Lose
Volume 49 of The Salt Line goes full nature documentary — observing bees that beat every road crew on the coast, a red light under investigation, and 13 miles of highway about to get a fresh coat, all in their natural habitat.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 57: the beach after the lights go out
Vol. 57 of Sand in the Coffee is about the free show most visitors sleep through — the August night sky over the sand, the Perseids, and how to actually see it without gear, a gate code, or a clue.
The Salt Line, Vol. 48: The Minutes — 4.76 Miles of Fresh Road, a $10 Water Slide for Heroes, and a Man Who Refuses to Wait for the Second Pitch
Volume 48 convenes the coast's imaginary civic body to rule on a road measured to the hundredth of a mile, a dirt path briefly demoted to a trench, and one ballplayer who declined to form a subcommittee.
The Friday Report: Florida snapper's last summer day, tarpon down the beach, and the storm clock set to two
Our weekly read from bay to bottom — trout and reds at first light, tarpon rolling off the sand, and a hard regs deadline: today is the last day of Florida's summer snapper season for private boats.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 56: when the boats come in
Vol. 56 of Sand in the Coffee is about the best free show on the coast — the afternoon return of the charter fleet — and how to enjoy every bit of it without ever booking a trip or baiting a hook.
The Salt Line, Vol. 47: A Hockey Schedule Printed During a Heat Wave, a Home Run Record That Won't Sit Still, and a $24 Million Bridge for People Who Refuse to Drive
Volume 47 convenes the imaginary committee that runs the Gulf Coast: someone scheduled ice hockey, Pensacola wants a third professional sport, and a man named Compton keeps rewriting the record book on his own time.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 55: the stingray shuffle
Vol. 55 of Sand in the Coffee is about the four-pound thing camouflaged six inches from your ankle — and the ten-cent habit that means you'll never have a bad story about it.
The Salt Line, Vol. 46: A Heat Index of 115, a Viral German Who Picked Fairhope, and a Ballot That Needs Your Vote
Volume 46 of The Salt Line braves a 115-degree feels-like, a German tourist who saw all of America and chose Fairhope, a ballot begging for clicks, and a baseball team that lost the game in the first inning.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 54: how to spot a local in one glance
Vol. 54 of Sand in the Coffee is a field guide to the locals on the beach — the small tells that give us away, every one of which is also a tip you can steal for a better beach day.
The Salt Line, Vol. 45: A Fat Tuesday Rescheduled to Saturday, Six Jets for One Mail Plane, and $74 Million in Geothermal Whatevers
Volume 45 opens the mailbag in a heat index that could poach an egg on a bumper — Mardi Gras eyeing the weekend, a Navy plane getting a hero's escort for hauling the mail, and a factory whose name I had to read three times.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 53: the royal red is not a regular shrimp
Vol. 53 of Sand in the Coffee makes the case for the royal red — the deep-water Gulf shrimp that tastes like lobster, cooks in about two minutes, and should never, under any circumstances, be fried.
The Salt Line, Vol. 44: The Index — a $3.96 Gallon, a 1–0 Championship, and a Fire Station Two Years Too Young to Have Mold
Volume 44 of The Salt Line does the math: a $3.96 gallon, a national title won by a single goal, a two-year-old firehouse already growing mold, and the coast's finest cooling center that also happens to sell popcorn.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 52: reading the rental listing before you book
Vol. 52 of Sand in the Coffee decodes the beach rental listing — what 'Gulf front' really means versus 'Gulf view,' which side of the road you're actually on, and the three fees that quietly stack up after the nightly rate.
The Salt Line, Vol. 43: Field Notes — a Cone That Refuses to Migrate, an Apex Predator Named Compton, and a Rooftop Bar Arriving in the Year 2028
Volume 43 of The Salt Line goes full nature documentary, observing the local ecosystem in late July: the orange cone in its habitat, a ballclub's final hunt, a returning songbird, and a species being politely repelled.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 51: the seven a.m. beach walk
Vol. 51 of Sand in the Coffee is the case for setting an alarm you'll resent — the empty morning beach, what the tide leaves at the wrack line, which shells you're allowed to keep, and who you'll meet out there before the chairs arrive.
The Salt Line, Vol. 42: The Meeting Will Come to Order — Free Kittens, a Room for Being Quiet, and a 4–0 Game Played in Both Directions
Volume 42 convenes the county's least official committee to rule on real news: a county that found its one legal spot and closed it, a ball team that lost and won by the exact same score, and free pets with a fifteen-dollar catch.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 50: how to plant an umbrella that stays planted
Vol. 50 of Sand in the Coffee is about the beach umbrella — why yours keeps cartwheeling down the sand at two in the afternoon, the two-minute method that fixes it, and the days you should just leave it in the car.
The Salt Line, Vol. 41: Five Cannonballs Through Airport Security, a Highway That Ends at Buc-ee's, and a Machine Asked to Prove It Can Count
Volume 41 of The Salt Line: a souvenir run that reached artillery, an interstate whose finish line is a gas station, a fall deadline nobody's shocked about, and monster trucks.
The Friday Report: tarpon at their peak, the snapper clock ticking down, and a rare calm week to use it
Our weekly read from the bay to the bottom — trout and reds early, tarpon rolling the beach at dawn, kings and Spanish off the pier, and snapper still open both sides of the line but with a Florida deadline coming fast. The weather's kind this week; the calendar isn't.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 49: the sandbar everyone's standing on
Vol. 49 of Sand in the Coffee explains the sandbar — what that crowd standing chest-deep way out past the waves is actually doing, why it's the best seat on the beach, and the one thing between you and it that catches people every summer.
The Salt Line, Vol. 40: Dear Salt Line — Five Letters, One About a Bridge That's Been Closed Since the First Grade
Volume 40 of The Salt Line opens the mailbag, where readers write in about hoarding, a six-and-a-half-year detour, vinyl records, Mardi Gras in the wrong month, and an Australian restaurant that crossed an entire ocean to reach Pensacola.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 48: living on both sides of the state line
Vol. 48 of Sand in the Coffee is the two-state field guide — what actually changes when you cross from Perdido Key into Orange Beach, what doesn't, and the four things worth knowing before you drive it.
The Salt Line, Vol. 39: The Receipt — a Road Project With a Rolling Release Date, Surfers on a Leash, and a Sales Tax Old Enough to Rent a Car
Volume 39 of The Salt Line itemizes the week: $4.6 million of road work, one deadline quietly walking away, a leashed surfer, and a storm that ruined everything without ever showing up.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 47: what's actually local on the menu
Vol. 47 of Sand in the Coffee is a menu decoder: which fish on a Gulf Coast menu in July actually came out of this water, which one flew here, and the one question that gets you a straight answer.
The Salt Line, Vol. 38: The Wildlife Documentary — a One-Year-Old Airport That Already Needs a Bigger One, a Demolition Derby That Counts as Back-to-School, and a Midnight Watch Over Turtle Eggs
Volume 38 crouches in the sea oats and narrates: a storm files for a postponement, a $15 million terminal, volunteers standing over eggs in the dark, and pottery that outlasted everybody who's ever complained about the humidity.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 46: the rainy-day range
Vol. 46 of Sand in the Coffee is your rainy-day map: when the Gulf goes double-red and the umbrellas stay in the closet, there's a whole coast within an hour that doesn't care what the surf's doing.
The Salt Line, Vol. 37: The Emergency Session — $370 Million in Road Projects, Free Sand by the Truckload, and a Marlin Champion Named 'A Work of Art'
Volume 37 gavels in an emergency session as a tropical storm circles: the state hands out $370 million, the county hands out free sand, and a boat named 'A Work of Art' quietly wins everything again.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 45: the six orphan hours of changeover saturday
Vol. 45 of Sand in the Coffee solves the gap nobody plans for: checkout is at 10, check-in is at 4, and the six hours in between can be the best of your trip.
The Salt Line, Vol. 36: The Quiet After the Jets — a Monday Deadline, Cones in Bloom, and One Long Sunday at the Ballpark
Volume 36 of The Salt Line surveys the morning after air show weekend: a Monday voter deadline, a sixteenth helping of orange cones, and a Sunday at the ballpark that got long in a hurry.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 44: the afternoon storm is a schedule, not a surprise
Vol. 44 of Sand in the Coffee decodes the July forecast: that 50% chance of storms is a timetable, not a verdict, and your beach day is bigger than it.
The Salt Line, Vol. 35: The Correspondence — Flannel in July, Sixteen Runs, and an $8,022,410 Question
Volume 35 opens the mailbag: readers write in about vibrating condos, haunted left turns, and whether flannel is legal in Alabama in July, and the week's real news answers every one of them.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 43: surf fishing for people who don't fish
Vol. 43 of Sand in the Coffee puts one cheap rod in your hand and explains why the water in front of your rental is a fishing spot people book flights for.
The Salt Line, Vol. 34: By the Numbers — Five of Six Jets, a $30 Boat Past the Traffic, and a Ban on Buildings That Don't Exist
Volume 34 runs the week through the adding machine: five of six jets accounted for, thirty dollars to skip the worst traffic of the year, and one county banning buildings nobody has proposed.
The Friday Report: the Florida snapper countdown, storms squatting on the weekend, and Monday looking like the day
Our weekly read from the bay to the bottom — two weekends left on Florida's daily snapper season, tarpon still working the beach at dawn, and a stormy weekend forecast that makes Monday and Tuesday the smart play.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 42: the lagoon side of Johnson Beach
Vol. 42 of Sand in the Coffee walks you across the road at Johnson Beach — to the calm, knee-deep, heron-patrolled lagoon side that most visitors drive past for years without noticing.
The Salt Line, Vol. 33: A Sold-Out Rehearsal, a $2.1 Million Fish, and a Two-Year-Old With a Badge
Volume 33 observes the Gulf Coast in peak July: thousands attend a practice, 75 boats chase one very expensive fish, and Orange Beach puts a two-year-old named Gator on the payroll.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 41: the taped-off squares are somebody's eggs
Vol. 41 of Sand in the Coffee explains the stake-and-tape squares up by the dunes — who's inside them, why your beach hole matters at 2 a.m., and how to watch turtle season like a local.
The Salt Line, Vol. 32: The Docket — the Navy v. Everyone's Hats, a Lifeguard Penthouse, and a Twenty-Year Ask That Got Zero
Volume 32 convenes the court: a jet allegedly relocated several hats, Orange Beach built a lifeguard penthouse, and a developer asked Pensacola for twenty years of tax breaks and settled for none.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 40: the condo shrimp boil beats the wait list
Vol. 40 of Sand in the Coffee is about the best seafood dinner on the island in July — the one you boil yourself, in your rental, for half the money and none of the pager.
The Salt Line, Vol. 31: A Plane's Semester Abroad, a 20-Year Homework Assignment, and Fog at Sunset
Volume 31 of The Salt Line waves goodbye to a beloved cargo plane, fills out Gulf Shores' 20-year questionnaire, and reports live from the mosquito front, where the county has scheduled a mission.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 39: book next summer before you drive home
Vol. 39 of Sand in the Coffee is about the ninety-second conversation at checkout that gets you the same unit, the same week, next July — usually for less than a stranger will pay.
The Salt Line, Vol. 30: Reader Mail — a Grounded Drone, Three-Digit Parking, and a Library in Boxes
Volume 30 opens the mailbag: a drone owner learns the sky has a guest list, parking hits triple digits, Foley's library packs itself into boxes, and Pensacola finds a team that wins.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 38: how to spot a local in one glance
Vol. 38 of Sand in the Coffee is a field guide to the year-round resident — the five giveaways that mark a local at a hundred feet, and why copying them will upgrade your whole week.
The Salt Line, Vol. 29: The Index — a Ballgame Frozen at 2–2, Ten Million Dollars of Tomatoes, and a Recruiting Class From the Future
Volume 29 runs the week entirely by the numbers: one baseball game sealed at 2–2 until August, a $10 million farmers market, two counties of cones, and college recruiters shopping in 2027.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 37: the beach gear closet audit
Vol. 37 of Sand in the Coffee opens the rental's hall closet before you spend a dime — what's actually in there, what it's worth, and the one thing still worth buying.
The Salt Line, Vol. 28: Field Notes — a Specimen Drafted, 18 Ballots Sighted, and $65,000 Loose in the Ecosystem
Volume 28 goes full nature documentary: a rare local specimen migrates to Pittsburgh, exactly eighteen mail ballots emerge from the wild, and a paper mill prepares to shed $65,000.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 36: the 7 a.m. beach walk economy
Vol. 36 of Sand in the Coffee covers the quiet first shift of the beach — the shell hunters, the wrack line, and why everything good is gone by nine.
The Salt Line, Vol. 27: Minutes From the Committee — Mermaids Confirmed, the Beach Declared Full, and a Meeting Rated 'Significant'
Volume 27 of The Salt Line convenes official proceedings on a mermaid LLC, a $100 million groundbreaking, an 11-1 baseball incident, and a road meeting that rated itself.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 35: the four o'clock fish parade
Vol. 35 of Sand in the Coffee is about the best free show on the coast — the charter fleet coming home — and how to watch it like you've been doing it for years.
The Salt Line, Vol. 26: Bees Under an Umbrella, Jets Over the Beach, and Foley Declares It December
Volume 26 of The Salt Line finds honeybees claiming beachfront property, a baseball team addicted to drama, a county saying no to server farms, and one Alabama town canceling July entirely.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 34: the correct way to eat a royal red
Vol. 34 of Sand in the Coffee tackles the Royal Red — what this deep-water shrimp actually is, how to order it without embarrassing yourself, and why frying one should require a permit.
The Salt Line, Vol. 25: Dear Salt Line — Saharan Dust, a 30-Year Bridge, and Back-to-School in July
Volume 25 opens the mailbag: readers write in about hazy sunsets, unfinished projects, and quitting swim lessons, and the real news of the Gulf Coast answers every single one of them.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 33: what the sandbar actually is and why everyone's standing on it
Vol. 33 of Sand in the Coffee explains the sandbar — why forty strangers are standing in the middle of the Gulf like it's a cocktail party, how to read the water's color stripes, and the one gap you should never swim through.
The Salt Line, Vol. 24: 800 Acres, Two Cities Pumping the Brakes, and One Slightly Longer Minute
Volume 24 of The Salt Line runs the week through a calculator: 800 opted-out acres, one growth plan on life support, two cities pausing apartments, and radio's most honest rebrand.
The Friday Report: tarpon time for real, snapper open on both sides, and the heat sets the clock
Back after a few weeks off the schedule — bathwater Gulf, tarpon running the beach, snapper open in both states through the heart of July, and a calm, stormy-afternoon week that rewards the early riser.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 32: how to win check-in saturday
Vol. 32 of Sand in the Coffee tackles the most chaotic day of every beach week — turnover Saturday — and how to arrive, stock up, and settle in like you've done this before.
The Salt Line, Vol. 23: A Near-Perfect Game, a Sunken Casino, and the Week Foley Decided to Finish Everything
Volume 23 of The Salt Line brings you a pitcher flirting with perfection, scuba divers touring a casino boat, dragon boats invading the Delta, and Foley completing a sidewalk with genuine emotion.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 31: the 3 o'clock storm is not ruining your day
Vol. 31 of Sand in the Coffee is about July's daily afternoon thunderstorm — the most predictable weather event on the coast, and how to plan a full beach day around it instead of surrendering to it.
The Salt Line, Vol. 22: A Near-Perfect Game, Four Ejections, and a Boardwalk Taking a Personal Week
Volume 22 of The Salt Line brings you a pitcher flirting with perfection while everyone got thrown out around him, a beach access on sabbatical, and a road project that — I'm serious — actually finished.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 30: surviving changeover saturday
Vol. 30 of Sand in the Coffee is about the weekly Saturday shuffle — when half the coast checks out, the other half checks in, and you can glide through it all with a little timing.
The Salt Line, Vol. 21: Trash Pandas, a Robot Named Penny, and a $131 Million High School
Volume 21 of The Salt Line surveys the post-Fourth wreckage: the Blue Angels went to New York, a baseball team lost to raccoons, and Pensacola hired a robot receptionist.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 29: reading the july sky — how to beat the afternoon storm
Vol. 29 of Sand in the Coffee is about July's daily pop-up thunderstorm — how to see it coming, plan your beach day around it, and stop letting a 40% rain chance ruin a perfectly good morning.
The Salt Line, Vol. 20: A Bigger Barge, a Robot Named Penny, and 47 Million Reasons to Practice Free Throws
Volume 20 of The Salt Line arrives on America's 250th birthday with an oversized fireworks barge, a $131 million high school, an AI phone operator, and a baseball team losing to raccoons.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 28: how to survive a holiday weekend down here
Vol. 28 of Sand in the Coffee is the holiday-weekend playbook — how locals handle the Fourth, Memorial Day, and Labor Day without spending half the trip in traffic or hunting a patch of sand.
The Salt Line, Vol. 19: Panthers, Trash Pandas, and a Casino Boat That Finally Lost It All
Volume 19 of The Salt Line brings you a casino boat sleeping with the fishes on purpose, a robot answering Pensacola's phones, paid parking arriving right on schedule, and a panther who did not ask permission.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 27: eating out in the middle of high season
Vol. 27 of Sand in the Coffee is about the one thing that trips up more visitors than parking — getting a table in July without staring down a 90-minute wait or eating dinner at 4:30 out of desperation.
The Salt Line, Vol. 18: Straight A's, a Sunken Casino, and a Ball Team on a Mood Swing
Volume 18 of The Salt Line brings you a whole county of report-card overachievers, a casino boat living out its final dream on the seafloor, a baseball team that cannot decide who it is, and paid parking arriving just in time to ruin your Saturday.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 26: doing the fourth of july down here
Vol. 26 of Sand in the Coffee is your local playbook for the Fourth of July weekend on Perdido Key — where the fireworks are, when to move your car, and how to enjoy the biggest beach day of the year without losing your mind in it.
The Salt Line, Vol. 17: A Fish Team's Revenge Arc, a Team Puppy, and Parking You Now Pay For
Volume 17 of The Salt Line finds the Blue Wahoos winning for once, adopting a puppy for good measure, Gulf Shores turning your parking spot into a subscription, and the sky attempting to cook us all alive.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 25: reading the afternoon sky
Vol. 25 of Sand in the Coffee is about the one weather pattern that runs your whole summer day down here — the afternoon Gulf thunderstorm — and how locals time around it instead of getting caught by it.
The Salt Line, Vol. 16: A Casino Boat Becomes a Fish Hotel, and Dolly Parton Walks Away From an RV Park
Volume 16 of The Salt Line is here, and this week we sank a riverboat on purpose, watched a pirate dinner theater sail off, threw a redemption party for one very abused baseball team, and learned the entire state of Alabama is just moving to Baldwin County.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 24: surviving the fourth of july week
Vol. 24 of Sand in the Coffee is your locals' playbook for the busiest week of the year down here — when to move, where to watch the fireworks, and how not to spend your holiday stuck on Perdido Key Drive.
The Salt Line, Vol. 15: The Wahoos Got Their Revenge and a Snake Crashed the Flora-Bama
Volume 15 of The Salt Line is here, and this week the Wahoos turned the tables, gas prices did the opposite of what the headline promised, four sea turtles bought beachfront, and Geoffrey the Giraffe rose from the dead.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 23: reading the afternoon thunderstorms
Vol. 23 of Sand in the Coffee is your locals' guide to the summer pop-up storm — the daily 3 p.m. ritual that scares off the tourists and barely slows down the people who live here.
The Salt Line, Vol. 14: A Snake, A Sunken Boat, and Geoffrey the Giraffe's Triumphant Return
Volume 14 of The Salt Line brings a baseball team that has discovered the comeback, a snake auditioning at the Flora-Bama, a casino boat headed to the bottom of the Gulf, and a beloved giraffe rising from bankruptcy.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 22: how to do the Fourth of July without losing your mind
Vol. 22 of Sand in the Coffee is your locals' playbook for the busiest beach weekend of the year — when to go, where to park, and how to actually enjoy the Fourth instead of surviving it.
The Salt Line, Vol. 13: A Comeback, a Giraffe, and a Casino Boat Sleeping With the Fishes
Volume 13 of The Salt Line: the Blue Wahoos rise from the dead, Geoffrey the Giraffe returns to Baldwin County, a casino boat gets sunk on purpose, and a man named Tater wins in court.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 21: the bay side vs. the Gulf side
Vol. 21 of Sand in the Coffee settles the debate locals have been quietly winning for years — the bay side isn't second place, it's a completely different game.
The Salt Line, Vol. 12: Ships, Skeeters, and a Baseball Team That Is Simply Being Bullied
Volume 12 of The Salt Line is here, and this week the Gulf Coast served up mosquitoes, a parking crisis, a fish getting beaten up repeatedly, and the promise of 2,000 jobs that will absolutely require a $76 million permission slip first.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 20: the underrated weekday
Vol. 20 makes the case that the best beach day you'll have all June has nothing to do with a Saturday — and everything to do with showing up when the tourists don't.
The Salt Line, Vol. 11: Ships, Bikes, and a Man Who Has Outlived Your Excuses
Volume 11 of The Salt Line arrives like a June thunderstorm: briefly terrifying, over in fifteen minutes, and somehow the e-bikes are still the problem.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 19: how to read the Gulf before you ever touch the water
Volume 19 is here, and this morning I'm walking you through the thing no rental brochure ever will — how to actually read the Gulf of Mexico before you wade in.
The Salt Line, Vol. 10: A Fish, A Pool, And A County That Said No To Robots
Volume 10 of The Salt Line arrives like a Gulf summer storm — loud, a little absurd, and leaving you slightly sticky with questions about aquatics infrastructure.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 18: how to read a restaurant menu like a local
Vol. 18 of Sand in the Coffee hands you the cheat sheet locals never wrote down — how to order Gulf Coast seafood without getting played by the menu.
The Salt Line, Vol. 9: Heat Indexes, Hero Dogs, and the Pier's Two-Hour Prayer Retreat
Volume 9 of The Salt Line is here, and this week the coast delivered: a puppy named Skipper crashed local TV, fishermen got a curfew, and Gulf Shores football is already emotionally peaked in June.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 17: the etiquette of the public beach access
Vol. 17 is here, and I've got a few things to say about how you roll up to a public beach access — and how the locals wish you would.
The Salt Line, Vol. 8: Closed Waters, Open Wounds, and a Fish That Finally Caught a Break
Volume 8 of The Salt Line arrives like a double-red flag on a Sunday — technically you shouldn't be out here, but here we are anyway, and someone's getting a fine.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 16: how to pack like you actually live here
Volume 16 of Sand in the Coffee gets into the stuff nobody tells you to bring — and the stuff half of you are hauling down here for absolutely no reason.
The Salt Line, Vol. 7: Wet, Painted, and Slightly Fermented
Volume 7 of The Salt Line is here, and this week the coast got a giant whale mural, a delayed swimming pool, and approximately twelve craft beers worth of local news.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 15: why you should drive the back roads
Volume 15 makes the case for getting off Perdido Key Drive and onto the roads tourists never find — because the best version of this coast has always been just one turn away.
The Salt Line, Vol. 6: Whales, Ales, and a Pool With Conditions
Volume 6 of The Salt Line arrives like a summer squall — loud, slightly damp, and absolutely nobody asked for it, but here we are anyway.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 14: the art of the beach day with little kids
Volume 14 of Sand in the Coffee is your no-nonsense, been-there survival guide to pulling off a genuinely good beach day when you've got little ones in tow on the Gulf Coast.
The Salt Line, Vol. 5: Birds, Barons, and the Internet That Took a Beach Day
Volume 5 of The Salt Line is here, and we've got a hummingbird commuting to Alaska, a contractor who accidentally cut the internet, and a fish reef that started as a homework assignment.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 13: condo-cooking a Gulf seafood dinner
Vol. 13 of Sand in the Coffee walks you through turning a condo kitchenette and the best local seafood sources into a dinner that beats half the restaurants on the strip.
The Salt Line, Vol. 4: Birds, Barons, and a Department of Transportation Having a Lie-Down
Vol. 4 of The Salt Line is here, and this week a hummingbird showed more ambition than an entire Florida state agency — and roughly the same road-planning instincts.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 12: the bay side you keep ignoring
Volume 12 makes the case that the most underused square mile on this whole barrier island isn't on the Gulf side at all — it's the calm, warm, green water sitting right behind you.
The Salt Line, Vol. 3: Sun, Sand, Servers, and a Fish Painting
Volume 3 of The Salt Line is here, and this week the Gulf Coast banned data centers, cleared a swimming hole, and let a whale painter into town — all before lunch.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 11: the underrated weekday
Volume 11 makes the case that Tuesday is the best beach day of the week, and if you're already here on a Saturday, you might want to sit down for this news.
The Salt Line, Vol. 2: Thirty-Five Million Dollars of Sand and Other Local Achievements
Volume 2 of The Salt Line is here, and this week the Gulf Coast spent $35 million on dirt, argued about a peach, and a fish tournament named itself after a beer — a perfectly normal seven days.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 10: respect the water
Volume ten is the one I'd tattoo on a beach umbrella if I could. The Gulf is gentle ninety-five percent of the time and that's exactly the problem — it teaches you to trust it. Here's the short, unglamorous list that keeps a great trip from turning into the other kind.
The Salt Line, Vol. 1: real news, unserious takes
Introducing The Salt Line — the only news roundup on the coast that reads the same headlines you did and refuses to take any of them seriously. This week: a beach that needed more beach, birds with a speed limit, and a rodeo with zero horses.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 9: the sunset shift
Volume nine is about the other end of the day. If the morning belongs to the early risers, the last hour of light belongs to anyone smart enough to stop what they're doing and go watch. Here's where to be, and why the green flash is mostly a lie.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 8: the early shift
Volume eight of the morning column makes the case for the one habit that separates a good Gulf trip from a great one: getting up. The beach belongs to whoever shows up first, and in June that's a bigger advantage than it sounds.
The Friday Report: tarpon on the horizon, snapper still the headline, and the afternoon storms move in
Our weekly read from the bay to the bottom — reds and trout early, Spanish and the first kings off the pier, snapper holding offshore, and the first real tarpon sightings. Plus the summer-storm rule that keeps you off the water at the wrong time.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 7: when it rains
Volume seven of the morning column is your rainy-day insurance policy — the move when you wake up to a downpour and a kid already asking what we're doing today. Spoiler: the answer is good, and it's mostly indoors.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 6: how to talk like you've been here
Volume six of the morning column is a small lexicon — the handful of words that quietly mark you as a regular instead of a first-timer. Learn five of them and the lady at the window will clock that you get it.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 5: things that are not actually emergencies
Volume five of the morning column talks you down off the small stuff — the seaweed, the gray morning, the 'shark' — and then, because we always do, names the few things that genuinely are worth a little fear.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 4: the morning shift
Volume four of the morning column is about the best-kept hour on the Key — the one before 8 a.m., and the small, reliable cast of people who already know it's the good one.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 3: po'boy or sub, and why it matters
Volume three of the morning column settles the one debate that genuinely divides this coast. It's a po'boy. Here's the case, the bread, and where to go prove it to yourself.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 2: Perdido Key Tourist Bingo
Volume two of the morning column. Print it, screenshot it, play it from your beach chair — a bingo card of the things you will absolutely see on the sand this week. Played with love, because every one of us was a square on this card once.
Sand in the Coffee, Vol. 1: the unwritten rules of a Perdido morning
A new thing we're going to do around here — a little column for your first cup, before the umbrellas go up and the Pass backs up. Volume one: the local rules nobody posts on a sign, including the one about the flag, the one about the sandbar, and the one about waving.
How to do the Key in peak season without losing your mind
Memorial Day's behind us, which means the Key is full and stays full until the kids go back. Here's the locals' operating manual for summer — when to cross the Pass, when to hit the sand, and how to never wait an hour for a table you didn't have to.
The Friday Report: snapper summer's here, the trout are early, and the surf's been clean
Our weekly read on what's biting from the bay to the bottom — inshore trout and reds, Spanish off the pier, snapper season in full swing offshore. Plus the only regs reminder that matters before a holiday weekend.
Mailbag: jellyfish, why the water changes color, and the roped-off patch of sand
Early-summer questions: a reader gets stung and wants to know what hit them, another asks why the Gulf goes from emerald to murky, and a third wants to know what the stakes and tape on the beach are protecting.
The flag is not a suggestion
Every summer, strong swimmers drown on double-red days on this stretch of coast. Not because the Gulf is mean — because the flag got treated as a vibe instead of a rule. Here's what the colors actually mean and why the red one wins every argument.
The Bushwacker, explained (and the bar fight over who invented it)
It looks like a chocolate milkshake and hits like four drinks, because it is four drinks. Here's what's in the Gulf Coast's unofficial cocktail, why it's stronger than it tastes, and the origin-story argument nobody will ever win.
The Drift, vol. 1 — the inaugural Sunday
First newsletter. The week's conditions, what's on, what's biting, who opened, what we wrote. Set up your Sundays — these land before the coffee gets cold.
When to actually come: a month-by-month read on the Key's seasons
Spring break, summer, the locals' shoulder season, snowbird winter — each one is a different trip. Here's the honest version of what every stretch of the year is really like, crowds and weather and prices and all.
Got a great Gulf Coast photo? We want to see it.
The site is building its visual side with real photographers, real venues, and real readers. Here's how the photo program works, what we're looking for, and what we'll never accept.
What we don't list and why
We get asked a lot about what's on the site and what isn't. Mostly people assume the omissions are oversights. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they're choices. Here's the choices part.
What this is and what it isn't
A long-overdue guide to Perdido Key and Orange Beach, written by people who actually live here. No sugar white sand. No hidden gems. Just the place, the way it is.
There's more than one Hub Stacey's — a quick disambiguation
Reader emailed asking why our Hub Stacey's page didn't match the Hub Stacey's they ate at. Short answer: there are several. Here's how to tell them apart.
How to book a charter without getting hosed
First-time charter customers leave a lot of money on the dock by not knowing what to ask. Here's the short version of how to pick a boat, what a fair price looks like, and what trip length actually means.
Sandbar Sundays, explained for the uninitiated
If you've been on the boat at the wrong time on a Sunday and noticed a low-tide island of beach chairs, swim noodles, and beer coolers that wasn't there last week — that's the Sandbar.
Red snapper season is back — what to know if you're booking a charter
Alabama's recreational red snapper season opens next week. Here's the short version of what's open, what's not, and what to ask the captain before you put a deposit down.
A Look Inside: the new oyster bar at the end of the Drive
There's a new raw bar at the west end of Perdido Key Drive that's been open about three weeks. We stopped in for the soft opening, sat at the bar, and figured we'd show you the room.
Mailbag: traffic on the Pass, the goat question, and 'is it true the Bama is haunted'
First mailbag of the season. A reader asks about the bridge, another wants to know about the goats at Pirate's Cove, and a third had a strange night at the Flora-Bama.
The Mullet Toss, explained for the people who don't believe us
Yes. People throw a fish. Across a state line. For distance. It's been happening since 1985 and tens of thousands of people show up. Here's why.
Frank Brown Songwriters' Festival — the November secret
Ten days, sixty-plus venues, songwriters in residence across the FL-AL Gulf Coast. The locals' favorite week of the year. If you've never been, this is the year.