Sandy Feet Travels

Since we started visiting Alabama on the regular I've grown fond of southern cooking. I grew up in Indianapolis and have lived in the Hoosier state my whole life. And while our Hoosier hospitality is similar to the kindness you find in the south, the food we make Indiana isn't even close. Me and The Mister were at Sandy Feet Retreat over the new year and found ourselves at a pitch-in, I mean potluck as it's called in the south. And while I thought we were going to a New Year's Eve party it really was a college football watch party. College football is serious business in Alabama. #RollTide Not so much up north. #GoColts While The Mister is a play-it-safe kind of eater I'm an anything-goes-kind-of-gal. It was at this gathering that I discovered, drum roll please, Sausage Balls. OH.MY.GOODNESS. Where have these been all my life? Apparently on the back of the Bisquick box and all over the south. My friend at the condo sent me her sausage ball recipe so we decided to t...

I have way too many shells.  While our 32-miles of  beaches in Gulf Shores are filled with good vibes and sunshine, the shell scene isn't that vibrant. Sure, you'll find plenty of scallops and the lettered olives are really cool but I'd never really been blown away by what I'd found. Now don't get me wrong, I still come home with pockets full of shells. They just all kind of look the same. But then the storm rolled in. And that's when I saw her.  She was half buried in the sand and she was huge.  A 7.5-inch Lightning Whelk. She was just lying on the sand, right there, in front of God and everybody. Oh my luck! How had everyone walked right past her? I ran down and grabbed her, scooping her up, doing a quick exam to make sure she wasn't someone's home. That's when it became obvious why she'd been passed by and that she certainly wasn't anyones home. I kept her anyway. Walking back to Sandy Feet Retreat I saw how people marveled at her. Some e...

TOLL HOUSE PIE As you're driving down I-65 just past Birmingham, if you look off to the west you'll see big ole peach in the sky. No James didn't leave it there and no, it's not a Georgia peach. That's the water tower for the town of Clanton, Alabama.  Hop off the interstate and head to Pies by Mike. Here's the address for your GPS:  1015 Lay Dam Road, Clanton, AL  35045.  Order a slice of the Toll House pie. It's like a chocolate chip cookie but as a pie. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR, IT'S AMAZING! Now The Mister will tell you to order the Lemon Mousse and he's not wrong. It's refreshing on a hot day.  Be sure to check their hours, here's a link to their website:  https://pies-by-mike.square.site/  And please tell Mike his new friends from Indiana said hi! Book your stay at Sandy Feet Retreat GS. Direct Airbnb VRBO @alabamatravel @visitalbeaches #Travel #vacation #beachvacation #beach #airbnb #familyvacation #conservation  #summervacation #foodi...

Polish Sausage and Kraut Yeah, it's a thing. A very good thing. And at Lambert's Cafe there's no limit on those yummy rolls. They do indeed throw them, across the room, like ACROSS THE ROOM. No need to duck, these are professional pitchers. Add some apple butter and you'll be on cloud 9.  Lambert's Cafe opened in Foley, Alabama in 1996, the third in a small family chain, of exactly three restaurants.  The portions are large! You'll have enough to share or to bring home for leftovers. Most entrees come with sides and everything comes with "Pass Arounds." What's a Pass Around? They are sides everyone gets. People walk around from table to table with huge pots of yummy, southern food, that they dish out on your plate, or napkin. The apple butter I mentioned before, it's a pass around. Friend okra, pass around. Boiled cabbage, pass around. Black-eyed peas, pass around. You get the picture. PRO TIP: During tourist season go early. They are popular a...

Island Ice Cream, Gulf Shores, Alabama  A quick search of the word Foodie gave me this definition:                              a person with a particular interest in food; a gourmet. I wouldn't say I have a particular interest in food and I'm certainly not a gourmet, just ask The Mister. While I can grill a pretty mean steak, pop a fine batch of popcorn (stove top yo, never microwave), and fry up some tasty eggs, I'm not your go-to-gal when it comes to pitch-in offerings. You can count on me to bring a bag of chips and salsa. I was sending money and pizza coupons to sick or bereaved friends long before Door Dash came along.  But, one thing is for sure, like most people, I love to eat and don't like to waste money on bad food.  In this occasional series I'll share some of my  favorite places to eat. I'll set my sights on the Gulf Coast because you k...

Pulling on snow boots and my bulky winter coat is not my idea of a good time. But, it's been my reality for as long as I can remember. The Mister and I grew up in Indiana with three beautiful seasons and one dreadful season called winter. For many years we'd dreamed of owning a place along the coast but never thought it would be possible. Then the #Airbnb boom came along and we wondered, "could we make it work? Could we get a place that we'd rent out and it would pay for itself?" We've had many friends talk about how great Gulf Shores is. We'd see pictures on social media of sugar-white beaches that didn't look too crowded. But Alabama? Are they really known for their beaches? We decided to check it out. Before our very first trip to #GulfShores in September 2021 I reached out to a local real estate company and our friendship with Winford McGaster of EXIT Realty Gulf Shores began.  During our first call I told him, "listen, we've never been to...