Living at the beach, we see sunsets every clear night, and they are breathtaking. Every now and then, there’s a special sunset that is spectacular. We were fortunate to see one of these beautiful paintings in the sky the other day. We hope you’ll be able to enjoy one of these amazing sunsets on our beaches soon!
Photo courtesy of Lucy Green
And the Winner Is. . .
Up for grabs last month was a ladies’ long-sleeve shirt and navy ball cap from KC Sportfishing, and the lucky winner is Gina Christiansen from Rocky Face, Georgia. Congrats, Gina!
APRIL GIVEAWAY
This month’s giveaway is a coffee mug from Caribbean Coffee & Café. Offering fresh coffees, teas, delicious pastries, specialty sandwiches, daily specials, and more, Caribbean Coffee & Café is the best stop for breakfast, snacks, or lunch when at the beach—and they offer pickup! To place your name in the hat, send an email to Kathy at [email protected].
Meet Mexico Beach
This month, we’re delighted to reintroduce you to the Gulf View Motel. We’re happy to announce that the Gulf View Motel is open and ready to serve our visitors. This motel has been a part of Mexico Beach since the 1940s. Unfortunately, Hurricane Michael took it away, but thanks to owner Charles Smith and his love for our beaches, he rebuilt the motel for guests to enjoy. The Gulf View Motel is located at the corner of Highway 98 and 15th Street. It boasts thirteen rooms—seven with kitchenettes. Now taking reservations, Charles is excited to welcome back past visitors and say hello to new ones. We’re happy to have the Gulf View Motel back in Mexico Beach! To learn more, visit TheGulfViewMotel.com.
Farmers & Craft Market
April 8 & 22
Come spend the morning at the Mexico Beach Farmers & Craft Market at Parker Park, located at 2500 Highway 98. Vendors will include produce, fresh jellies, one-of-a-kind crafts, and much more. Market hours have adjusted for the fall/winter months and will take place from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Each market is sure to feature new vendors, so be sure to come every time. If you’d like to be a vendor, sign up now. Space is limited, so don’t wait! This market is put on by the Special Events for Mexico Beach, Inc.
Get ready to print those pictures and try your hand at our annual photography contest. The Mexico Beach 23rd Annual Photography Contest will open for submission on April 1 and run until July 31. We welcome all photographs taken in Mexico Beach, past or present. All photographs will be submitted for judging after July 31, and the winners will be contacted and announced on the Mexico Beach website, social media pages, and in the e-newsletter. Winning photographs will be displayed in the Mexico Beach Welcome Center after judging. We hope you will capture Mexico Beach through your “eyes” and enter our photography contest.
Join us on the beach at Sunset Park on Saturday, April 22, as we celebrate generations of love with a special shared vow renewal ceremony. We cordially invite all married couples to be part of this special complimentary vow renewal and reception. Following the ceremony, there will be a cupcake and champagne reception. This lovely ceremony is open for all to attend and experience the event of the year! Registration is now open.
Time for some punch! To celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week, the Welcome Center cordially invites all our visitors to join us for Punch on the Porch. On Friday, May 5, from 9:00 a.m. until noon, the Welcome Center will offer light refreshments, giveaways, industry updates, games, and more. We would like to show our appreciation to our service industry partners, first responders, and YOU, our loyal visitors. Come join us for an Unforgettable Morning.
Mexico Beach is a Leave No Trace community, and we appreciate your assistance in helping us keep our beaches clean. Any items left on the beach unattended from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. will be removed and disposed of by the City of Mexico Beach. Items include, but are not limited to, tents and tent frames, beach chairs, coolers, umbrellas, toys, etc. Also, please fill in any holes before you leave and please remain off the sand dunes and out of the sea oats to ensure their continued nourishment. There are boardwalks and walking paths that can be accessed to reach the beach. Your assistance with these requests will keep our beaches beautiful and pristine. For full details on this ordinance or questions, click here or contact City Hall at (850) 648-5700.
Red Snapper with Mushroom Sauce & Rice
This is a great dish that can be enjoyed with family and friends. We publish it with the compliments of the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association Seafood Cookbook (www.mbara.org).
INGREDIENTS
Brown rice, cooked
Snapper fillets
Olive oil
Italian breadcrumbs
Mushroom sauce
MUSHROOM SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1 cup of chicken broth
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp heavy cream
DIRECTIONS
For the Mushroom Sauce: Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat sauce over medium heat, stirring frequently, until reduced by half.
For the Snapper: Roll snapper fillets in olive oil and then Italian breadcrumbs. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Take out and plate on a bed of brown rice. Spoon mushroom sauce on top. Serve and enjoy!
The joys of new motherhood!
Here are some various comical opinions:
A sleeping baby is the new happy hour.
Need to wake up your baby? Quietly go into your room and rest your head on a pillow.
I’ll have a bottle of house white, please.
You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.
When your first baby drops her pacifier, you sterilize it. When your second baby drops her pacifier, you’ll tell the dog, "fetch.”
There are times when parenthood seems like nothing more than feeding the hand that bites you.
I don’t want to sleep like a baby; I want to sleep like my husband.
The first night your baby sleeps eight hours straight, you think you’d celebrate; instead, you will run into their room thinking, “Oh my, are they breathing?”
Having a baby is like having an eight-pound to-do list. Every moment of the day is filled with something to feed, wipe, bathe, or put down.
I used to be excellent. Now that I have a baby, I couldn’t tell you what day it is.
Welcome to parenthood, where going to the grocery store by yourself is now considered a vacation.
Pull Out All the Stops
This saying means to take all steps and make maximum effort to do something. This saying comes from the musical organ industry. Pipe organs have “stops” built into the pipes to control airflow. Pulling the stops out increases the volume of the instrument. Pulling out all the stops creates the maximum volume.
