The weather is warming up, and that means summer is right around the corner! We look forward to welcoming many past and new visitors to our beautiful, newly enhanced beach this season. If you’ve not booked your place to stay, our lodging partners are offering summer getaway specials, so be sure to make that reservation. We hope you enjoy our beaches—and be sure to apply sunscreen and take all your belongings with you at the end of your beach day!

This month, we want to introduce our local beach patrol. They do a great job! If you see a sheriff's vehicle on the beach, be sure to give them a wave and smile. The Bay County Sheriff's Department patrols our beaches as part of its daily schedule. The officers ensure beachgoers observe our beach rules and help anyone in need on the beach. They’re professionally trained first responders and keep our beaches safe. Our deputies do a wonderful job, and we’re grateful for their services.

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.

We publish it with the compliments of the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association cookbook (MBARA.org).

2 lbs. shrimp

½ cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion 

1 cup of mayonnaise

8 oz. cream cheese

1 can Campbell’s tomato soup

1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin

Old Bay seasoning, to taste

Cook shrimp in Old Bay seasoning, then peel and cut into small pieces. Mix the mayonnaise and cream cheese in a bowl. Add half a can of tomato soup, celery, and onion together and mix with the cream cheese mixture. Heat the remaining half can of soup in a saucepan, add the gelatin, and stir until the gelatin dissolves. Stir the gelatin and soup mix into the cream cheese mix. Add the shrimp and refrigerate for a few hours. Serve with crackers, and enjoy!

Taking naps sounds so childish. I prefer to call them “horizontal life pauses.”

A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks.

The first rule of cooking is to never make a dish that you can’t pronounce.

It’s sad to grow old, but nice to ripen.

Never trust a skinny chef.

I used to think I was indecisive, but now I’m not so sure.

Bad decisions make good stories.

Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most.

Always remember that you are unique, just like everybody else.

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.

We’ve all heard the saying “all hands on deck,” which generally means everyone is needed. This is an old Navy phrase and goes back to the meaning of why sailors are called “hands.” There’s an understanding that sailors working in dangerous places on old ships had to hold on with one hand so they could work with their free hand. Thus, “all hands” has been coined and used throughout the years. It’s also most likely the basis of the phrase “lend a hand.”