Super Boy called it the “Family Re-Onion”~
We had 45 in all- ages 1 to 84- Super Boy, Big E and CC stole the show in their Foxfest outfits~NOT that I’m prejudiced of course …
People came from the east coast, west coast, southwest, deep south and mid-west…we have cousins in North Carolina too but they were busy with a wedding
Boston, Kansas City, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Spokane, Albuquerque, New Orleans and Birmingham were all represented
We filled them full of Fried Chicken, Shrimp & Grits, Pimento Cheese Fritters, Alabama Conecuh Sausage and French bread from N’awlins [New Orleans]
The kids learned how to fish, catch blue crabs and paddleboard
They canoed, sailed, swam and saw dolphins…
I learned that 13 children can wipe out a snack table faster than a swarm of locusts and that 60 individual snack bags will last one afternoon, not the entire weekend
and I found that 100 pigs in a blanket* are barely enough
We had a LA [Lower Alabama] Shrimp Boil**, an arranged private dinner at a favorite restaurant, a catered party at home and a cookout featuring Kansas City Brats from our Kansas City cousins at their rental house
It was HOT, we drank an embarrassing amount of beer, and introduced everyone to the local favorite Bushwacker cocktail, a heady concoction of liqueurs, cream of coconut, ice cream and served with a shot of 151 rum on top~ [photo source]
You can find my version of a Bushwacker, what I call Pirate’s Cocktail here
We also served a popular Southern cocktail called Firefly, sweet tea vodka and lemonade~
We went to Tacky Jack’s for Fried Pickles and Seafood Po’ boys and visited the infamous local hot spot, the Flora~Bama, a bar on the Florida-Alabama state line where you can listen to music, toss a mullet, eat a burger and even go to church on Sunday [photo source]
Things are quiet now
The last little fishermen left yesterday and Super Boy misses all his “new best friends”
Things are getting cleaned up and back to normal…
we are exhausted, sore from laughing, full from too much food and drink, and left with enough sweet memories for a lifetime~
Tomorrow I will share the menu and recipes for a very effortless Summer Seafood Picnic~
*make Pigs in a Blanket [cocktail smokie hot dogs wrapped in crescent roll dough] in advance and freeze them. Just before serving reheat in a 350 oven. These are great for a party because they taste fine at room temperature. They are popular with all ages, so make plenty!
**Tomorrow I will post the recipe for the LA Shrimp Boil
NOTE: I had the Foxfest banner made at Staples.com. You can order it online and pick it up same day! So easy. You can choose size, and other options such as waterproof vinyl and grommets.
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I will be sharing with these fabulous parties and blogs: