Daphne's Jubilee

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted. I've been so busy having a great time visiting my family and enjoying the local sites. (Sorry if that sounds like I am rubbing it in). One of the things I did that I'd like to share with you is the 29th annual Jubilee Festival. This arts and crafts festival in Daphne, Alabama celebrates an amazing naturally occurring event that the locals call the "jubilee". As you may know a biblical jubilee is a blessing from God. This Alabama Eastern Shore Jubilee is so named because a naturally occurring event takes place in the Mobile Bay which causes the water to "de-oxygenate". With less oxygen to breathe, flounder, shrimp and crabs end up swimming very slowly or washing up on the shoreline, often in the middle of the night. When this happens, the locals notify each and everyone runs down to collect as much free food as they can.

Since this often occurs around this time of year, the locals established this festival as a way to celebrate. As a matter of fact, several jubilees have taken place in the time I've been here (I haven't seen them myself, so the photo above is linked to someone else's Pinterest account). What I did get to enjoy was the chance to experience some of the local culture and to learn more about this part of the United States. For example, did you know that the Dogwood Trail Court is a group of young ladies who are selected each year to be goodwill ambassadors for the Eastern Shore? This year was the 55th court. I met several of the ladies at the festival and found them to be very friendly to everyone there. To learn more about the court and the work they do, you can check out their Facebook page.

I am really enjoying spending a full month on Alabama's eastern shore. It has given me a chance to check out a lot of the local places like coffeeshops, restaurants, shops, parks and hiking trails. Everyone is very friendly and it has been great fun. If you'd like to see more of my photos from this part of Alabama, stop by my Instagram site.  If you have any questions about this part of Alabama, or have suggestions on places I should go while I am here, please put those in the comment box below. If you are having trouble adding comments, please email me at caminoturtle2016 @ gmail.com  (just remove the extra spaces when you type the email address). Thanks to all of you who are following this blog. It's nice to know that there are so many friends and others I haven't even met who care about my travels.