As much fun as the annual National Shrimp Festival is, the run-up to the event is great for another type of entertainment: people- and process-watching. With the festival still a future event, preparation in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach goes at a steady but manageable pace. Vendor tents begin to appear one by one along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Signs go up. Souvenirs are unpacked. And businesses get a little extra sprucing up. But when the festival is just a week away, well, things go into overdrive. The tents that were steadily going up before begin to spring forth like mushrooms after a summer rain. Lists get checked; logistics get checked; sound systems get checked. It's almost like watching a favorite film on fast-forward. The best part is getting to be an observer for the warm-up and a beneficiary of all that hard work.

Thinking about all the wonderful food that is going to be at the 37th annual National Shrimp Festival has put me in the mood for some shrimp. I grabbed a bag of Alabama Gulf Coast shrimp brought home from a recent trip to Gulf Shore and Orange Beach out of the freezer. (It's so great to be able to stop at a local market and get shrimp cooked to order and packed to travel!) Once my shrimp, about 14 to 16 ounces, thawed, I added a bit of Old Bay seasoning, then finely diced the shrimp. I put about half on a plate, then topped that with an 8-ounce block of cream cheese that had been brought to room temperature. I added the rest of the shrimp, then topped it all with cocktail sauce (also brought back from the Alabama Gulf Coast). I served my Shrimply Delightful Dip with crackers and crudite. What a hit!

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We love the Shrimp Festival, too. Perdido Key is a good place to stay. A little out of the traffic but on the same road, so you can catch the shuttle to Gulf Shores but stay at Eden on the Florida side of Perdido Key. Just a few miles from Shrimp Festival. There is also a Shrimp Fest in Pensacola that is fun and a Greek Festival.