Turn right onto Fairhope Avenue, pass the two-story storefronts with rockers out front, and take in this panorama: Protected green parkland saddles the waterfront bluffs to the left and right. Below their slopes, the Mobile Bay shoreline appears like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. Fishermen deftly cast their lines from the public pier, families picnic on the sand or beneath the shade of mossy live oaks, and, some days, the local schoolteacher takes her first-graders to the shallows to learn about the sea creatures. North and south from the beach, you’ll see the parade of privately owned dock pavilions. These piers with gazebo-like structures are enduring icons, signaling a way of life on Alabama’s Eastern Shore.

Founded in 1894, the town claims a long history and unusual beginnings that have given it cultural cachet. It has attracted writers ranging from Upton Sinclair and Sherwood Anderson to Winston Groom and Fannie Flagg, and its legendary Page and Palette bookstore holds a lively schedule of author appearances and readings. Like Mobile across the bay, Fairhope hosts its own Mardi Gras, along with an annual arts and crafts festival.

The town’s nearby attraction, Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, comprises almost 6,000 acres of land and water in and around Weeks and Mobile bays. The reserve offers spectacular birding—more than 350 species have been spotted—along with good salt- and freshwater fishing; hummingbird and butterfly gardens; and nature trails, including a boardwalk through a swamp forest where rare pitcher plants thrive.

what the locals know
Anil Vira, owner of Fairhope’s Barons Inn, tells us that sometimes, when the wind blows from the east—usually when the weather is hot—thousands of fish, including flounder, eel, crab, and shrimp, head for shallow waters. “This phenomenon is known locally as ‘Jubilee,’” says Anil. “In the early days, people would run through the streets, banging on pots and pans, yelling, ‘jubilee!’ when it happened. Now they watch the sky for hovering seagulls, then run down to the waterfront with pails to scoop up the bounty. Some restaurants will even cook up your catch.”

Population: 14,106
Median Home Price: $187,288
For More Info: cofairhope.com

Pacifica, California
According to the laws of suburbanization, Pacifica should have been inundated with tract houses years ago. After all, it’s just 15 minutes south of downtown San Francisco, perched on the shoulder of a peninsula that’s experienced phenomenal growth in recent decades. But the lion’s share of that growth (along with interstate highways and an international airport) has been over on the bay side. Pacifica stands serenely on the ocean side, where the south-of-the-Golden-Gate portion of California Route 1 begins its coast-hugging lope to L.A.

The city lies in a protected area, surrounded on its landward side by part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and enjoys the largest ratio of open space to population on the San Francisco peninsula. Not surprisingly, this is prime outdoor recreation country. Anglers fly-fish for salmon and striped bass; birders head for the brown sands of Sharp Park Beach to watch pelicans, loons, phalaropes, cormorants, and terns; surfers catch big waves at Linda Mar and Pacifica State beaches; and mountain bikers and paragliders enjoy the hillsides embracing the city. There’s also the Sharp Park Golf Course, designed in 1931 by renowned links architect Alister MacKenzie.

If you’re a fisherman (or even if you’re not), you shouldn’t miss the Pacifica Pier. Often called the best fishing pier in California, this 1,140-foot-long wharf offers the only dry place on the Bay Area where you can catch salmon without stepping foot on a boat. Anglers regularly hook the coveted fish, as well as various types of surfperch, and even sharks off the pier.

This town also hosts one of the West Coast’s stranger annual events: Pacifica’s Fog Fest. Residents have jokingly proclaimed their city, with an average 270 days of sunshine per year, the fog capital of the state. Arts and crafts exhibits, festival foods, and a parade draw some 50,000 people each year. The big party is held on the last weekend of September, when the local weather is nearly always lovely.

what the locals know
Pacifica resident Chris Hunter advises that “you have to look closely to get into our part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Watch for a sign along the northbound lane of Highway 1 that reads, ‘Shelldance Nursery and Orchids.’ If you take this winding road, you’ll end up not only at one of my favorite nurseries, but also at a trailhead for Sweeney Ridge. Hike up to the Discovery Site for views of San Francisco Bay.”

Population: 40,000
Median Home Price: $749,000
For More Info: ci.pacifica.ca.us