Special thanks to BATW Ambassador and genuine "good ol' boy" BJ Mezek for his latest contribution!

Hey, y'all, and welcome to Bayou La Batre, Alabama! Today our traveling frijoles have found themselves in none other than the Seafood Capital of Alabama, where if it swims, they probably have it. (No mermaids, however. Bummer for all us Daryl Hannah fans...) Actually, this nice town of 2,313 seafood-loving people is home to Alabama's Blessing of the Fleet, where every May the local shrimpers receive the official "Gentlemen, start your trawlers" from St. Margaret's Catholic Church to kick off the year's shrimping season. The Blessing fun also includes a boat parade, an oyster shucking contest, and of course, several bowls of amazingly tasty Cajun gumbo. The beans had a swell time in Bayou La Batre, despite spending most of their day looking for Captain Dan and Forrest on the deck of the Miss Jenny. And while they never did run into the genuises behind the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (gee, imagine that), they did meet up with some mighty friendly clams that promised to share with them a nice box of chocolates the next time they're in town.