The Old State (along with friends and family)recently had the opportunity to visit with some great friends and potential clients in Florida. Our good friend Anne Hunter, who is putting together a very impressive art gallery featuring some of the country's most talented artists, hooked us up with a place to stay in Watercolor, which was unbelievably beautiful. The photos don't do it justice, trust me. Thank you so much Anne Hunter!

We got to meet with some amazing local artists (notably Stefan Daiberl and Justin Gaffrey) that we might be doing some work with. Justin is a former chef and cooked us up an amazing meal. As you can see in the pictures below, he really knows what he's doing. He had all kinds of fish, sauces, veggies going at the same time.

We had a great time riding bikes, napping, relaxing on the beach, and just hanging out with all the cool people there.

The whole area, which includes the towns of Seaside, Alys Beach, and Rosemary, is stunning. It wasn't tourist season, so we had the opportunity to just hang out with the locals and relax a bit. Life there is about half the speed of life in Dallas, so it was a welcome change of pace.

The surf was amazing, although we couldn't get in the water due to the ruckus caused by Ike. It was still a sight to behold and the beach sand was like sugar.

We are really looking forward to working with Anne, Stefan, Justin, and everyone else down there...and I assure you that we are headed back the first chance we get.

Curtis Hale CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER