By Sarah Davis
Aside from all that makes Gulf Shores, Ala., a vacation destination hotspot - its sandy beaches, fresh seafood, championship golf courses and charter fishing - residents know that Gulf Shores’ resolve is as strong as its Southern hospitality. Not even a slew of hurricanes in the past few years can change that.
Most devastating was Hurricane Ivan, but residents are grateful last year’s storms did very little damage to the Alabama seaside city, renown for its massive oysters and emerald water.
Whether the storms roll on or if they fail to show their vengeance, people here love a good time listening to music. That’s why one of the biggest icons here is the Flora-Bama Lounge, a hole-in-the-wall type of joint that straddles the Florida-Alabama border. Music is full of soul - Soul Patrol leader and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks performed here on a regular basis and has been known to attribute the lounge for some of his best times performing.
Gulf Shores is an ideal vacation destination for families. Small children make sandcastles while teens busy themselves with boogie boards. Boogie boarders seem to have more success skimming across the water left by a receding tide than cruising on the gulf’s small, gentle waves.
There’s plenty of room on the region’s white sand beaches, recently named one of the Top Restored Beaches in the country by the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association. In parts, up to 250 feet of sand can stretch in front of you before touching the gulf waters.
After Hurricane Ivan, Oklahoma high school students, as well as local naturalists, worked to restore the dunes using dead Christmas trees. The trees, steadied by small fences, were placed along Gulf State Park’s shores, which help collect sand to replenish sand dunes. Now the dunes are so high, motorists along the highway can’t see the water but see sand.
Near the state park is Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge, which has a four-mile roundtrip trail that gives hikers the chance to possibly spot the endangered Alabama beach mouse.
The beaches here are typically crowded during Spring Break, not with rowdy college students, but with families enjoying the expansive beach and simple attractions nearby.
Between the high-rise condos are quirky shops like Souvenir City, complete with its giant shark-shaped entrance, and Gulf Shores Souvenirs next door with its larger-than-life octopus.
Pleasure Island
Decades ago, the Intracoastal Waterway sliced much of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach from the mainland, creating an area referred to as Pleasure Island. The name is fitting for a place where almost every restaurant plays Jimmy Buffett songs. Local legend is that Buffett’s popular song, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” was written about a meal he enjoyed in Pirate’s Cove.
Buffett’s sister, Lucy “Lulu” Buffett, now serves paradise on a platter with a “Cheeseburger in Paradise” on her menu at Lulu’s at Homeport Marina. With its bright yellow roof and pirate ship stage, this open-air restaurant is by no means fancy, but it is exactly the place to think more about friends, food and live music rather than dinner etiquette.
Popular dishes include Lulu’s gumbo, made in a 20-gallon kettle, fried green tomatoes, and her L.A. (Lower Alabama) Caviar (a.k.a. Black-eyed pea dip). Lulu herself keeps the mood light and bubbly, as she strolls in wearing a light green peasant shirt with her hair pulled up in twisted ponytails on both sides of her head.
Learning Opportunities
A vacation to these family-friendly shores offers ample learning experiences for children.
Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research and Education Center is a living laboratory that teaches the value of estuaries, their wildlife and the diversity of coastal wetlands. A native pitcher plant bog and hummingbird and butterfly gardens are just some of the exhibits.
Cruises are another way to further explore the region. Blue Dolphin Cruises takes passengers on a search for dolphins while pointing out homes of the rich and famous on Ono Island.
Many locals take pride in their fishing heritage, and shrimp boats can be seen motoring to prime fishing locations while vacationers lounge in the sand. Families can learn just how fishermen make their living when they take a cruise with Sailaway Charters. Captain Skip Beebee guides passengers to the backwaters of Longs Bayou and Wolf Bay to learn about oystering techniques, crabbing and shrimping. After explaining how shrimp nets work, Skip allows the net to drag along the bay’s bed for a few minutes. Once the net is pulled in, the catch is dumped into an aquarium to point out various species of fish and explain their characteristics.
Children usually squeal with delight at seeing the fish, as well as when curious dolphins swim alongside the boat.
Speaking of Fish ...
Most people of Gulf Shores and nearby Orange Beach love three things: seafood, fishing and a party. That’s why there are more seafood festivals, fishing tournaments and other aquatic-related events than one person could take in.
From the Orange Beach Red Snapper World Championship Tournament to the October Fishing Rodeo, anglers flock to the water for the chance at the big catch. But one of the quirkiest festivals is the annual Mullet Festival, which includes a 5-K Mullet Race and a Mullet Toss.
Out of the water, the region also knows how to enjoy seafood, and being so close to Louisiana, a Cajun twist seeps into regional bayous and lagoons. Each year, locals delve into Low Country Boil - Cajun style - and the Alabama Coastal Foundation’s Crawfish Craze with all-you-can-eat crawfish. One of the biggest festivals is the National October Shrimp Festival. After Labor Day, Alabama Gulf Coast vacationers typically head back home, but more than 200,000 show up for this festival.
If you happen to find yourself in between festivals, no worries. Gulf Shores restaurants offer Cajun influenced meals in a relaxing, laid-back atmosphere. Inside King Neptune’s, a tile-floored restaurant with bathrooms on the outside, diners fill up on crab claws, royal red shrimp (said to taste more like lobster than shrimp) or crawfish.
Vacationers should be sure to bring sunscreen and an appetite. |
