Best of the Beach

Our favorite destination for a quick, or preferably less-than-quick, vacay-get-away is the Alabama Gulf Coast. The hubs and I have both been frequent coastal visitors since childhood. We married and honeymooned there and have made the drive atleast once a year since. On this year's Summer vacation, I decided to document what we consider the best of the beach. 

Best Place to Stay;

The Beach Club, Fort Morgan

Off the beaten path, away from the crowds of Gulf Shores, The Beach Club resort in Fort Morgan is an ideal haven for relaxing. With 4 large outdoor pools, kiddie pools, hot tubs, an indoor pool, arcade, playground, parasailing and resort-hosted activities for everyone including everything from water Zumba to belly flop contests, there's also always plenty to do for fun. Get a schedule from the clubhouse on your way in (you do have to pay extra for clubhouse access and activities, but IMO it's worth it) and you can be in-the-know of all the goings on. There's also a mercantile, two restaurants, creamery (hello, ice cream!), and pizza delivery on the property. While it's quite a little drive from town, if you hit the supermarket at the end of Fort Morgan Rd on your way in, you could spend your whole vacation here without ever having to leave. If you do want to venture out, there's a great restaurant, Tacky Jack's, nearby. 

Best Gumbo:

Blalock Seafood & Specialty Market

One meal of every Gulf vacation is dedicated as the Wright Family Shrimp Boil. Blalock Seafood & Specialty Market (there's one in Gulf Shores as well as Orange Beach) provides the gumbo, shrimp and bread. We take it to the condo, boil the shrimp and we eat until it hurts. It's never a bad idea to pick up a cooler of gumbo packed to travel on the way home either.

Best Extra $5 EVER

Kangaroo Encounter, Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo

The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, located in Gulf Shores, has been featured in a 13-episode Animal Planet series titled "The Little Zoo that Could". The zoo has recently decided to become the world's first environmentally sustainable zoo built from the ground up. It's also the perfect zoo-venture for my animal-loving, short attention spanned, girl-child. While you can see and do everything in an hour to an hour and a half, there is plenty of cool stuff for kids and adults alike to enjoy. The zoo has a petting zoo, daily shows and most awesomely, animal encounters. For just a little extra dinero, you can get in on one of these encounters such as the kangaroo encounter where you can not only pet, but also hold, baby joeys. There's also a reptile encounter with an anaconda, a lemur encounter and (by reservation only) a tiger cub encounter. The tiger cub encounter was a bit more costly, but all others were $5-$10 each. Seeing the girl-child's face as she was "kissed" (licked) by a baby kangaroo = priceless! 

Best Fun with a Side of Food

LuLu's 

Owned by and named for Jimmy Buffet's "crazy sista'" Lucy, LuLu's is hard to best for fun and food for the fam. The kids LOVE the sand and games during the wait. (Be warned, they are extremely likely to leave wet and sandy.) Over the years, LuLu's has been the backdrop of many favorite Wright family memories. In 2010, we had our wedding reception at LuLu's and enjoyed celebrating with family and a couple close friends while dolphins played in the Intracoastal Waterway running alongside the diner. That's hard to beat. In 2013, we enjoyed the annual Noon Year's Eve party at LuLu's, where we early birds and kids rang in the New Year at 12 noon, complete with countdown and beach ball drop. But it doesn't take a holliday or special occasion for LuLu's to get to rockin'. With live music daily, the Bama Breeze Bar and super-fun atmosphere, there's always a great time to be had. Last but certainly not least, LuLu's serves up some yummy food to go with all the fun. The hubs loves the mahi tacos while I stick with the Cheeseburger in Paradise, add grilled pineapple and 'shrooms, please! 

We love, love, LOVE (did I mention we love?) the Alabama Gulf Coast. There are hundreds of places to visit and things to do that I could recommend. However the absolute BEST thing to do while at the beach, in my opinion, is always to just enjoy the beach. Jump the waves, grab a light and chase crabs at night or just relax and let waves wash the worries away!