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After 6 long years of not seeing the beach and the ocean, it was a welcome site to see Orange Beach and to smell the ocean! Our trip to Orange Beach, Alabama did have a purpose other than seeing the beach. We were checking out the locale for a family vacation next year and the area did not disappoint!
Trip down to Alabama
We drove down to Alabama and since we are older, we did not drive 11 hours straight through. If you are younger and driving straight through is more your speed, you can certainly do that in one day. We left Missouri and drove to Birmingham, Alabama for a night’s stay and continued on for a half day to reach Orange Beach. From where we stayed, we were about 5 miles away from Gulf Shores, Alabama and close to the Florida state line into the Panhandle which they call Flo-Bama.
Beach Hotel
We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Beachfront Hotel. The pictures above show the view from our hotel room of the lazy river pool and access to the ocean. It was great to have access to both the ocean and the pool which was cooler than the ocean and was definitely a relief in the 96 degree heat and humidity.
What you do not see in the pictures is the bar at the pool that you pass when you walk from the hotel to the pool area. We used this several times for drinks and to order food while at the pool. The lazy river part of the pool was so relaxing and was not crowded as the beach is nearby.
A common practice at this hotel and hotels along the beach is that the free breakfast is not available. You had to pay for your breakfast which was good but a substantial amount per day (adults $18.95 and children 10 and under $10). You would think that I will bypass the breakfast and eat at a local place, however, I did not notice one breakfast place on the strip. Definitely check that out on the hotel that you pick.
Gulf of Mexico’s Ocean and Beach
Walking over the bridge from the pool area to the beach causes you to breathe differently when you are in the presence of the ocean. That is why it is beach therapy! This area of the beach had a fair amount of people in June, however, an increased number of jellyfish! Our granddaughters along with other kids on the beach got stung by the jellyfish and the jellyfish came close to the shore. I frantically searched my phone to see what to do for a jellyfish sting, however, trying to read on my phone in the sunlight was extremely difficult. I thought the granddaughters would give up, however, they did not want to give up the beach!
A lady next to us had a net that she was using to catch the jelly fish and as she raised the net, you could see the tentacles dangling in the sunlight. She then dumped the jellyfish in a hole dug in the sand for the jelly fish to die. Quite the activity for an afternoon at the beach!! She was skilled with the practice because when I tried it, I was unsuccessful!! Why are there so many jelly fish this year? The increased number of jelly fish are due to climate change, rising ocean temperatures, and overfishing which allows them to thrive.
The last picture in this group is of beachcombers at night looking for metals that they could sell. At first, I thought it was teenagers trying to earn some extra cash, however, it was a family affair with Mom, Dad, and kids searching for metals. Maybe we should become beachcombers on the next family vacation!
Vacation Activities
One of the places that we checked out was Lulu’s. They have a rope course, arcade, area for kids tatoos, and a restaurant for the adults. While this place was great, it was too hot in the 96 degree weather so I think the best time to go is at night. On the beach signs were posted for different activities. One was Wild Hearts which has Sunset Sail, Dolphin and Angels Sail, Kayak Adventure Sail, Family Adventure Sail, Dolphin Sails, and Private Charters. The other one was Sky Surfer which has Parasailing. We did not check out these two places, however feel free to check them out. We will be trying them out next year!
While Orange Beach is on the quieter side, Gulf Shores is more commercialized. Only 5 minutes away, we headed to Gulf Shores to check out a diner called Sunliner Diner which did not disappoint! The decor was all 1950’s and there was actually a car that doubles as a table for four. Only one of them though. The food was great along with shakes that had a huge waffle in it. I even had a vanilla cream soda! A couple of other places we will be trying out in Gulf Shores is Waterville-a huge waterpark and The Track which has go carts and lots of other activities!
Summer is such a great time for fun activities with family and friends! This is well worth a family vacation spot! Orange you glad you know about it now! Happy Summer! If interested, click on the Viator links below.
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