The Lagniappe has an interesting article about the issue of rising sea levels and the Gulf Coast which includes this perspective:

"Think of it as that flagstone patio that you were too lazy to level the base with sand before you laid the stones. Some are tipping down, raising the other edge. The west coast is more threatened by the rising edge breaking off and falling into the Pacific Ocean than being flooded, while the southeast region, including the Gulf, is much more exposed to inundation."

Check their blog at: http://blog.lagniappemobile.com/

Everything you wanted to know about

Envision (it's longer than the link)


http://www.cityofgulfshores.org/pages_2006/CDD/Land%20Use%20Plan%20Hearing%20Draft%20080107%20with%20revisions.pdf

101 Things to do at the Beach

Gulfshores.com has a great fun list of 101 things to do at the Beach. They also have pages of packages and deals to browse, a feature about what fish are biting, a list of snowbird clubs and a lot of other goodies. It's published by the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau. Be sure to sign up for the e-newsletter.

Checking the Weather

The Gulf Shores Weather Net has all the information you'll need about what's happening weather-wise in the area.  I wish I could transfer a graphic over here so you could see how great the page is but they change every few seconds - it's that up to date.

http://gswx.net/index.php

Gotta mention the Red Snapper World Championship. April 4 - May 26, 2008 is when the Saltwater Series World Championship happens.

Total Prize Money : $150,000!

photo from Landbigfish.com

Just about six weeks till spring.

Marid Gras Parade Hours

Gulf Shores Date: 2/5/2008
Hwy 59 from bottom of Intracoastal Canal Bridge to Main Beach Gulf Shores.

Orange Beach Date: 2/5/2008
Ruby Tuesdays on Perdido Beach Blvd to Hwy 161.
Phone: 251-981-6979

LuLu's 4th Anniversary Celebration and Boat Parade

Date: 2/5/2008
LuLu's at Homeport, Gulf Shores

Join the staff of LuLu's as we celebrate our 4th anniversary of operation here on the banks of the IntraCoastal Waterway. Festivities begin at 11am, with live music throughout the day, great food and the annual LuLu's Mardi Gras Boat Parade from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m..

Order of Athena Mardi Gras Parade

Date: 2/5/2008
Downtown, Mobile
Website: www.mobile.org/images/photos/route-a.gif

Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Watch and enjoy as revelers throw sweets, trinkets, beads and toys.

Knights of Revelry Mardi Gras Parade

Date: 2/5/2008
Downtown, Mobile
Website: www.mobile.org/images/photos/route-a.gif

Parade begins at 12:30 p.m. Get ready to shout, "Hey Mister, throw me a moon pie!"

King Felix Mardi Gras Parade

Date: 2/5/2008
Downtown, Mobile
Website: www.mobile.org/images/photos/route-a.gif

Parade begins at 1:00 p.m.

I can't list them all! Go to http://www.gulfshores.com/ for the rest of the list!

Have a great time!

photo from answers.com

Thanks to OrangeBeach.ws for the heads up about the story about the fastest growing metro areas.
"One boon to Alabama is ThyssenKrupp's announcement last year to build a $3.7 billion steel plant in Mobile. And Huntsville--expected GMP growth 15% by 2012--has long been a hub for defense and space research. Since the mid-1990s, Alabama has also become a manufacturing center for automakers like DaimlerChrysler (nyse: DCX - news - people ), Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ) and Hyundai.

"The automotive industry has been Alabama's real growth industry in the last 15 years," says Brian Hilson, president and CEO of Huntsville's chamber of commerce."

And all those people will need homes and services and beaches to play on!


image courtesy of aiga.org

I just stumbled on this amazing photo in Gulf Shores State Park while I was looking for something else at Flickr.com

sunsurfr is incredibly talented! I wish he would produce some calendar of the region.

More Mardi Gras!

Here's a great link for everything you wanted to know about Mardi Gras on the Gulf Coast:
parade schedule
web cams
photos
history
krewes
art and souvenirs
and a
king cake recipe!

photo is from http://www.mardigrasday.com/

Happy Eating!

Take a short 15 minute trip to Lillian's Pizza in Perdido Key. The pizza is in a different league! Huge side salads, too. Totally worth the trip.

Gulf Shores State Park

The pier before it was washed away and the pavilion as it is today.
There are some remarkable pictures of the Ivan Damage on Everything Gulf Shores.

Lulu's

Yeah, it's sort of grey today, but here's the image from Lulu's. You can watch the web cam and if you're lucky, you can see a barge float by.
We finally went to Lulu's last year after hearing about it for a while. We had a great time! I had no idea the portions would be so big, so we had take home food to eat through the next day.
Yeah, it's touristsy (that's me!) and probably higher priced than some other places, but they make up for it in friendliness and the setting. I went back on the next trip and plan to go back on the next.

Krewes

You know, Mardi Gras originated in Lower Alabama in Mobile.
Some terminology from the American Heritage Dictionary:

krewe
NOUN: New Orleans Any of several groups with hereditary membership whose members organize and participate as costumed paraders in the annual Mardi Gras carnival: “They . . . watched a parade of bands and New Orleans-style floats run by krewes throwing necklaces of colored beads” (Robert Reinhold). See Regional Note at beignet.
ETYMOLOGY: Alteration of crew1.
REGIONAL NOTE: In order to organize and stage the enormous Mardi Gras carnival every year, many New Orleans families have belonged for generations to krewes, groups that create elaborate costumes and floats for the many Mardi Gras parades in the two weeks leading up to “Fat Tuesday.” Not only do the krewes participate in the parades, but, as leaders of New Orleans society, they also hold balls and other elaborate events during the carnival season, which lasts from Christmas up to Mardi Gras itself. The krewes are responsible for electing Rex, the annual king of the carnival, whose parade is the climax of Mardi Gras. While masked paraders had long been a part of Mardi Gras, the first carnival group organized as such was the Mystick Krewe of Comus in 1857. Krewe is only an imitation of an old-fashioned spelling of crew in its standard meaning, but the word, thanks to its association with Mardi Gras and New Orleans high society, has taken on some of the mystique of the carnival.
image from ia.utep.edu

Mardi Gras!

from Gulfshores.com
The Moonpies and beads will begin sailing through the coastal air on Friday, February 1 as the Mystical Order of Mirams take to the streets of Orange Beach at 6:30 p.m. Joining this all-woman krewe will be a special guest all the way from the Capstone. Famous college mascot “Big Al” will serve as the parade’s grand marshal while the University of Alabama Cheer Squad will also appear in the festivities in addition to several high-energy marching bands. The parade will begin at the Ruby Tuesday in Orange Beach and travel east along 182 to Highway 161.

Then, the Mystics of Pleasure will continue the party atmosphere during a Saturday night parade starting at 6:30 p.m. With a theme of “Crazy Eights” and several Harley-Davidson riders, Parade Marshall Katy Diamond (an Auburn University senior) will reign over the revelry. An entourage of past queens will also join her. This all-male Mardi Gras krewe was the first group to organize a nighttime parade for the Alabama Gulf Coast. This parade will follow the same route as the Mystical Order of Mirams.

After a day (or two) of rest, gear up for a Fat Tuesday packed with activities. Starting at 10:00 a.m. on February 5, the Gulf Shores Mardi Gras Association will roll through this Pleasure Island community and will be lead by long-time Gulf Shores Police Officer Mac Yohn. Roadways will shut down at 9:30 so be sure to get a great vantage point along the parade route (Highway 59 from the base of the ICW bridge south to Highway 182).

Extend your bead and Moonpie collection by moving onto the Orange Beach Mardi Gras Parade, set to roll at 1:30 p.m. along Highway 182 (starting at Ruby Tuesday and ending at Highway 161). With almost 60 entries for this year, the parade attracted approximately 30,000 spectators in 2007. Reigning over the festivities will be parade’s grand marshal of the Gulf Shores High School Softball team, who captured the Alabama State 5A championship in 2007.

Then, let the good times flow at LuLu-Gras! On Tuesday, February 5, LuLu’s at Homeport Marina makes Gulf Coast Mardi Gras even more unique with the area’s only carnival-season boat parade. A krewe of about twenty-five costumed boats launch from The Wharf in Orange Beach at 2 p.m. These boat-floats will toss beads to those watching from shore, and parade watchers can continue the revelry at LuLu’s; live music kicks off at 1 p.m. and continues through the evening. This year’s Mardi Gras Day line-up includes JJ Caillier & the Zydeco Knockouts followed by Scott Holt.

Finally, cap off an exciting Mardi Gras season with high energy Cajun and Zydeco style music at Zeke’s Landing Marina in Orange Beach, where the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a free 90-minute concert. Authentic Cajun artist Wayne Toups and ZyDeCajun will take to the stage at 4:00 p.m. while concert goers dine on seafood gumbo and beer, which will be sold by the chamber.

According to Everything Orange Beach the OB Chamber added 175 members this year. Who knew there were that many businesses in that tiny town? Actually there are 1,000 members now. If they're serving crab claws at their meetings, maybe we should join...

The call of the Coast

View Larger Map
All the time when I was growing up we drove right past the Alabama Gulf Coast down to all parts of Florida. Those were great days and I loved all the beach visits. As an adult, I felt the urge to go to the Gulf and drove as far as the intersection of Hwy 59 and East Beach Blvd. one blustery winter day. I fell in love with the water then and there and decided this would be a major destination for me for the rest of my life.
I usually go there during off peak times, in September, when the water is still warm and some days, you have the beach practically to yourself. I hardly know the area but aim to find out as many hidden treasures as I can.

Short and Sweet

This is going to be my place to share one of my favorite places on earth: The Alabama Gulf Coast.