September 4, 2024 • 19 mins
What if the most serene, adventure-filled getaway was right in your backyard? Join me, Bob Bales, on the Traveling Fool Podcast as we uncover the charm of the Redneck Riviera, a stretch of paradise from Fort Morgan, Alabama to Panama City, Florida. Fresh from the Southern Travelers Explorer Conference, I share my firsthand experiences of this beloved Emerald Coast destination. From the powdery white sands of Gulf State Park Beach and the tranquil shores of Fort Morgan Beach, to hidden gems like Little Dome and Little Lagoon Beach, there's no shortage of breathtaking spots to relax and unwind. For the nature enthusiasts, we explore the diverse ecosystems and trails of Gulf State Park. And for those craving excitement, discover the thrill of deep-sea fishing charters and family-friendly local amusement parks like Adventure Island and Waterville, USA.
But the Redneck Riviera isn't just about the beaches and adventure; it's a culinary and lodging haven too. Take a mouthwatering tour through Gulf Shores and Orange Beach with iconic eateries like Zeek's, Tacky Jack's, and the delightful City Donut. The Hangout promises an immersive dining experience complete with entertainment. Looking for the perfect place to stay? The Lodge at Gulf State Park offers stunning beach views and top-tier amenities, though it’s worth noting their no-smoking policy. Whether you’re driving or flying in, the ease of access and varied lodging options make this coastal gem a must-visit. So, pack your bags and get ready to discover why the Redneck Riviera should be your next travel adventure!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, my name's Bob Bales and this is the Traveling
Fool Podcast.
Today we're headed to theRedneck Riviera.
I recently had the opportunityto visit Gulf Shores, orange
(00:34):
Beach, alabama.
I did this when I attended theSouthern Travelers Explorer
Conference a few months ago Now.
I've been wanting to visit thisplace for a few years, but for
one reason or another, my tripjust kept getting postponed.
So I was really happy when theconference chose this location.
(00:54):
Now, what the heck is theRedneck Riviera and where is it?
Well, the area is known as theRedneck Riviera and it stretches
from Fort Morgan and GulfShores, alabama, to Panama City,
florida.
We're talking white sandbeaches that stretch
approximately 150 miles, andthey are a favorite for spring
(01:15):
breakers, couples and familiesGot the nickname Redneck Riviera
because, well, most of thepeople vacationing here are from
the deep south states ofAlabama, tennessee, mississippi
and Georgia.
The area is also aptly namedthe Emerald Coast.
Now, while Florida beaches anddestinations are really popular,
(01:35):
the 32-mile stretch from FortMorgan to Orange Beach and the
Florida-Alabama state line areknown for their white sand
beaches, warm gulf waters andall the great seafood and
activities.
Let's take a look at why thisarea is so popular and a few
things that you can do there.
(01:55):
First of all, hit the beach.
You're in Gulf Shores.
They have some of the mostbeautiful beaches, from the Gulf
State Park Beach to Fort MorganBeach, west Beach and East
Beach and the less crowdedLittle Dome and Little Lagoon
Beach.
They are some of the bestbeaches on the Gulf of Mexico.
Plus, orange Beach sits rightnext to Gulf State Park.
(02:19):
Niagara up Vista Beach is inTexas.
I'm born and bred Texan, lovethe state of Texas, but let me
just tell you something we gotrobbed.
The white sand beaches and GulfShores are a beach lover's
dream.
I loved it down there.
You can visit Gulf State Park.
(02:40):
Yes, the beach at Gulf StatePark is fantastic.
Yes, the beach at Gulf StatePark is fantastic.
However, the park encompasses6,500 acres and has nine
different ecosystems.
In addition to the two and ahalf mile stretch of beach,
there are also 28 miles oftrails known as the Hugh S
Branion Backcountry Trail.
(03:02):
There's a beach pavilion, theGulf State Park Pier
interpretive center, a naturecenter, lake Shelby campgrounds,
a hotel and conference centeroperated by Hilton, and a whole
lot more.
You can spend some time alongthe pass just hiking, fishing or
(03:22):
enjoying nature.
Another thing you can do thereis go deep sea fishing.
There are over 150 deep seafishing charters in Gulf Shores
alone.
People travel from all over tofish the blue waters off the
Gulf Shores because of the widerange of species you can catch.
Now I didn't have time to doany fishing charges while I was
(03:45):
on my little short visit, but Ihave been deep sea fishing
before and I think this is oneof the best places on the Gulf
Coast for fishing, just becauseyou can catch red snapper,
sailfish, drum tuna, kingfish,flounder shark and a whole lot
more.
If you have never been deep-seafishing, well, let me just tell
(04:08):
you it's a few hours of gettingto the right place, spending
some time searching for the fish, followed by the fight of your
life.
If you hook on to one of thosebig ones, an Orange Beach
fishing charter might just bethe highlight of your trip.
Now, if you decided to take abreak from lounging around the
(04:29):
pool or enjoying the beach,there are a couple of amusement
parks on the island.
You've got Adventure Island.
This place has been around forclose to 20 years and is still
family owned and operated.
They offer miniature golf,go-karts, an indoor roller
coaster simulator and bumperboats Think bumper cars but
(04:51):
floating on the water.
If you have kids, they willlove this place and you will too
.
You ain't got to be a kid to berunning around and having fun
at Adventure Island.
Let me tell you, there's alsoWaterville, usa.
That's a combination of waterpark and amusement park located
(05:11):
on 20 acres just a quarter milefrom the beach.
If the hotel guests are gettingtired of you jumping in the
pool and getting rowdy, thenhead over to the water park,
because they have a lazy river,multiple slides, a wave pool and
a flow rider.
Now you know what a flow rideris.
It's one of those simulatedsurfing waves that you see
(05:33):
videos of people flyingbackwards on.
There's also mini golf, anindoor arcade room and escape
rooms.
If you think of Gulf Shores as adestination, well then the
Wharf is a destination within adestination.
It's located just a short drivefrom the beach, and the Wharf
(05:55):
offers a multi venue experience.
You can shop along Main Street,sit outside the coffee shop and
enjoy your morning coffee, orshop in one of the many boutique
shops that they have.
They've got a killer little icecream shop there that sells ice
cream, fudge and just all kindsof knickknacks.
It's a blast.
There are also severalrestaurants and bars, along with
(06:18):
a theater, an escape room, anaxe throwing venue and an arcade
and Ferris wheel.
There's also a nightly lasershow and a 10,000 seat
amphitheater that attracts someof the biggest live music acts
in the industry.
Visit Floribama while you'rethere Now.
(06:39):
This place was opened in 1964on the Florida-Alabama state
line.
You may have seen it on one ofthose reality shows, but let me
tell you, floribama is a blast.
Floribama has five stages forlive music and features bands
that play everything fromcountry rock, dance and beach
(07:01):
music.
There are several beachfrontbars where you can sip on a
famous bushwhacker and enjoysome of the most beautiful
sunsets you will ever see.
Three restaurants, a packagestore For you folks down south
that's a liquor store and asouvenir shop.
(07:22):
You've got to have your t-shirt.
They also have a marina.
They offer pontoon boat rentals, jet ski rentals and they even
have a custom charter that youcan rent.
They have several annual events, including the world-famous
mullet toss no, we're nottalking Billy Ray Cyrus mullet,
(07:45):
but the fish.
They even have church servicesevery Sunday where you can go
and repent for your Saturdaynight sins.
Now, besides the beach, thisplace is also a very historic
area.
You know I love history.
I love visiting historiclocations.
I'm an old, retired militaryguy so I like military history.
(08:09):
Well, this place has it.
You can visit historic FortMorgan.
Fort Morgan is located on thewestern tip of the island.
It was built on the site of anold fort named Bauer or Boyer,
which was an old earthen andstockade fortification, and it
(08:29):
was the site of battles duringthe War of 1812.
Fort Morgan was built there andit was completed in 1834.
Fort Morgan saw action duringthe Civil War, the
Spanish-American War, world WarI and World War II.
Fort Morgan saw action duringthe Civil War, the
Spanish-American War, world WarI and World War II.
Fort Morgan played a veryimportant role in the Battle of
(08:50):
Mobile Bay during the Civil War.
Now, while you may not be thatfamiliar with the Battle of
Mobile Bay, it was one of thelargest naval battles in the
Civil War and very pivotal partof the Civil War.
In fact, you probably know afamous quote from it.
During the battle, which lastedabout 21 days, union Admiral
(09:15):
David Farragut uttered thefamous phrase Damn the torpedoes
full speed ahead.
And that was as he commandedhis force to run through a
minefield that had been laidright off of the coast.
There on Fort Morgan, you spenta few hours touring the fort,
walking around thefortifications, seeing how they
(09:38):
lived and worked, and you couldalso reserve a few minutes just
to check out the museum, whichis located right in front of the
fort at the parking area.
Don't forget to check out themuseum.
It's great.
Now you don't want to go toGulf Shores without getting some
of the fantastic food they havedown there.
(09:59):
Of course we're talking seafoodNow.
They also have sandwich shopsand everything else, but you can
eat sandwiches anytime You'regoing there for the seafood.
I went to a few of them and oneof them was called Zeek's.
Zeek's sits right across theroad from Orange Beach.
They have their own marina thatthey operate and their food is
(10:24):
fantastic and they are alwaysbusy.
If you go at night, duringdinner time, I suggest you get a
reservation, otherwise youmight wind up waiting around for
a while, which is all right initself because you can kind of
wander around the marina andlook at the boats and stuff.
But Zeke's is a fabulousrestaurant.
(10:44):
You will enjoy it.
Another one I visited wascalled Tacky Jack's.
They have three locations.
One is near Fort Morgan, whichI visited, and they have two
others in Gulf Shores itself.
They serve breakfast, lunch,dinner.
It's a casual type setting.
They and it's got all the usualseafood burgers and just a
(11:08):
whole lot more.
It's a fun place.
You'll enjoy it.
Really popular.
Jackie Jack's is a blast.
You got a sweet tooth.
I recommend highly that you goto City Donut.
They have been voted number onedonut shop in Alabama by a few
people, family owned andoperated, and they're located in
(11:32):
one of the shopping centersthere, where Publix has their
grocery store on Orange Beach.
They got fresh donuts, icecream and they also got those
boba drinks, if you're into that.
But you're going for the donuts, trust me, they are great.
They're open seven days a week.
The restaurants in Gulf Shoresthere are great.
They're open seven days a week.
The restaurants at Gulf Shoresthere are way too many to
(11:53):
mention and you will enjoy themall.
I've tried two or three of them.
I'm telling you they're great.
The food down there isfantastic, fresh seafood right
out of the Gulf.
The Hangout it's a two and ahalf acre restaurant which
features full service dining,beach access, a courtyard.
(12:13):
That has a ton of fun things todo Phone pits, games, retail,
shopping.
There's stages for live music,a whole lot more.
So while you're down there,check out some of these
restaurants.
Now, where are you going tostay when you get down there?
(12:34):
Yeah, you can look up all theAirbnbs and all that other stuff
.
I stayed at the lodge at GulfState Park that's that place I
was telling you about.
That's operated by the HiltonHotel chain, it says right on
the beach.
I had a balcony that overlookedthe beach, had two of those
chaise lounges and a littletable sitting outside where you
(12:54):
could sit outside, drink a beerand watch the sunrise or sunset
over the Gulf, look over thebeaches and the beautiful waters
out there.
Peaceful, common.
It's one of those places whereit's like you know what I'm just
going to call the boss.
Tell him I quit and I'm justgoing to live here forever.
It is a great place to spendtime Beautiful pool, a couple of
(13:17):
restaurants.
They got a convention or meetingrooms and all that other stuff
for your conventions andmeetings.
They got a coffee shop inside,a lot of seating outside, right
outside the back door where yougo in and check in.
You walk right out the backdoor and there's all kinds of
chairs and tables out there soyou can sit and enjoy the beach.
(13:38):
They got some stairs and awooden walkway that takes you
right down to the beach so yougot beach access from there.
Fabulous place to stay.
You won't regret it.
It's great Big parking area theone thing that they don't have
now.
You know I love my cigarsbecause it's at Gulf State Beach
(14:01):
.
There is no smoking anywhere onthe hotel grounds and you can't
smoke anywhere at the beach.
So I had to go find someplaceto smoke my cigars, which I did,
but I'm just telling you rightnow, don't be lighting up while
you're there.
But there are a ton ofdifferent hotels there.
(14:22):
There's condo rentals, lots ofvacation rentals all up and down
the beach, everywhere, fromFort Morgan because I drove from
Fort Morgan all the way up toOrange Beach, which is like 32
miles, a little two-lane roadright down the strip of the
island I passed just all kindsof vacation rentals and Airbnbs
(14:44):
and hotels.
There's also campgrounds there,rv places, rv resorts in Gulf
Shores you name it, you'll finda place.
Just take a little time, findwhat you're looking for and you
can find a great place, whetherit's on the beach, right off the
(15:04):
beach, has beach access,whatever.
There are a ton of options.
Whatever, there are a ton ofoptions as far as getting there.
Well, I drove because, well, Ilike to drive when I go places
as much as possible, just so Icould stop along the way, spend
some time and explore.
But you can fly in there.
It's easy enough to get to gulfshores.
You can fly into Pensacola,which is only a couple of miles
(15:29):
away, like 20 miles away.
You can fly in.
There are two or three airportsright around Gulf Shores, so
you shouldn't have a problemflying in there, or you can
drive.
It's an easy enough drive.
I drove from Houston.
I left bright and early in themorning I'm talking 2, 3 o'clock
(15:49):
in the morning.
Around 7 o'clock I was sittingin New Orleans, had breakfast
and by 1 o'clock that afternoonI was visiting sites at Gulf
Shores and I took plenty of timegetting there.
I was in no big rush to getthere.
So it's not that big of a driveto get from Texas down there or
(16:10):
from parts of Florida or SouthCarolina or up north or anything
.
I mean it's an easy enoughdrive.
But there are also lots offlights that headed in there.
It's a popular destination.
But that was my trip to GulfShores, orange Beach, the
Redneck Riviera.
I'm telling you, I've beenwanting to go to this place for
(16:33):
years.
I'm glad I finally made it.
I had a fabulous time.
There are so much things to seeand do there.
I only spent three or four daysthere.
I could have spent a week and ahalf, two weeks there.
It is a lot of fun.
There's no wonder why it is sopopular with everybody that goes
(16:56):
there.
And you know, one thing Idiscovered is not that well,
it's well known, but when youget to places like Texas, they
think of going to Florida to goto the beaches.
Even though we have PadreIsland stuff, I'm telling you,
the waters are not as good.
So everybody that wants to goto a beach destination, they're
(17:17):
like well, I'll go to Cancun, orI'll go to the Caribbean, or
I'll go down to Florida, wherethe beaches are really nice.
I started showing people photosof Orange Beach, gulf Shores
and I had two of them right offthe bat.
Go, I'm calling my husband.
I'm calling my wife.
We are headed to Gulf Shores.
This place looks fun and if yougo you will have a blast.
(17:45):
Trust me, this is one place youneed to visit.
You'll have fun.
If you do go, drop me a line,tell me what you did and how
much fun you had.
Next time, I'm going to tellyou a little bit more about a
couple of other places that youneed to visit while you're there
, so stay tuned for the next one.
And, as always, my name's BobBales.
This has been the TravelingFool Podcast.
If you get a chance, check outthe blog at thetravelingfoolcom,
(18:07):
check out the other podcastsand we'll see you next time.
Check out the blog atthetravelingfoolcom, check out
the other podcasts and we'll seeyou next time.
(19:07):
Thank you.
Hi, my name's Bob Bales and this is the Traveling
Fool Podcast.
Today we're headed to theRedneck Riviera.
I recently had the opportunityto visit Gulf Shores, orange
(00:34):
Beach, alabama.
I did this when I attended theSouthern Travelers Explorer
Conference a few months ago Now.
I've been wanting to visit thisplace for a few years, but for
one reason or another, my tripjust kept getting postponed.
So I was really happy when theconference chose this location.
(00:54):
Now, what the heck is theRedneck Riviera and where is it?
Well, the area is known as theRedneck Riviera and it stretches
from Fort Morgan and GulfShores, alabama, to Panama City,
florida.
We're talking white sandbeaches that stretch
approximately 150 miles, andthey are a favorite for spring
(01:15):
breakers, couples and familiesGot the nickname Redneck Riviera
because, well, most of thepeople vacationing here are from
the deep south states ofAlabama, tennessee, mississippi
and Georgia.
The area is also aptly namedthe Emerald Coast.
Now, while Florida beaches anddestinations are really popular,
(01:35):
the 32-mile stretch from FortMorgan to Orange Beach and the
Florida-Alabama state line areknown for their white sand
beaches, warm gulf waters andall the great seafood and
activities.
Let's take a look at why thisarea is so popular and a few
things that you can do there.
(01:55):
First of all, hit the beach.
You're in Gulf Shores.
They have some of the mostbeautiful beaches, from the Gulf
State Park Beach to Fort MorganBeach, west Beach and East
Beach and the less crowdedLittle Dome and Little Lagoon
Beach.
They are some of the bestbeaches on the Gulf of Mexico.
Plus, orange Beach sits rightnext to Gulf State Park.
(02:19):
Niagara up Vista Beach is inTexas.
I'm born and bred Texan, lovethe state of Texas, but let me
just tell you something we gotrobbed.
The white sand beaches and GulfShores are a beach lover's
dream.
I loved it down there.
You can visit Gulf State Park.
(02:40):
Yes, the beach at Gulf StatePark is fantastic.
Yes, the beach at Gulf StatePark is fantastic.
However, the park encompasses6,500 acres and has nine
different ecosystems.
In addition to the two and ahalf mile stretch of beach,
there are also 28 miles oftrails known as the Hugh S
Branion Backcountry Trail.
(03:02):
There's a beach pavilion, theGulf State Park Pier
interpretive center, a naturecenter, lake Shelby campgrounds,
a hotel and conference centeroperated by Hilton, and a whole
lot more.
You can spend some time alongthe pass just hiking, fishing or
(03:22):
enjoying nature.
Another thing you can do thereis go deep sea fishing.
There are over 150 deep seafishing charters in Gulf Shores
alone.
People travel from all over tofish the blue waters off the
Gulf Shores because of the widerange of species you can catch.
Now I didn't have time to doany fishing charges while I was
(03:45):
on my little short visit, but Ihave been deep sea fishing
before and I think this is oneof the best places on the Gulf
Coast for fishing, just becauseyou can catch red snapper,
sailfish, drum tuna, kingfish,flounder shark and a whole lot
more.
If you have never been deep-seafishing, well, let me just tell
(04:08):
you it's a few hours of gettingto the right place, spending
some time searching for the fish, followed by the fight of your
life.
If you hook on to one of thosebig ones, an Orange Beach
fishing charter might just bethe highlight of your trip.
Now, if you decided to take abreak from lounging around the
(04:29):
pool or enjoying the beach,there are a couple of amusement
parks on the island.
You've got Adventure Island.
This place has been around forclose to 20 years and is still
family owned and operated.
They offer miniature golf,go-karts, an indoor roller
coaster simulator and bumperboats Think bumper cars but
(04:51):
floating on the water.
If you have kids, they willlove this place and you will too
.
You ain't got to be a kid to berunning around and having fun
at Adventure Island.
Let me tell you, there's alsoWaterville, usa.
That's a combination of waterpark and amusement park located
(05:11):
on 20 acres just a quarter milefrom the beach.
If the hotel guests are gettingtired of you jumping in the
pool and getting rowdy, thenhead over to the water park,
because they have a lazy river,multiple slides, a wave pool and
a flow rider.
Now you know what a flow rideris.
It's one of those simulatedsurfing waves that you see
(05:33):
videos of people flyingbackwards on.
There's also mini golf, anindoor arcade room and escape
rooms.
If you think of Gulf Shores as adestination, well then the
Wharf is a destination within adestination.
It's located just a short drivefrom the beach, and the Wharf
(05:55):
offers a multi venue experience.
You can shop along Main Street,sit outside the coffee shop and
enjoy your morning coffee, orshop in one of the many boutique
shops that they have.
They've got a killer little icecream shop there that sells ice
cream, fudge and just all kindsof knickknacks.
It's a blast.
There are also severalrestaurants and bars, along with
(06:18):
a theater, an escape room, anaxe throwing venue and an arcade
and Ferris wheel.
There's also a nightly lasershow and a 10,000 seat
amphitheater that attracts someof the biggest live music acts
in the industry.
Visit Floribama while you'rethere Now.
(06:39):
This place was opened in 1964on the Florida-Alabama state
line.
You may have seen it on one ofthose reality shows, but let me
tell you, floribama is a blast.
Floribama has five stages forlive music and features bands
that play everything fromcountry rock, dance and beach
(07:01):
music.
There are several beachfrontbars where you can sip on a
famous bushwhacker and enjoysome of the most beautiful
sunsets you will ever see.
Three restaurants, a packagestore For you folks down south
that's a liquor store and asouvenir shop.
(07:22):
You've got to have your t-shirt.
They also have a marina.
They offer pontoon boat rentals, jet ski rentals and they even
have a custom charter that youcan rent.
They have several annual events, including the world-famous
mullet toss no, we're nottalking Billy Ray Cyrus mullet,
(07:45):
but the fish.
They even have church servicesevery Sunday where you can go
and repent for your Saturdaynight sins.
Now, besides the beach, thisplace is also a very historic
area.
You know I love history.
I love visiting historiclocations.
I'm an old, retired militaryguy so I like military history.
(08:09):
Well, this place has it.
You can visit historic FortMorgan.
Fort Morgan is located on thewestern tip of the island.
It was built on the site of anold fort named Bauer or Boyer,
which was an old earthen andstockade fortification, and it
(08:29):
was the site of battles duringthe War of 1812.
Fort Morgan was built there andit was completed in 1834.
Fort Morgan saw action duringthe Civil War, the
Spanish-American War, world WarI and World War II.
Fort Morgan saw action duringthe Civil War, the
Spanish-American War, world WarI and World War II.
Fort Morgan played a veryimportant role in the Battle of
(08:50):
Mobile Bay during the Civil War.
Now, while you may not be thatfamiliar with the Battle of
Mobile Bay, it was one of thelargest naval battles in the
Civil War and very pivotal partof the Civil War.
In fact, you probably know afamous quote from it.
During the battle, which lastedabout 21 days, union Admiral
(09:15):
David Farragut uttered thefamous phrase Damn the torpedoes
full speed ahead.
And that was as he commandedhis force to run through a
minefield that had been laidright off of the coast.
There on Fort Morgan, you spenta few hours touring the fort,
walking around thefortifications, seeing how they
(09:38):
lived and worked, and you couldalso reserve a few minutes just
to check out the museum, whichis located right in front of the
fort at the parking area.
Don't forget to check out themuseum.
It's great.
Now you don't want to go toGulf Shores without getting some
of the fantastic food they havedown there.
(09:59):
Of course we're talking seafoodNow.
They also have sandwich shopsand everything else, but you can
eat sandwiches anytime You'regoing there for the seafood.
I went to a few of them and oneof them was called Zeek's.
Zeek's sits right across theroad from Orange Beach.
They have their own marina thatthey operate and their food is
(10:24):
fantastic and they are alwaysbusy.
If you go at night, duringdinner time, I suggest you get a
reservation, otherwise youmight wind up waiting around for
a while, which is all right initself because you can kind of
wander around the marina andlook at the boats and stuff.
But Zeke's is a fabulousrestaurant.
(10:44):
You will enjoy it.
Another one I visited wascalled Tacky Jack's.
They have three locations.
One is near Fort Morgan, whichI visited, and they have two
others in Gulf Shores itself.
They serve breakfast, lunch,dinner.
It's a casual type setting.
They and it's got all the usualseafood burgers and just a
(11:08):
whole lot more.
It's a fun place.
You'll enjoy it.
Really popular.
Jackie Jack's is a blast.
You got a sweet tooth.
I recommend highly that you goto City Donut.
They have been voted number onedonut shop in Alabama by a few
people, family owned andoperated, and they're located in
(11:32):
one of the shopping centersthere, where Publix has their
grocery store on Orange Beach.
They got fresh donuts, icecream and they also got those
boba drinks, if you're into that.
But you're going for the donuts, trust me, they are great.
They're open seven days a week.
The restaurants in Gulf Shoresthere are great.
They're open seven days a week.
The restaurants at Gulf Shoresthere are way too many to
(11:53):
mention and you will enjoy themall.
I've tried two or three of them.
I'm telling you they're great.
The food down there isfantastic, fresh seafood right
out of the Gulf.
The Hangout it's a two and ahalf acre restaurant which
features full service dining,beach access, a courtyard.
(12:13):
That has a ton of fun things todo Phone pits, games, retail,
shopping.
There's stages for live music,a whole lot more.
So while you're down there,check out some of these
restaurants.
Now, where are you going tostay when you get down there?
(12:34):
Yeah, you can look up all theAirbnbs and all that other stuff
.
I stayed at the lodge at GulfState Park that's that place I
was telling you about.
That's operated by the HiltonHotel chain, it says right on
the beach.
I had a balcony that overlookedthe beach, had two of those
chaise lounges and a littletable sitting outside where you
(12:54):
could sit outside, drink a beerand watch the sunrise or sunset
over the Gulf, look over thebeaches and the beautiful waters
out there.
Peaceful, common.
It's one of those places whereit's like you know what I'm just
going to call the boss.
Tell him I quit and I'm justgoing to live here forever.
It is a great place to spendtime Beautiful pool, a couple of
(13:17):
restaurants.
They got a convention or meetingrooms and all that other stuff
for your conventions andmeetings.
They got a coffee shop inside,a lot of seating outside, right
outside the back door where yougo in and check in.
You walk right out the backdoor and there's all kinds of
chairs and tables out there soyou can sit and enjoy the beach.
(13:38):
They got some stairs and awooden walkway that takes you
right down to the beach so yougot beach access from there.
Fabulous place to stay.
You won't regret it.
It's great Big parking area theone thing that they don't have
now.
You know I love my cigarsbecause it's at Gulf State Beach
(14:01):
.
There is no smoking anywhere onthe hotel grounds and you can't
smoke anywhere at the beach.
So I had to go find someplaceto smoke my cigars, which I did,
but I'm just telling you rightnow, don't be lighting up while
you're there.
But there are a ton ofdifferent hotels there.
(14:22):
There's condo rentals, lots ofvacation rentals all up and down
the beach, everywhere, fromFort Morgan because I drove from
Fort Morgan all the way up toOrange Beach, which is like 32
miles, a little two-lane roadright down the strip of the
island I passed just all kindsof vacation rentals and Airbnbs
(14:44):
and hotels.
There's also campgrounds there,rv places, rv resorts in Gulf
Shores you name it, you'll finda place.
Just take a little time, findwhat you're looking for and you
can find a great place, whetherit's on the beach, right off the
(15:04):
beach, has beach access,whatever.
There are a ton of options.
Whatever, there are a ton ofoptions as far as getting there.
Well, I drove because, well, Ilike to drive when I go places
as much as possible, just so Icould stop along the way, spend
some time and explore.
But you can fly in there.
It's easy enough to get to gulfshores.
You can fly into Pensacola,which is only a couple of miles
(15:29):
away, like 20 miles away.
You can fly in.
There are two or three airportsright around Gulf Shores, so
you shouldn't have a problemflying in there, or you can
drive.
It's an easy enough drive.
I drove from Houston.
I left bright and early in themorning I'm talking 2, 3 o'clock
(15:49):
in the morning.
Around 7 o'clock I was sittingin New Orleans, had breakfast
and by 1 o'clock that afternoonI was visiting sites at Gulf
Shores and I took plenty of timegetting there.
I was in no big rush to getthere.
So it's not that big of a driveto get from Texas down there or
(16:10):
from parts of Florida or SouthCarolina or up north or anything
.
I mean it's an easy enoughdrive.
But there are also lots offlights that headed in there.
It's a popular destination.
But that was my trip to GulfShores, orange Beach, the
Redneck Riviera.
I'm telling you, I've beenwanting to go to this place for
(16:33):
years.
I'm glad I finally made it.
I had a fabulous time.
There are so much things to seeand do there.
I only spent three or four daysthere.
I could have spent a week and ahalf, two weeks there.
It is a lot of fun.
There's no wonder why it is sopopular with everybody that goes
(16:56):
there.
And you know, one thing Idiscovered is not that well,
it's well known, but when youget to places like Texas, they
think of going to Florida to goto the beaches.
Even though we have PadreIsland stuff, I'm telling you,
the waters are not as good.
So everybody that wants to goto a beach destination, they're
(17:17):
like well, I'll go to Cancun, orI'll go to the Caribbean, or
I'll go down to Florida, wherethe beaches are really nice.
I started showing people photosof Orange Beach, gulf Shores
and I had two of them right offthe bat.
Go, I'm calling my husband.
I'm calling my wife.
We are headed to Gulf Shores.
This place looks fun and if yougo you will have a blast.
(17:45):
Trust me, this is one place youneed to visit.
You'll have fun.
If you do go, drop me a line,tell me what you did and how
much fun you had.
Next time, I'm going to tellyou a little bit more about a
couple of other places that youneed to visit while you're there
, so stay tuned for the next one.
And, as always, my name's BobBales.
This has been the TravelingFool Podcast.
If you get a chance, check outthe blog at thetravelingfoolcom,
(18:07):
check out the other podcastsand we'll see you next time.
Check out the blog atthetravelingfoolcom, check out
the other podcasts and we'll seeyou next time.
(19:07):
Thank you.
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