Gulf Coast Vacation Recommendations Blog Hop

It might already be the beginning of August, but in my opinion the best time to visit the Gulf Coast is just around the corner. Late summer and early fall are magnificent on the white sandy shores of the Gulf. As I mentioned in my post about Ways to Help the Gulf Coast, this post is dedicated to helping you plan your family vacation to help support the communities affected by the BP oil spill. The restaurants, shops, and rental companies are hurting and many of them run the risk of going out of business. The best possible way you can help, is to pack your bags and go for a vacation. Go for a long weekend or go for two weeks! Thank you in advance for supporting my home and your backyard!

Here are my recommendations for Orange Beach, AL and Perdido Key, FL:

Restaurants and Bars

The Crab Trap
The Oyster Bar
The Shrimp Basket
The Jellyfish Bar
Hub Stacey's
The Point
Lillian's Pizza
Cobalt
Louisiana Lagniappe
Tacky Jacks
Pirate's Cove
Doc's Seafood Shack
Cosmo's
Geno's Freshcatch Grill
Bear Point Marina (Flippers) 
The Keg
The Flora-Bama

Places to Stay

Perdido Beach Resort
Island House Hotel
The Wharf
The Purple Parrot
Brett Robinson Realty
Kaiser Realty
Sugar Sands Vacation Rentals
Prickett Properties
Alabama Beach Vacation Rentals
Spectrum Resorts
Young's Suncoast
Pointe South Rentals


Please feel free to email me at magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan at gmail dot com if you need more advice or have questions or if you want your restaurant or rental company added to my list!

Now it is your turn, write a post about your favorite Gulf Coast vacation spot and link up here in the Gulf Coast Vacation Recommendations Blog Hop. Feel free to do another post with your favorite spots, even if someone else does it too. We all have different favorites! The more the merrier, spread the word!




Click the link above to copy the code and post this on your blog too! Support the Gulf Coast!

Ways to Support the Gulf Coast!

I just returned from a week on the Gulf Coast visiting my family. I spent time at my parent's home on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay in Alabama and I spent time at our beach house in Perdido Key, Florida. While I've watched the nightly news and read the articles online, nothing is quite like being in the midst of the oil disaster. Signs in downtown Fairhope, AL are up in restaurant windows advertising benefits and suggesting items for people to donate. To see the orange boom floating on the blue waters is surreal. It lines the waters and you can't help but remember it's purpose to collect OIL in the blue waters of Ole River and the Gulf. They might have a cap on the well for now, but so much damage has already been done to our coast.

We drove down to the beach on a Saturday. Normally in the summer, you don't want to go near Highway 59 leading into Gulf Shores due to the bumper to bumper traffic. This Saturday, it was eerily quiet. The parking lots of the condos lining the sugary white sands of Orange Beach, Alabama were almost empty. As we reached the peak of the Perdido Pass Bridge, I could see the first signs that things were not as I had left them only months prior. Large barges and ships lined the horizon of the Gulf. Strange contraptions dotted the coastline. Large dumpsters and tented staging areas filled the parking lots of the public beaches. Men in strange outfits walk up and down the beaches. It looks like a war zone.

A sign on one restaurant tried to remain lighthearted saying "We serve our oysters stewed and nude, but we promise no crude." During one of our lunches out at Hub Stacey's we were surrounded by people that were hired by BP to patrol the local waters spotting and recovering oil. My Mom's favorite fish market has remained open, but the owner said she's not sure how long their family owned business will last at this rate. Business is slow. They said the people are nervous to eat seafood, despite the highest amount of testing ever. Can you blame them? Even if they say the oil isn't there, fear is killing our Gulf Coast.

 

Our beach house is on the Intercoastal Waterway so we have been fortunate that the oil has not (yet) reached our beach and water. But, I couldn't help but think if maybe they had missed some as I hesitantly allowed my 18 month old son to walk the sandy shore for the first time. I panicked a little as the warm salt water touched his precious little toes and he reached down to touch the white sand. Was it safe? It looked the same, but what lies beneath the surface? Tears filled up in my eyes as I watched a dolphin emerge in the distance to take a breath. I prayed it would stay far from harm. Emotions overcame me as I spent extra time scrubbing my little one that evening, just to be careful. Will he ever know the beach as I do? Will it always be tainted?

In the meantime, I want to do everything in my power to help MY Gulf Coast. I am only a Southern born Mommy living in NYC, but I am going to do my best to convince you to do your best to help out in some way. Do something, anything!

Sometimes you've got to lift your head up and keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other!

Please, take your family to the Gulf for a vacation. If you have never been, I promise, you'll love it! You can swim in the pools if you are nervous. Play in the hose or the bring a kiddy pool! Eat at the local restaurants, ask questions if you are nervous. Support our community. You can still have fun! They need you right now.

Don't know where to go? Need some suggestions? Later this week I'll be posting a link list so that you can have the opportunity to share your favorite Gulf Coast vacation spot with everyone. Start working on your post so it will be ready to share! Email me if you have questions or suggestions to help spread the word! magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan at gmail dot com

Can't make it down to the coast, then buy a t-shirt or a hat. Donate to the charity of your choice. Please, do something. This is YOUR Gulf Coast too.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

– Theodore Roosevelt

If you are looking for a way to support our Gulf Coast, I'm going to make it easy for you. In addition to giving funds to your favorite local or national charity, how about buying some merchandise!

Consider this your own little Save Our Gulf Coast One Stop Shop for all things related to helping out in one way or another. Now, pick something out. Go ahead...I know you like to shop! Support the Gulf Coast, a portion of ALL of the below products go to various charities that offer support to the Gulf Coast.

I posted about these before, but you can buy the 4 pictured items below: http://www.sossaveourshore.com/apps/webstore/
I have the t-shirt and A has been sporting his hat all over NYC!

T-shirt

Apron

Hat

Painting

Vineyard Vines Support the Gulf Ties 

 Toddler T-shirt

http://helpcleanupthegulfcoast.com/merchandise/

Now, I know you ALL would probably love to support the Gulf by drinking a cold beer. Right? Next time your out at the bar, see if they are carrying Abita's SOS.

Get Abita's SOS t-shirt or the Abita hat

Switch your dish washing soap to Dawn, we did. It's such a simple gesture and why not support an amazing company who is supporting our wildlife in a major way. Don't forget you have to enter the code on your bottle online to donate! Become their fan on Facebook.

You should be able to find at least ONE t-shirt or hat you like! =)

http://saveourgulfnow.blogspot.com/

http://www.mobilebaykeeper.org/support-join/merchandise

http://www.coastapparel.com/shop/index.php/save-the-gulf-coast-t-shirt.html

Did you watch Jimmy Buffett's benefit concert? Buy the tshirt he was wearing from his sister Lucy's restaurant, LuLu's. Check out all the One Love, One Ocean merchandise here.

http://fauxpasprints.com/gulfaid/

Listen to Music:

http://sophiebhawkins.com/

Write a Note:

http://ashleybrookedesigns.com/shop/paper-that-gives/id-rather-be-beachside-wildlife-relief-fund/

Shop Amazon and donate to the oil relief fund:

http://www.hopevote.com/


Frame a little reminder for your desk:

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/51347389/prints-for-the-gulf

 Even a little monogrammed something for us preppy girls to drink our SOS beers in:

 http://www.twothreadheads.com/

Is your store offering a product that will give a portion of sales to a a Gulf Coast relief fund or wildlife organization? Let me know and I'll be sure to post it here! If you aren't, why don't you consider doing something like that!

Thank you for your time and your support...

UNTIL THE COAST IS CLEAR!

SOS Save Our Shore

As most of you know, I am originally from the South. I grew up in Atlanta, but moved to the Gulf Coast of Alabama when I was in high school. My parents still live on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. The Gulf Coast is my heart. I spent my summers at our beach house on Ono Island fishing on the wharf and enjoying the Southern sun. Boating and water skiing in Ole River and Perdido Bay are a way of life. My parents now have a house in Perdido Key and they split their time between the Eastern Shore and the beach. Our beaches, bays, bayous, estuaries and rivers are in serious trouble. Oil is still spilling into our Gulf. I watch the news in NYC and I feel so far from home right now. I feel so helpless and so sad. If you follow me on twitter or facebook you know that I post any info I can, but I wish there was more that I could do. I want to pass along ways that you can help our Gulf Coast. I came across SOS Save Our Shore and they are selling some really cute merchandise.

I hope you'll Help Save Our Shore by buying and wearing one of these cute items! Click here to purchase.

All profits from sales on this website are donated to SOS Save Our Shores to help protect and recover our shores and wetlands from the BP oil spill. 

They are also selling art:

Please help support the Gulf Coast in any way that you can. If you know of a cause that I can help promote here, please let me know and I'll post it. I want my son to know the Gulf Coast like I do. I don't want to have to worry about him not tasting gumbo and delicious Gulf seafood. I want to teach him to water ski in our waters and I want him to build sandcastles in our beautiful white sand. This disaster is happening in our backyard. Please y'all...do something!

http://www.sossaveourshore.com/

I'll leave you with an open letter that Lucy Buffet of Lulu's Restaurant (one of my favorite restaurants) wrote. I think she sums it up quite nicely! Sorry about the lines, it was a forwarded email and I can't get the formatting to change.

The following is sent from Lucy Buffet (Jimmy's sister and owner of LuLu's in Gulf Shores) She grew up on Mobile Bay and along our Gulf Coast.  Dear coastal inhabitants everywhere and all who know the joy of putting their toes in the ocean: I can’t remember when we have had a lovelier spring along the Gulf Coast . In recent years, we have gone from crisp, clear mornings in February to tropical 90s temps by mid-March. But this year, it finally seemed that we were getting back to normal — back to the easy, Southern rhythms of my childhood, with the winter season moving gently into a luscious spring.  Spring was taking its own sweet time unfolding before diving head-on into the desperate heat of summer. Everyone could feel it. You couldn’t help but notice the majesty and color of the coastal foliage bursting with brilliant pinks and purples, sounding the calls that we wait for all year long: "Let’s go to the beach!" "The fish are biting at the Big Mouth!" "Let’s take a boat ride!" "Tadpoles are out in the creek.

That is how we live here on the Gulf Coast . Our love of the water — the Gulf, the bays, the rivers, the estuaries — and the way we enjoy it is absolutely holistic. It transcends race, religion, socioeconomic status, age, gender and political affiliation. The Gulf Coast is where the everyday person can play. We love where we live and are proud of it. We get amused sharing it and seeing the surprise on folks’ faces when they realize that a little piece of unlikely paradise exists smack at the bottom of this magnificent country of ours. So imagine our dismay, anger, grief and absolute heartbreak over the ongoing catastrophe of crude oil continuously and arrogantly flowing into our beautiful Gulf of Mexico. This is indeed a major challenge for us physically, emotionally, environmentally and economically. Personally, I prefer to remain positive about the oil spill’s impact, because I know mountains can be moved with a positive attitude. Why wouldn’t that work with a runaway well? I do, however, live in a very real world, and I know that our corner of this world stands to be affected by the oil spill. As we are called to action, we will respond with the dauntless spirit of coastal people, especially those born in the hurricane corridor. We will weather this storm as we have weathered the other monsters that have roared upon our shores in the past: by working hard, side by side, with dedication, compassion and a sense of community, and earning some fun in the process. I am hoping that there will be little damage or interruption of beach recreation. Perhaps the oil spill will be just an inconvenience, much like too many jellyfish in the water or the occasional riptides. If not, we are going to need everyone’s love, support and help. So I have a very special invitation for people to join us here in Gulf Shores - Orange Beach - Perdido Key and Pensacola . Don’t cancel your plans or reservations. This could be one of the most memorable vacations you will ever have. Most of you travel with children. What a great opportunity to teach our kids so many valuable life lessons — from the beauty of volunteering to the importance of helping your neighbor during a crisis, learning about the fragile ecosystem that created the remarkable Gulf of Mexico, and meeting new friends from all over the country with the same purpose of keeping our beautiful shores safe for our children and wildlife. Recently, I asked a friend of mine’s 6-year-old if she knew how many oceans there were. "One, Miss Lucy," she promptly responded. Then with a little hesitation, she added, "Don’t they all touch?" Out of the mouths of babes. What is happening in our back yard could just as easily be happening in yours. But does it matter? We are all one. We all touch. Am I outraged? Damn right! Is there a need for accountability? Damn right! But that is not my job. There are others who are trained and better equipped to master that task. I’m a fry cook. I’m open for business. And so is the Gulf Coast . We will take each day as it comes and make the best of it. I am asking all of you who love this area as much as I do and love your own coastal areas to please not abandon us. I promise you we will welcome you with open arms, some ice-cold sweet tea, an ocean of belly laughs, a plate full of scrumptious food and a humble, grateful heart. Lucy

Itzy Ritzy Wet Happened?

Check out my Itzy Ritzy Wet Happened Bag. I just ordered this little bag for J and I's wet swim suits. He's been taking swim lessons all spring and will continue into the summer (in the Advanced Water Babies class no less!) This bag is also great for when we hit the sprinklers in NYC and I need somewhere to put his wet swim trunks. It fits in my diaper bag and well, it's adorable! You really should get one for the beach! I ordered mine from Diapers.com. If you have not tried Diapers.com, then use my code MMMBLOG and get $10.00 off and free shipping off of your first order of $49.00 or more.

Get $10 off

your first order of diapers

use code MMMBLOG

$49 min. total order

pampers dry maxhuggies pull upsseventh generationluvs diapers

Oil Disaster

Is this what our world has come to? Children playing in oil. I want to cry. I feel so helpless.

 There is now oil on my hometown beaches:

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/alabama_beaches_oil_gulf_shores.html

 They have asked people to stay out of the waters:

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/beachgoers_urged_to_stay_out_o.html

There is oil in our Mobile Bay:

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/beachgoers_urged_to_stay_out_o.html

They haven't stopped the leak. My friends and families jobs and homes are already being affected. Animals are dying. Restaurants in the area aren't hiring and are losing money. I just want to cry. Why aren't they doing more? Why can't they fix this? Why did this happen? I just want to SCREAM.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

Here is a note a friend from Pensacola wrote us:

Please tell anyone you know that will listen about this.  Most of the rest of the country- even the feds- doesn't really comprehend the urgency of this situation or the environmental and economic devastation it is causing.  A look at rick's blog quickly shows the lack of action on everyone's part- BP and our federal and state government- to react quickly and in the most efficient way.   Florida is already on thin ice as far as our economy, and with tourism out for the panhandle for potentially years, this could be the nail in our coffin.

 

I'm so frustrated and feel so helpless i could cry. 

 

If any of you know anyone in a position to help, or put pressure on our government, please tell them to do so!   This may sound melodramatic if you haven't been keeping up with the headlines, but our way of life is ruined and i can't just sit quietly and watch it happen.  this is the kind of thing that affects all of us, and we owe it to each other to make ourselves heard. And most importantly, keep praying that this will end soon.

Say a prayer today for the people in charge of this mess, that they can stop the leak. Say a prayer for the birds, the fish, and all of the sea life that is dying because of this. Say a prayer for the fishermen, the restaurant owners, and everyone who relies on  summer tourism so that they can put food on the table for their families. Say a prayer for our President, that he will have the wisdom to help lead the people who are in charge of cleaning up this mess.