Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, & Flora Bama 04/2009

[tbay13]

A trip report of sorts along our beautiful Gulf Coast, as we celebrated my birthday last week, the big 'half dollar.' Mostly pics, a comment here and there, hope you enjoy!

This is my boat, a lot of the pictures were taken from 'on board.'



And, of course, the name of my yacht is:

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Started by launching at Sailboat Bay, at a friends condo, on Tuesday, 4/14. Was 72 deg., sunny, and the wind at our back. This was a one way trip today, as we just road down the Intracoastal Waterway to Orange Beach, where I kept the boat on Ole River, closer to where we were staying. Here are some pics from the ride, about 3-4 hrs, because it was cool we just putted along and drank -

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More from the ICW:



Coming up on The Wharf....you can see the huge condos, the ferris wheel, and look closely and you can see the amphitheatre. WSP was just here for 3 nights, Sugarland in May, Kenny Chesney in August.

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Here's a couple from the Pirate's Cove, home of the best hamburger along the coast.








Don't know how often these get emptied, but we counted 6 of these:

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Those darn rich people, they get ready to move, they just take the house with them ---- sweeeeet!!

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Sunset at the Pass, Orange Beach, Alabama:




We saw several of these type tours, not sure of the cost....we do our own, saw plenty of dolphins, but have you ever tried to drink, drive a boat, look for a dolphin, avoid other boats, and then take a picture?!?!




View from our condo:







More pics in a while, including food pics!

[TAPPY]

Wow - nice pictures...I love Orange Beach !!!

[tbay13]

Tuesday night, we ate at Papa Rocco's, an old dive but a fun place to go, lots of locals in here.



Here's the appetizer --



We had a pizza as well, someone ordered a crab & cheese pasta dish, beer was cold, all was good. A 2-man band entertained the crowd, played LOTS of Johnny Cash and some more stuff, lots of fun!




After a late nite of debauchery, took this pic of the pool on Wed. a.m., small and on the highway side of the condo, but water was still too cold anyhow, except for some snowbirds who seemed to enjoy it.

Morning on the Gulf of Mexico



Back on the boat, we swirl around on the back-bay, just tooling around. Here are some pics from the day --








Roll Tide Roll !!












Gotta be quick to photo a dolphin, or lucky. This is what I usually get


This shot is from Cotton Bayou, behind Zeke's....the condos in the background are right on the beach --




Winding the day down looking at homes on Ono Island --

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Thurs nite, we karaoked at MudBugs (no pics) and then went to the Flora Bama for 3 or 4 hours. The next day, was too cloudy and windy to boat ride, so the girls went shopping, me and my buddy went back to the Flora Bama, just to buy lottery tickets; 12 hours later, literally, we left. We had stumbled on the 45th anniversary of the Flora Bama. Here are a few pics from the day (and nite).













Someone 'important' being interviewd by the local news team, we did not recognize the guys, but took a pic 'just in case.'

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A few more pics from the band(s), people, and just stuff--







This was funny -- a tank w/ live lobsters, made like an arcade, for $2.00 a pop, if you 'catch' a lobster, they steam it for you free. I saw at least $50 go in that machine in an hour, with NO 'winners.' One guy used his gf's credit card to try....wow... lol









Now you know where Santa spends the off season -




Group shot --




And this sums it up......if you ever pass this way, do not pass up the Flora Bama at least just to look around. Our beaches here are beautidul, we win the sand award but PDC wins the water. And I intend to follow the orders on this shirt -- THE END!!

[roni]

Nice photos

Thanks!!

[jflattracker]

Great pictures! We went to Papa Rocco's and Flora - Bama when we were there! I miss it down there! And the dolphin pictures look about like mine! Silly things are hard to photograph!

[Sol]

What a great trip! Thank you for posting your trip report and pictures!

[tbay13]

Thanks for the nice comments! Also, would like to add, on my birthday night (before we 1st went to the FB), we ate at a place called 'Lester's', on Canal Road. No pics, but the food was great and reasonable prices. I had an 8 oz. filet w/ salad and potato for $23.00, and the steak was cooked perfectly and you could almost cut it with a fork. Service was A+ . We'll eat there again in a few weeks, will try and get pics then -

[Barbidoll1]

I LOVE the Flora-Bama!!! What a great place to chill out on the beach! We also like Lulu's too. We haven't been back to that area in a few years, your report makes me want to book a trip with our friends---maybe we will!!! Thanks for sharing.