Attractions – Page 22 – Sunset Properties Blog

December 10, 2009

Alabama’s Coastal Connection

One of the newest additions to the National Scenic Byways Program is the Alabama Coastal Connection. The Scenic Byways Program is a part of the Federal Highway Administration and the Department of Transportation. The program is an collaborative effort to preserve selected roads throughout the US. The selected roads run through protected areas or areas that are specifically American in their nature. These roads must be described by at least one of the following; archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities (www.byways.com/org).

The Alabama Coastal Connection has all of these qualities and is right in our back yard, Literally!!! This trail begins ins Bayou La Batre a beautiful historic fishing village, where you can get some of the freshest seafood in amazing local restaurants. The trail continues on to Dauphin Island where you can again get wonderful seafood and enjoy the history of Ft. Gains, here you can also walk the Audubon birding trail and take a tour through the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Estuarium. The Sea Lab is a favorite of our guests as it is a fun place to get hands on education for adults and kids alike on our local wildlife. From Dauphin Island you catch the Mobile Bay Ferry over to Ft. Morgan where you can enjoy a tour of the fort. The most popular tour is done by candle light! From here you are minutes away from Sunset Properties and the beautiful beaches of Fort Morgan. The beautiful beaches of Ft. Morgan are quiet and secluded right at the end of the island. Fort Morgan is a great place to split your trip on the Coastal Connection and rest for the night.

From the Ft. Morgan beaches the trail continues on into Gulf Shores down Hwy 59 where you pass great shopping and restaurants on through to Foley. Once in Foley you travel west on Highway 98 to Fairhope another beautiful town with shopping, outstanding dining, wildlife around every turn, and history at your fingertips.

You can travel the coastal connection in one day but we recommend and extended trip to take in all of the great food, nature, culture, and history as you travel this beautiful byway. What a great way to relax and really get to know an area. Hope to see you soon.

November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving at the Beach

Thanksgiving at the beach is really a lot like any other time at the beach. You have beautiful sunny days, white sand, blue water and inspiring views. The big differences are it is much less expensive, there are fewer people, and the weather is a little cooler. You will still see families on the beach playing and exploring, and fishermen who are thrilled to show off their latest catch.

I had a chance to walk down to the water and watch some friends, the Colman’s, real in their second 38″ Red fish of the day. It was lots of fun everyone on the beach came down to cheer them on as Casey fought the fish in and his father helped him get it on the beach. It wasn’t a huge crowd but everyone was really excited. They even cheered as they released the fish to swim for another day. During the quiet Winter holidays it is easy to make new friends and everyone kind of seems like family here enjoying the quiet beauty of the beach together. It is a great time for famlies to get away.

From our family here at Sunset Properties we hope you have a wonderful holiday surrounded by the ones you are thankful for. Consider Thanksgiving at the beach sometime make some memories you will always treasure.

November 3, 2009

Ft. Morgan must see’s for Kids

Ft. Morgan is a beautiful family friendly place, but for new comers they don’t always know what to do with the kids and there are some definite must sees while you are here.

Dolphin!!!! You can see them feeding morning and evening just off shore. It is against the law to touch or feed these animals but they are beautiful to watch. In the spring you will often see entire families or pods teaching babies to feed. You can follow these beautiful creatures as they jump and play right in front of you.

Ft. Morgan!!! A civil war era fort only a mile from the Dunes Community. You and your family can explore through the fort on your own during the day and they have an outstanding museum. If you go in the evening you can do a candle light tour and they shoot off the cannons and do reenactments throughout the summer. Kids love the excitement of the cannons and they get a history lesson all at the same time…

If you come in the spring or fall don’t miss bird banding about 2 minutes from the condo near Ft. Morgan. There are a group of dedicated volunteers that take important information from these beautiful animals while giving the guests an education before they let them go again. The fun part about this is the visitors get to let them go!! Your kids will get to set a bird free and if it is Spring it will very likely be a humming bird.

If you visit in the fall be sure to try and see sea turtle nest hatching. It is an amazing site to see but it requires lots of patience and some free time at night. Again dedicated volunteers spend many free hours watching these nests and making sure all is well with the baby turtles. If you can spend the time and have the patience to wait and watch for the turtles this is certainly an experience you and your family will never forget.

If you have little guys or nature lovers, take time and visit Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and Estuarium. You can view local wildlife, and they have great touch tanks and preserved animals for the kids to handle. You can watch sting ray, and all different sorts of fish, and a beautiful shell collection to compare your shells to.

These are just a few of the local thing not to miss while you visit the area. If you need a few more ideas stop by the office we always have a list of local events to attend while on vacation.