Before this month I couldn’t tell you the last time we spent a whole week at the beach, but I can now say the beginning of October was the last time. Stephen and I made the seven hour drive one rainy Sunday, thinking we were leaving the rain behind us; but actually, it followed us the whole way. It was on and off rain for our drive, and it did linger around here and there most the week, but it didn’t ruin our time.
The place we stayed was right on the beach, 15 floors up and it was awesome! All Stephen wanted was a room with a balcony overlooking the sea and that is exactly what we got. First thing’s first though, we had to check out the beach! Not a bad view.
We got settled in and then found a beachfront restaurant that we actually had eaten at before. We sat outside and the rain came once we finished up, so perfect timing there.
Our week consisted of coffee and bagels on the balcony most mornings, fun activities during the day, and a late afternoon everyday on the beach. Followed by something good for dinner, an evening walk, and then back to the balcony to finish the day off where we started. That pretty much sums up our week.
The fun activities that we did: Day 1 – shopping. It was the most rainy this day and it started first thing, so actually this morning and the morning we left were the only times we went out for breakfast. After our late breakfast, we found the outlet mall, a vacation isn’t complete without a trip to an outlet mall. (And a note on eating out at any place, be prepared to wait. Everywhere is short staffed, and everywhere we waited for a table and our food. We weren’t in any hurry anywhere we went so it was totally fine, but not everyone on vacation around us felt that way. 🙂 )
By the time we were done shopping and back to the room, the sun was out and the rain had stopped. We hung out on the beach until it was time to get ready for dinner. This night we found a local place that seemed fancy, but actually wasn’t our fancy night out. The Big Fish was the restaurant and it was very good. I had my first real crab cake and loved it!
Day 2 was the day we rode bikes through the state park. It was breezy and cloudy, and poured right when we were finishing up our trek. We did a bike share that the park has throughout. You have 3 hours free to ride, I think it was 3 hours, and then you check your bike back in at any location in the park. We finished where we started and according to the bike app we rode either 12 miles or 18. Mine said just under 12 miles ridden and Stephen’s said 18. It was really fun and if we had another day, we would have done it again, only renting better bikes than what was offered as the bike share – still it was great!
We ate lunch after this, as it rained, then back to the room and another afternoon on the beach. An incoming rain cloud made us pack up a little sooner than we planned, but we got to see the end of the rainbow so that was awesome!
Day 3 the plan was to find a shipwreck we read about. This shipwreck wasn’t always visible but it was right by Fort Morgan so we went there instead. We had an early lunch, then after the short drive to Fort Morgan, walked around and did our own self-guided tour. It was pretty neat! I got lots and lots of pictures, and Stephen took a few really cool drone shots.
I am pretty sure I am going to print some oversized prints of a few that we took at the fort.
This day was also the day I saw pelicans up close and personal. I’ve been waiting for this day for years! (A different Pelican adventure here.)
This evening we had our fancy dinner. We made reservations for it the first day of our trip and it was worth the wait. The best presentation for chicken and probably the best chicken I’d ever had. Also, the most expensive dinner we’ve ever had. Not a lot of pictures, just a couple sneaky ones of what we ate. It was a keep your elbows off the table kinda place so we kept the phones off the table as well. 😉 Funny thing was the couple behind us, we overheard them say, they were from West Tennessee, halfway between Memphis and Nashville. Could have been neighbors for all we knew!
We had an awesome walk on the beach this evening and took our flashlight to see what everyone else was looking for. Crabs I think is what they were seeking. Every night from the balcony we’d see so many flashlights on the beach. I have friends that like to crab hunt at night so that was my guess. We saw a few here and there, but nothing special. The walk was what I was there for.
Day 4 was the day we took a Segway tour through the state park. It was great! Something we’d been wanting to do for a while, but just hadn’t. This was the perfect place. Of course, Stephen got the hang of it right away, he rides the boy’s hoverboard from time to time. Me, it took a a minute or so. Not that hard at all. No one fell or got off the trail so that was good. Finished this day on the beach as well, and since we had a late lunch after our Segway tour, we had a more laid back evening.
Day 5 and the trip is coming to an end. We rolled out of bed to see the sunrise. I told myself that was something I wanted to see while we were here. It’s not often we wake up to see the sunrise on vacation, and I tried the day before but it was foggy. Early morning goal accomplished! After this we packed up, had breakfast, and headed home. We were home in time to sit on our own front porch until dark, no ocean views or anything like that, but we had some wine and ended the week well.
And that was our week in Orange Beach, Alabama. I made a quick little video using most the pictures I posted here, and then some. Part of the reason I was selective in not posting too many pictures in the post. Thanks for reading!
Rejoice for the Day 