Hello 2010

As the year draws to a close, it is a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. When that is done, it is time to find a great New Year’s Eve party and we have plenty to choose from on the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast.

One of the best deals on the beach is with Brett/Robinson and The Hangout. You can stay at Phoenix All Suites Hotel, get two tickets to The Hangout’s New Year’s Eve party and a bottle of champagne from The Hangout for only $160. It is a perfect deal, you can walk to the party and not have to worry about a designated driver. Contact Brett/Robinson at 800-221-0258 for details on this package.

If you want a place for the family to celebrate or just need to know where to ring in the new year, there are some great options. The Wharf’s 4th Annual New Year’s Eve Block Party Blowout is free and has something for the entire family. Starting at 11 a.m., a children’s area will feature inflatable attractions and amusements. Later in the day, the fun shifts to adult amusements with great food, televised football and live music. The day ends at midnight with a fireworks display.

Another celebration with the kids in mind is Noon Year’s Eve at LuLu’s from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The famous Gulf Shores restaurant opens early every New Year’s Eve day for a children’s celebration. The whole family will enjoy clowns, face painters, games, sand castle contests, live music and a huge balloon release at noon. It is also free. Of course, LuLu’s has the traditional New Year’s Eve celebration starting at 7 p.m. as well. Tickets are $25 and $35 and include live music, champagne toast and New Year’s breakfast.

For the adults, celebrations can be found up and down the beach and all through Orange Beach and Gulf Shores with prices ranging from $15 per person to $55 per person. Whether you want to go casual or “dressed to impress” is up to you. Check out the details under “news” at www.Brett-Robinson.com.

I have not decided where I will be New Year’s Eve, but I know as long as I am on the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast, I will be having fun.

Happy New Year!

post provided by Luanne Burnett

Merry Christmas from Brett Robinson

Angels and kites on the beach. It must be December

December is an unusual time of year on the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast. The traffic is light and the atmosphere is very relaxed. The businesses and condominiums are all dressed for Christmas and a few people are walking on the sugar-white beach looking for shells. You just never know what you will see on any given day at the beach.

On a recent Saturday, I was having lunch with a friend at The Hangout on the beach in Gulf Shores. It was not a beautiful day. It was a little cool, the sky was gray, there was a mist in the air and the wind was strong out of the east. Not ideal beach conditions, but there were still a few people walking on the beach or sitting at the pavilions watching the waves.

After my friend and I ordered our meal, I noticed a large blue kite in the air just south of us. I started watching the kite until I saw the operator, a young man in a wet suit and harness. He was running along the sand and jumping in the air occasionally and letting the kite lift him a little higher. Soon, another young man appeared with a green and black kite shaped like a bat wing. He was also carrying a kiteboard. I knew we were in for a show.

My companion and I watched the kite surfer while we ate fried shrimp and fried oysters from the comfort of The Hangout. We were mesmerized. The energetic young man was using flying lines and a control bar to travel in a zigzag pattern in the surf. The wind was strong from due east and he was moving almost due north and south. At times, it seemed as if he was actually coming back into the wind. When he turned north and rode the waves, he would literally sail 10 or 15 feet in the air. Most of the time his landing would be perfect and he would continue on his zigzagging way. Other times, he had the appearance of a pelican diving for a fish. Either way, he was keeping us under his spell. When he reached the western end of the public beach, he started his journey back on foot. Walking into the wind with a huge wing on his back, he had an uncanny resemblance of an eerie green-winged batman.

Wednesday of the same week, I was driving west from Orange Beach to Gulf Shores. It was around 10 a.m. when something in the sky caught my eye. At first, I thought it was three pelicans gliding on the wind drafts around the condominiums. Then I realized the formation was a little too perfect. Since I was driving straight toward the unidentified flying objects, I could watch them and not place other vehicles on the street in danger. After a few seconds, I saw a trail of smoke from each object and realized I was seeing the Blue Angels. Three jets from the famous Navy Flight Demonstration Team were performing over the beach in Gulf Shores. I watched them until I had to turn north on Highway 59. The guests in Phoenix All Suites and Island Winds East and West were getting a grand show.

I started thinking about life in coastal Alabama and the everyday happenings on the beach. Even on cool gray days, there is something to make you smile. December is a good month to be here. Come to think of it, so are the other 11 months. I love living on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

post provided by Luanne Burnett

Christmas on the coast

I love Christmas on the Alabama Gulf Coast. I guess most people don’t think of the beach when the holiday season is near. For those that don’t, they don’t know what they are missing. From “Nutcracker” ballets to boats draped in Christmas lights, the coast comes alive during this season.

The first time I stood on the pier at Bear Point Marina in OrangeBeach and watched the glow of lights glide past Bear Point, I was hooked. The fishing vessels, pleasure boats and sail boats with lights wrapped around or dangling from the masts and bows lit up the dark horizon for what seemed like miles. The Nautical Night of Lights Parade winds around the bays and Intercoastal Waterway from Zeke’s Marina in Orange Beach to LuLu’s Homeport Marina in Gulf Shoresevery December. This event is scheduled for December 11 this year.

The Fish River Christmas Boat Parade is set for December 19. This smaller parade (but no less spectacular) will start at the Highway 98 bridge and end at the Highway 32 bridge. Big Daddy’s Grill on Ferry Road (off of Highway 32) is a great place to watch the parade and have some good food, too.

Mobile Ballet’s annual Christmas treat, “The Nutcracker” is set for December 12 and 13 at theMobile Civic Center. Each year, the ballet company brings in guest dancers. This year, there are two former Joffrey Ballet dancers starring in the production.

The City of Orange Beach is really getting in the Christmas spirit this year with “Christmas on the Coast.” The city has asked all businesses, residents and neighborhoods to decorate for Christmas to transform Orange Beach into a “Christmas Town.” The “Christmas on the Coast” is from November 30 to January 8. The Phoenix Condominiums always do their part to bring cheer to the beach. All of the building entrances and fences are tastefully decorated for the season.

Speaking of lights and decorations, one of the most spectacular presentations in the southeast is across Mobile Bay at Bellingrath Gardens. Magic Christmas in Lights is a holiday tradition with more than 3 million sparkling lights and 902 displays throughout the 65-acre garden estate. This runs nightly through December 31. They are closed Christmas Day.

I have much more to talk about, but I will save it for next time.

I love Christmas on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

post provided by Luanne Burnett

The holiday season is here

I start feeling “the season” when the time changes back to standard time. Driving home in the dark seems to bring the “Christmas is getting closer” feeling. The lights on the runways of Jack Edwards Airport on Highway 59 even remind me of Christmas lights.

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas always seems to be the most hectic time of year for most families. We are all bombarded with advertisements for “holiday sales” and the latest and greatest technology has to offer. Children see television commercials for all the new walking, talking, squawking, rocking and rolling toys and add them to their wish list. None of this helps me get out and buy presents for family and friends any earlier. I have been known to go to a mall or the local corner drug store on Christmas Eve to get the last of the gifts on my list.

For family and friends that aren’t lucky enough to live on the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast, I like to give gifts that have a “coastal feel.” We have so many wonderful, unique gift shops in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, I can usually find the perfect gift for anyone on my list. One year, I gave my North Mississippi friends star fish ornaments painted like Santa Claus. That’s something you don’t run across every day in the Mississippi hill country.

Even traditional souvenir stores have a treasure-trove of gift possibilities for the creative shopper. One year, all the kids and young adults in the family received Orange Beach hooded sweat shirts. They all loved them and I had fun picking the best color for the dark-haired boys and fair-haired girls. Most visitors to my household come in the summer and the sweat shirts are not readily available.

One of my favorite ideas for anyone, is a gift of the beach. Brett/Robinson offers gift certificates that can be purchased in any amount and used anytime of year. It is the perfect gift for someone who has everything. It can be used during vacation time or for a quick weekend getaway. If you are lucky, they will invite you to stay, too.

Happy shopping…

post provided by Luanne Burnett