QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 10, 2015 -> 08:46 PM)
Probably the most laid-back vacation I ever did. Couple really delightful places to eat, spent a whole lot of time on the beach and at the pool, tons of seafood, few nice bars in the area but I also had to drive.
Let's see, head to Pensacola for a day, really nice walkable downtown, the ballpark looked great but it was out of season when I went. Would have loved to catch a Pensacola game if it was in season. First place I caught a "World of Beer" and am thrilled about those every time I track one down.
See if there's anything going on in the city event-wise, I caught a seafood festival that I really enjoyed.
There's also some sorts of tours available at the air force base but I didn't go to that. Some stuff with the blue angels I think.
At the border of Florida and Alabama there appeared to be some really nice nightlife, bar name at the spot was named "Florabama". Driving distance to Orange Beach. Couldn't go because only I drive & I woudln't have stayed sober.
Closer to Orange Beach, things you shouldn't miss:
"The Gulf". Fried fish restaurant right on the beach built out of shipping containers. It's as delightful as it sounds.
Cobalt - really nice restaurant, right on docks, nice "nice" dinner.
Tacky Jack's - food wasn't spectacular, solid margarita, kind of one of those "fun touristy places".
Cosmo's was an ok fish place, I wasn't as impressed by food as I wanted to be, but the place was really nice. Outdoor bar, lots of shopping built in, lots of different things to do.
Many of the other places are touristy but they're not bad. There was a BBQ/fried fish place right across the street from my Hotel (Holiday Inn Express), it wasn't bad at all, nothing I'd rave on yelp about but sat there watching a playoff game and enjoyed. I think that place was Bubbas. Wintzell's oyster house down the road probably worth trying also
In a strip mall near the walmart we found a nice iced cream place. Don't hesitate to buy beer or other wares at the walmart rather than at bars. Stock up on snacks, etc. If you're as much of an alcoholic as me (sarcasm but not totally) figure out ways to have some available so you can drive when needed while still sober.
Waste some time at the Beach souvenir stores, because why not.
If you drive to the west, there's a really nice, big park with a huge pier between Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. IIRC the Pier had fishing options, you could get yourself in a boat there, but plan ahead if you want to do something that takes a few hours, we weren't up for it by the time we went. Probably some hiking available there as well. Gulf State Park I think?
On the beach there are plenty of chairs, umbrellas, etc, but you'll pay like $10 for 2 hours or something like that, there are guys who drive up and down the beach and rent them. I grabbed a couple hours on one just to relax but mostly bounced between the pool and the beach walking & such otherwise. Your call how much you like those.
To the north there is something called "The Wharf" that is a huge quasi-shopping/restaurant/outdoor mall facility. We were there late in the season and it was 100% dead. However, a few weeks beforehand Dave Matthews Band had played there, that size of venue. Check for some event and that's probably a huge thing. Look in advance at the restaurant and shopping lists there, don't go there unless you have a specific plan or you know something is going on because could be dead.
If you head towards Foley there is an outlet mall but you'll pay through the A** for the tolls on the Foley beach parkway. I think I paid as much for that as I did for bridges in the New York area.
Plenty of boating or kayaking options in the bays behind the ocean. Probably parasailing and helicopter options over the ocean. I didn't do those so can't recommend anyone, but do remember there was a neat little island or two in the estuary you could have kayaked to, maybe even brought a picnic lunch.
Anything to ask about? Thats kind of my list of memories.
Wow, thank you for all those suggestions. We are going on a huge family trip (20+ people) so these are some ideas I will relay to everyone else that I am sure some will want to do. We have a huge house right by the beach so I am sure most of our time will be spent at our pool and on the beach lol. But I want to venture out and actually do some other stuff. I appreciate it, I will refer back to this when we are down there.