Ft. Morgan, Beach Update Feburary 8, 2011!!!

Happy February Everyone!  We wanted to give you a current beach update.   Tara and I ventured out to the beach at lunch today to get a video of the deep clean that BP is performing.  You will see large equipment, and holes that it dug, sifting equipment and dump trucks.  The large digging equipment will dig a pile of sand and then the sand is lifted in to the sifter.  This sifter will separate the clean sand from the tar balls or any oiled debris.   The clean sand is then put back on the beach while the tar balls and debris are put in dump trucks and hauled away. 

 We fully anticipate the beach to back at it’s beautiful self by Spring!  We are looking forward to seeing all of you back, really soon!!!   Check out the video. Fort Morgan Beach Update February 2011

New Addition to our Bayside Houses!!!

I’m talking about the Rookery number 1101. This great little house will win you over as you step in the door. Beautiful wood floors through out and an open floor plan perfect for a family. You have 3 bedrooms a great living room, dining, kitchen area that facilitates memory building togetherness. This house is part of a duplex in The Rookery community.
The Rookery Community is situated at mile marker 6 on Fort Morgan Road. That means it is about 4 miles before the Dunes Community. This quiet little area is nesteled on the bay side of the road, and offers great amenities. With the rental of this house you have access to the tennis courts, the largest pool in the area, a hot tub, and family grilling area that are just steps from your screened in porch.
Surround by the Bon Secour Wild Life Sanctuary you are sure to see wildlife at every turn. This house has two queen beds, and a queen sofa sleeper in the 3rd bedroom. You are half a mile from the beach and 7 miles from championship golfing.
Renting in this secluded community you are guaranteed to have a quiet getaway for your beach vacation. Call to book today!

It’s time to plan your Beach Wedding!!!!

It is typical winter day here in Ft. Morgan, and we are talking to vacationers about warm sunny days to come! One of my favorite conversations lately are with families planning spring or summer weddings. Everyone is excited and often really overwhelmed.
I wanted to take a minute and help you out with the planning.
First, now is the time to start planning. If you do not have a house, reception area, or spot on the beach chosen yet, do it now. These places book up fast and you are running out of time quickly.

When planning a beach wedding the simpler the better.
The beach is beautiful already, so you do not need lots of decorations to enhance such a lovely place. Plus most beaches have strict rules about what can and cannot happen on their beach. Note:Be sure you get a list of these rules well in advance so you can plan your wedding activities accordingly.

Your day is supposed to be about fun and great memories! The key to having a great day is flexibility. At a wedding in a church things can change at a moments notice. This is even more true with a beach wedding. The weather can cool off significantly or get unbearably hot, the wind can blow like a hurricane and bring rain with it or not blow at all and leave everyone feeling baked.  Always have a back up plan, and let your guests know! If it rains the ceremony will be at an alternate location… Maybe have a back up plan for some handheld fans in case bugs show up, or some mats for grandparents to walk on because sand is difficult to walk in for some seniors.  Flexibility is the key friends!!!

My best piece of advice is to have a trusted friend or wedding planner to help you not worry the day of your wedding.  This person will handle any emergencies that may come up and deal with them in a patient and helpful way not involving you unless absolutely necessary.

It is my hope that you have a wonderful wedding day experience for your beach wedding.  If we can help you plan or if you have any questions about a wedding at The Dunes Beach, give me a call!  I’m happy to help!!!

Happy Planning!!!!

Beach Update….from Utah???

Hey everyone! 

 

Well, I am curled up by the fire, hot cider in hand, watching the snow! I am completely in awe of the snow – I’ve had very few snow experiences, so I am thoroughly enjoying this one.

 

Oh!  Let me catch you up!  I’ve been talking about snow on our beach update.  I am currently in Park City, Utah, at our beautiful ski condo that is available for you to rent. I am very blessed to be able to take my friends to vacation here. Be sure to check out this condos interior photos on our online booking page.  I’m off to enjoy a day of snowy adventures!  Talk to you soon!

 

Enjoy the video I took!  Beach Update from Utah

 

Katie

Local Community Events this Month

I can’t believe it’s already December and 2011 is almost here!!  Let’s make the most of it and attend some of the great holiday events that our community has planned for us!  If you haven’t already planned your vacation to Fort Morgan this winter, now might be the time!  Listed below are just a few of the many activities in our area.  For a complete list, feel free to contact us at the office.

December 4- Gulf Shores Public Beach Christmas Tree Lighting and Parade.  Parade begins at 2 p.m. and the tree lighting at 5 p.m.

December 10- 3rd Annual Chocolate Affair.  Located at the Robertsdale PZK Hall from 7 to 10 p.m.  All proceeds benefit the Family Promise of Baldwin County.  Tickets $25.

December 11- 25th Annual Nautical Night of Lights Boat Parade.  Parade will begin at 5 p.m. from LuLu’s at Homeport Marina.  On lookers may view the parade from any public area along Canal Road.

December 11- Civil War Christmas.  This event is in our own backyard at the Historic Fort Morgan.  Event is from 4-7 p.m.  Admission is $3-$5. 

December 11- Summerdale Christmas Parade.  2 p.m. Parade will proceed downtown.

December 18- “The Nutcracker” performed by The Gulf Coast Ballet.  Foley Civic Center. 3 p.m.  Admission $5-$10.

December 31- New Year’s Eve “Block Party Blowout”.  The Wharf.  Events begin at 11 a.m.  Admission is free.

December 31- New Year’s Party at LuLu’s.  Doors open at 10 a.m.

January 1- Polar Bear Dip.  Flora Bama.  Noon.  Take a plunge in the Gulf to bring in the new year! 

We hope to see you soon!

Benefits of Liking us on Facebook

Benefits of Liking us on Facebook

Why Like Sunset Properties on Facebook?

Sunset Properties is always trying to find ways to connect with the friends and the fans of our great beach rental company.   There are many ways that we have connected with you over the years, but we’ve gotten really excited about our Facebook page lately. So excited in fact, that we’ve gone a little crazy. Our Facebook page not only offers great information about Ft. Morgan, Gulf Shores, and the Gulf Coast, but we’ve also started giving stuff away, holding fun contests, and offering killer deals.

Here are some reasons for you and your friends to Like our Sunset Properties:

  1. All of the great Contests– Sunset Properties is holding all kinds of contests.  We are posting the information onto our Facebook Page. This will be a great way to keep up with our photo contests, blogging, story contests, and more. Most of our competitions are open to everyone and are simple to enter, but you can’t win a contest if you don’t know about it. So, follow our blog or just like us on Facebook!
  2. All of the great Giveaways– Sunset Properties gives away Condo stays, tickets to shows and attractions and prizes. We announce our giveaways on Facebook and often, they’re time sensitive so liking our page might just be the best way to win.
  3. All of the great Fan Deals – Sunset Properties announces Fan Deals that are too good to pass up. We might announce a last minute two night stay for just $75.00 total for the first person that calls the company with a specific phrase. Again, the best way to be notified of the deal is to like our page.
  4. All of the great Gulf Shores / Ft. Morgan Information – Sunset Properties posts pictures, event info, links to articles, and interesting facts about Ft. Morgan, Gulf Shores and the beach. Anyone that loves to come to the beach will love the information.
  5. We’re Cool – Everyone likes cool people, right?! (Okay, so we like to THINK we’re cool:)

If you haven’t liked Sunset Properties on Facebook, now is the time to do it! And, spread the word to your friends and family. You never know when you or a friend might get a chance to win some really cool stuff!!  (Hint: we’re giving stuff away in the next two months)

Getting Around Fort Morgan

Anyone who has stayed with Sunset Properties knows that some of the selling points of Fort Morgan Alabama include its peacefulness, friendly locals, beautiful pristine beaches, and wonderfully priced beach rentals. Unfortunately, just like with any quiet vacation destination, sometimes it can be difficult to get around our quaint little area of Fort Morgan, AL because of the lack of transportation options. Luckily, we have decided to put together a unique list of 4 ideas offering some insight into “fun ways to get around Fort Morgan.”

Now, before we can get to the list, there are probably a few questions you need to answer about yourself and your group when vacationing with Sunset Properties.

  • How large is your group?
  • Can you and your group walk around a lot?
  • How far are you from attractions or the beach?

Here are some the “fun ways to get around” Fort Morgan…

    1. Take The Trolley Around The Dunes Community – Okay, this is not exactly accurate, but riding around our golf cart is the next best thing. In fact, during the summer months we run our golf cart tours (mostly we take you to the beach and back) about every 30 minutes. Offering this type of service to our wonderful customers is just another way we can say thank you.
    1. Walking – I know walking doesn’t sound as much fun as riding in a cool golf cart, but hear us out. Beside the guests who stay with us, there is not really much drive through traffic in Fort Morgan. This enables guests the ability to peacefully walk around the Dunes and Indies Communities. Plus, although roughly a mile walk, guests can walk pretty easily to the actual fort in Fort Morgan. For larger groups that don’t have many kids, this might be the cheapest and easiest means of transportation (unless you want to go to Gulf Shores for dinner—and then we would recommend driving).
    1. Ride A Bike – What a great way to enjoy the scenery that Fort Morgan has to offer while getting some extra exercise? This can also take the place of an attraction as most kids love to ride a bike. If you are interested in renting a few bikes we would recommend checking out www.beachbikerentals.net.
  1. Mobile Bay Ferry – Again, not many options with this ferry as it only goes to one location. Nonetheless, how else are you going to get to the historically beautiful landmark of Dauphin Island? Also, I have heard tale of people riding their bikes to the ferry and spending the day on Dauphin Island sightseeing (refer back to number 3 about biking riding).

We decided to add one extra “fun way” to our list for our adventurous travelers.

  1. Did You Say Kayak – How much fun would it be to go kayaking in the Gulf of Mexico? Sounds a lot of fun to me. If you are interested be sure to check out www.gulfshoresalbeachrentals.com.

Fort Morgan, where history comes alive!

About a mile from our office stands Fort Morgan, a fort that was actively used off and on from its construction in 1834 until it was finally decommissioned in 1946 and turned over to the wonderful state of Alabama.  This beautifully designed fort served to protect the bay of Mobile and the Alabama coast while it was in use.

As you can see the Fort was designed to be  beautiful and function as a military fort.  Today Fort Morgan is a living history lesson to all who visit.  With it’s romantic air and interesting stories about battles and the thousands of people who lived there through the years, Fort Morgan is a don’t miss on your list of to-dos while vacationing in Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan Alabama.  The entry fee is minimal and discounts are offered for seniors and children.

You get a sense of the history associated with the fort even before you go inside with all of its outlying structures from different time periods and  beautiful stonework.  Fort Morgan is currently cared for by the state and national park system. At different times throughout the year you can see civil war reenactments and take candlelight tours.  All of the events are fun to attend and can offer your family a great history lesson.  Because it is such a beautiful setting over looking the bay people often have destination weddings at Fort Morgan.  Carve out an afternoon to take a tour of Ft. Morgan while you are here, it will  be a memory making experience!

What to pack for your Beach Vacation!!!

If  you are like me, you always over pack no matter where you are going, and the things you pack are not exactly what you need.  Tara and I took some time to make a video about what you need for your beach vacation.  What you need is a surprisingly short list.  Be sure to check out this video so you don’t bring needless items, and don’t forget the most important things! 

   What to pack for your Beach Vacation