Beach Vacation – Page 7 – Sunset Properties Blog

September 27, 2012

41st Annual National Shrimp Festival

There are so many awesome things to love about fall in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach. The days are still warm but not hot. The evenings are just right for a light jacket when you take that walk on the beach. The summer crowds are gone, and you can cruise right in to your favorite restaurant for fresh, local seafood.
Speaking of seafood, October also means it is time for the 41st Annual National Shrimp Festival. The shrimp festival starts Thursday, October 11th and will continue on until Monday the 14th. For four glorious days, the fun will be at the main public beach in Gulf Shores with mouth-watering shrimp and other seafood treats as well as traditional festival favorites, fine art, crafts, live music on two stages, children’s activities and so much more.

There is also a 5 k you can participate in! The history of the Annual National Shrimp Festival Run dates back to 1977. Having its start as a 5 mile race that started and ended at Bayou Village in Gulf Shores, AL. Over the years the race has made many transitions, even taking a temporary leave of absence in 2010.

The race is an officially sanctioned event of the Annual National Shrimp Festival, produced by the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce. Working with a strong group of dedicated volunteers, the 2012 Annual National Shrimp Festival 10K Run is planning the best event to date!

All net proceeds of the Run will be donated to Coastal Baldwin Education Enrichment, benefiting the local Gulf Shores & Orange Beach public schools.

There is so much to do and see! Be sure to book your condo soon. See ya there!

August 29, 2012

Hurricane Isaac Aug. 29 10 am

We had a few updates from the beach. All properties seem to fine a t first glance. Our maintenance guys were able to get through the high water to take a look at things. The power is back on for now at the end of the island and Becky will be in touch with you if you are coming in today. Isaac has stalled a bit so we still have highwater on the road for a little longer. Be sure to check out our Facebook fan page for current updates at https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sunset-Properties/5872428286

Thanks to Becky, Jim, Mark & Kathy for all of your above and beyond work during the storm!

August 28, 2012

Hurricane Isaac Aug. 28, 4 PM

Hi Everyone,

This is your update for Tuesday Afternoon. At this time all of our staff are in their personal homes or with family. We are seeing bands of heavy rain and wind come by every 3 to 4 hours north of the beach. Below is a message from the beach!

Hi Guys, the electricity just went out and yes, it’s really HOT here. The City of Gulf Shores just turned off our water due to flooding. They shut it off from the Mexican Resturant through the end of Ft. Morgan Rd. The road is completely covered in water from the Mexican Resturant all the way through the west side of Navy Cove. It is about level with the middle of a car door. (Hope that makes sense). I’m trying to get photos and will upload as I can. Oh, our waves here are about 16′ -Whoo Hooo – Surfs up Dude!

Isaac is still predicted to hit near New Orleans as a Catagory 1 after 8 PM this evening. Be sure to visit Face book for Videos and updates! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunset-Properties/5872428286

We still plan to be back in full swing in the office by Thursday morning! See ya soon guys!

August 27, 2012

Hurricane Isaac update Aug.27 1P.M.

Hi everyone! This is the first of our updates for Hurricane Issac. For those of you who are owners. We have picked up, locked up and boarded up as needed. We will be finishing these processes and sending our staff home to take care of their personal property tomorrow. Below is the most current update from the city. There are a few road closures pending at this time.

Gulf Shores, Ala – August 27, 2012 – City of Gulf Shores officials have announced no anticipated road closures or access restrictions to the island throughout the day today.
Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 27 the City anticipates closures at Highway 59 and Zoo Road and Highway 135 and Highway 182 at Beach Boulevard. Residents and others with proper credentials will still be given access to these areas until further notice.
City officials do not anticipate any interruption in utilities; however, the potential still remains for disruption as conditions can deteriorate rapidly.

Sunset Properties Beach Update Aug. 27

August 10, 2012

Best Beaches In The U.S.A.

Recently an owner sent an email to us with a report on the cleanest beaches in the United States. We are so thankful that Gulf Shores is considered one of the cleanest places to visit! Take a look below!

Editor’s note: On the list of 5-star beaches, Maryland’s beach was originally incorrectly listed here. It is Ocean City.

Bacterial contamination from stormwater runoff and sewage helped make 2011 one of the worst years in more than two decades for health-related closings and warnings at U.S. beaches, a major environmental group says.

The Natural Resources Defense Council’s annual assessment, released Wednesday, analyzes government data from more than 3,000 testing locations nationwide. It found that water quality at America’s beaches remained largely stable last year, with 8 % of water samples violating public health standards, the same as the previous year.

But there were 23,481 closing and advisory days in 2011, the third-highest level since NRDC began compiling their reports in 1990. That represented a 3% drop from 2010, which marked the second-highest number of closings and advisories since the group started its surveys. (The worst year, according to the NRDC, was 2006 with 25,643 closing or warning days.)

The Great Lakes region had the highest violation rate of beachwater standards – 11% of samples in 2011 – while the Mid-Atlantic’s Delmarva region had the lowest, with 4%. Individual states with the highest violation rates of reported samples were Louisiana (29%), Ohio (22%), and Illinois (12 %). States with the lowest rates of contamination last year – just 1% – were Delaware and New Hampshire.

For the first time this year, the NRDC has mapped more than 6,000 beaches nationwide, providing monitoring, closing and advisory information for more than half of them.

The searchable map includes a dozen beaches that earned the group’s five-star rating for violating health standards less than 5% of the time and for following such best practices as testing more than once a week and posting advisories online as well as at the beach. They include:

California’s Newport, Huntington State and Bolsa Chica
Alabama’s Gulf Shores Public Beach and Gulf State Park Pavilion
Delaware’s Dewey Beach
Maryland’s Ocean City Beach
Minnesota’s Park Point Franklin Park and Lafayette Community Club Beach>
New Hampshire’s Hampton Beach State Park and Wallis Sands
Texas’ South Padre Island

On the flip side, 15 “repeat offenders” stood out for persistent contamination problems over the past five years. They include portions of:

California’s Avalon and Doheny State Beach
Illinois’ Winnetka Elder Park Beach, North Point Marina and North Beach
Louisiana’s Constance, Gulf Breeze, Little Florida, Long and Rutherford
New Jersey’s Beachwood Beach West
New York’s Woodlawn and Ontario
Ohio’s Euclid State Park and Villa Angela State Park
Wisconsin’s South Shore Beach

Beachwater pollution nationwide causes a range of waterborne illnesses in swimmers including stomach flu, skin rashes, pinkeye, ear, nose and throat problems, dysentery, hepatitis, respiratory ailments, neurological disorders and other health problems. For senior citizens, small children and people with weak immune systems, the results can be fatal.

According to the NRDC, the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed updates to federal water quality standards – due to be finalized this fall – “miss a critical opportunity to better protect beachgoers from the dangers of swimming in polluted waters,” and would put 1 in 28 swimmers at risk of getting a gastrointestinal illness.

August 10, 2012

Lightening Glass! Not what you expect!

We’ve all seen the movie set in this area where the main characters fall in love when struck by lightening as children. The movie shows this beautiful swirling glass sculpture created by the mixture of lightening and sand. In the real world these little lightening creations are called fulgurites. Fulgurites (from the Latin fulgur meaning thunderbolt) are natural hollow glass tubes formed in quartzose sand, silica, or soil by lightningstrikes. We were actually brought a few of these interesting pieces of glass by a friend of the company and they are not what I expected. They are formed when lightning with a temperature of at least 1,800 °C (3,270 °F) instantaneously melts silica on a conductive surface and fuses grains together; the fulgurite tube is the cooled product. This process occurs over a period of around one second, and leaves evidence of the lightning path and its dispersion over the surface. Fulgurites can also be produced when a high voltage electrical distribution network breaks and the lines fall onto a conductive surface with sand beneath. They are sometimes referred to as petrified lightning. The glass formed is called lechatelierite which may also be formed by meteorite impact and volcanic explosions. Fulgurites can have deep penetrations, sometimes occurring as far as 15 metres (49 ft) below the surface that was struck.

November 2, 2011

“Dogs Are the Best” Photo Contest 2011

Win a $100.00 gift certificate!

We have an exciting announcement to make! Sunset Properties is holding our first annual “Dogs Are the Best” Photo Contest giveaway, and everyone is invited to enter. So, make sure you spread the word to your friends and family.

Details for the giveaway are simple. Email us at Contest@SunsetProperties.com with your favorite “dog at the beach” picture and a maximum of five sentences describing it. Submissions will be processed within three business days of receiving. Any photo submissions posted on the Sunset Properties Facebook wall will be deleted—your official entry has to be emailed to us.

The winning entry will receive a $100.00 gift certificate towards a stay with Sunset Properties PLUS their pet fee waived. There is also a 2nd prize gift certificate of $75.00 and a 3rd prize gift certificate of $50.00 and each of their pet fees waived as well. Pictures don’t necessarily need to be posed. We want GREAT pictures and GREAT stories. If you want to know how we define GREAT keep reading. There is a two picture entry limit per person, per email address so make sure you pick the best pictures you have. Here are examples of GREAT picture ideas/themes:
This is a DOGS AND THE BEACH themed contest!!! Dogs at the beach, playing, sunning, or getting ready for a beach adventure with the family, all make for a great entry. So send us your doggy photos!!!!

Please no other cities or photos that do not obviously show you are at the beach or at a Gulf Shores land mark or hot spot.

A funny picture of your dog playing at the beach.
A beautiful sunset with you and your dog 🙂
Your family and dog enjoying the beach or getting ready to head to the beach.
Anything that’s cute, fun or pretty of your pet at the beach. The best photos will be the ones that make us laugh, cry, sigh, move us, or make us want to bring our dog to the Beach.

Are you convinced you should win? We’ll be posting entries in an album on our Facebook Fanpage entitled “2011 Dogs Are the Best.” Please encourage your friends and family to “Like” their favorite picture. In order for a photo to be in the contest it must be submitted to us via email so we can place it in our contest photo album on our Facebook page. The amount of “likes” will be considered in our decision making for the winners. So participants should spread the word to friends and family and ask them to “like” their pictures. Ultimately, our office staff will choose the final winners.

The contest starts on November 2, 2011 and ends on December 4, 2011 @ 11:59 pm. Winners will be announced via Facebook on December 5, 2011. We’re excited to see the entries!

Click here for Official Rules!

August 24, 2011

Bellingrath Gardens a must see when you visit the Beach

We’ve talked about this several times in the past, but we wanted to call attention to one of the most beautiful sites to see in the area. We visited their website and found this useful information. This is a definite “must see” for anybody with a green thumb!

If you decide to venture over to Dauphin Island via the Mobile Bay Ferry, be sure to head on over to Mobile to smell the flowers at Bellingrath Gardens and Home. The garden features 65 acres of fragrant flowers that bloom year-round.

Bellingrath Gardens and Home was the creation of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bellingrath. The Gardens were first opened to the public in 1932 while a national garden club meeting was taking place in Mobile, Alabama. Mr. Bellingrath placed an ad in the Mobile newspaper announcing that anyone who would like to see the spring garden could do so free of charge. After an overwhelming response, the couple decided to keep the gardens open year-round beginning in 1934. Throughout the year, this 65-acre garden estate is in full bloom with camellias in the winter, azaleas in the spring, roses in the summer, chrysanthemums in autumn and Magic Christmas in Lights during the holiday season.

In addition to the self-guided walking tour through the gardens, you can also enjoy a 45-minute cruise aboard the Southern Belle, and a tour of the 10,500 square foot home with its original furnishings. You can experience the Bayou Boardwalk, Mirror Lake, the Great Lawn, the Asian-American Gardens. Don’t forget to stroll through the Butterfly Garden and view the formal garden terraces. For more information, visit https://www.bellingrath.org/home/ for events, admission rates and hours of operation.

August 11, 2011

2011 Sunset Properties Photo Contest Winners

We wanted to say a special Congratulations to our Winners and Honorable Mentions for our 2011 Photo Contest. We appriciate your time an efforts in entering this contest and sharing your beautiful memories and great talent! Enjoy these great photos below.

1st Place: Jessica Mooney ” Baby Jake”

2nd Place: Jennifer Hill – ” Crab Hunting”

3rd Place: Angela Allred – “Fishing Lesson”

Honorable Mentions in no particular order

Amanda Snipes- “Family Beach Photo”

Christie Arthur – “Mr. GQ”

Kevin Ware – ” Sunset from Pier”

Toni Fahler – ” Lucy buried in the sand”

August 2, 2011

147th Commeration of the Battle of Mobile Bay

The 147th Commemoration of the Battle of Mobile Bay will be held at Saturday, August 6 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the park at the end of Fort Morgan Road (AL Hwy. 180). Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for ages 6-18 and free for children under 6. (Active duty military and families also admitted free.)

To read more about the history of this event, see our feature article: No “Petty” Battle

The Commemoration: Lots of Reasons to Attend!

Michael Bailey, cultural resource coordinator at Fort Morgan, said events at the park are growing in significance leading up to the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Mobile Bay in 2014. So far this year the fort has marked other Civil War-era events such as the peaceful seizure of Fort Morgan from the federal government by Alabama troops in January.

Bailey said the schedule for Aug. 6 is as follows:

· 8:30 a.m. – Raising of colors (the Confederate Second National Flag, which flew in August 1864)

· 10:30 a.m. to noon – Drilling and firing artillery (32-pounder and 6-pounder)

· 9:30 to noon – Rifle firing by reactors

· 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. – Second round of artillery firing

· 3:30 to 4 p.m. – Second round of rifle firing

· 4:30 p.m. – Lowering of flag

Throughout the day will be living history exhibits of soldiers and laundresses, along with two non-firing artillery pieces. Also, guides will give oral histories of the Battle of Mobile Bay.

The Mobile Bay Ferry will operate all day between Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island. A concession stand will sell hot dogs, snacks and drinks throughout the day.

For more information, call the Fort Morgan Museum at 540-7127.

To get there:

From Mobile (or take ferry — https://www.mobilebayferry.com/— from Dauphin Island)

– Take I-10 E toward Pensacola – go 16.5 mi

– Take exit #44/LOXLEY/BAY MINETTE onto N HICKORY ST(AL-59 S) toward Gulf – go 28.6 mi

– Turn Right on HWY 180 – go 19.9 mi

– Arrive at the center of FORT MORGAN, AL

From Pensacola

– Take FL 292 W to Alabama line – go 19.8 mi

– FL 292 W becomes AL 292 W – go 10.6 mi

– Turn Right on Gulf Shore Parkway (AL-59) – go 1.1 mi

– Turn Right on HWY 180 – go 19.9 mi

– Arrive at the center of FORT MORGAN, AL

Thanks Coast360.com for the info on this fun event!