Gulf Shore Getaway

Gulf Shores business good over July 4th weekend. Beaches packed.

As expected, Alabama's Gulf Shores beaches were busy and crowded over the extended Fourth of July weekend. Business owners had been anticipating a flood of visitors and vacationers to Gulf Shores establishments. And business was indeed brisk and heavy, but not quite up to full capacity.

Tourists line beaches, but not businesses

A beach umbrella shading them from the hot noon Independence Day sun, David and Toni Benoit of New Orleans watched their two sons, Stefan and Corey, ride skim boards up and down the Baldwin shore.

New Orleans residents who moved back to their home in January for the first time since Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29, the Benoits took advantage of the holiday and a condo in Gulf Shores to escape to a quiet spot on Orange Beach, near the Flora-Bama Lounge.

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Alabama Beaches among the cleanest in the US

The headline pretty much says it all. What's left to say is about how long Alabama's Gulf Coast beaches have been so, well, so beautiful.

The truth is that nobody really knows. Since 1999 when testing first began, Alabama's Gulf Coast beaches have never been closed for pollution.

State's beaches pass pollution tests, among the nation's cleanest

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — There have been no days this summer when swimmers were advised against entering the waters of Alabama's Gulf beaches, which officials say are among the nation's cleanest.

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Gulf Shores Golf Club condos selling well

With only 21 of 80 units yet to be reserved in the Gulf Shores Golf Club's condo development project the success of phase one of the club's renovation plan is virtually assured.

The club's condo offering has a lot going for it. The condos are being built in a prime location and they are being offered at very attractive prices - about half the cost per square foot of comparable condo properties on the Gulf Shores beach front.

Gulf Shores beaches popular for the July 4th weekend

As previously predicted, Alabama's Gulf Coast, including Gulf Shores, is completely jam packed busy for this July 4th weekend. Hotels, condos and other vacation rentals are sold out as families flock to the coast for a long weekend of family oriented fun in the sun.

This long Independence Day weekend's weather is being fully cooperative. There is plenty of warm sunshine and cool gulf breeze on tap for beach goers. It's a time tested combination which never fails to fill the beaches are with visitors and vacationers enjoying their long Independence Day weekend.

Gulf Coast population may affect fisheries

An AP article investigates increases in population along the Gulf Coast - in terms of both vacation usage and in permanent residency. The increase in population over the recent past has caused much greater pressure on fragile ecosystems all along the Gulf Shore.

Of particular concern among environmental groups is the possible effect that increased population along the Alabama Gulf Coast might have on Gulf of Mexico fisheries.

In areas where conservation efforts started in the last century, signs of recovery are apparent, according to the study, partly supported by the Lenfest Oceans Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts.

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Alabama Gulf Coast beaches expect heavy traffic this July 4th weekend

The telephones in real estate offices and hotels have been ringing off the hook as prospective beach vacationers hunt for any open accommodations this Fourth of July weekend.

This year's Independence Day holiday falls on a Tuesday, giving vacationers an extra day, or making it that much easier to extend the weekend into an entire week. With what looks to be very cooperative weather condos, vacation rental houses and hotels in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach report availability is extremely limited.

The whole of Alabama's Gulf Coast is in similar situation, as record numbers of vacationers descend to the the Gulf Coast for a long weekend of sand, surf and July 4th festivities.