It's been a record breaking holiday weekend all along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Gulf Shores condos and hotels were holding at or near capacity as the last long weekend of summer '06 came and went.
Businesses enjoyed record levels of tourists and the revenue they bring. Retailers reported strong sales and restaurateurs saw some of the best days in their history.
Coming into the long labor day weekend, vacation rental operators were reporting reservation rates ranging from 80 to 100 percent.
Now's the time to start thinking about that fall vacation to the Gulf Coast. With the kids back at school the beaches will be less crowded and the shops and restaurants will be less full.
The 40th annual Mobile Big Game Fishing Club Labor Day Tournament gets underway this weekend. This could be the year they give away that million dollar prize for catching an Alabama state record Blue Marlin.
Fishing has been so good this year along the Alabama Gulf Coast, you have to believe it might happen. After all, Alabama's Blue Marlin state record is only a measly 779.3 pounds. That's well below the state records for Blue Marlin among the other Gulf Coast states.
Blue Marlin State Records
Registration for the 40th annual Mobile Big Game Fishing Club Labor Day Tournament runs from 5-8 p.m. Friday. The captains meeting starts immediately after registration. Boats may leave after mandatory sign-out by captain or owner.
What a summer it's been. After last year's storms and the predictions for an even worse season this year we're all breathing a huge sigh of relief to have seen nothing of the sort.
In fact things could hardly be better.
It looks like we'll all be headed out to the Alabama Gulf Coast this weekend, the last hurrah for summer vacation 2006. If you're among them, don't go without checking ahead for lodging. Just about every condo in the system is booked up solid for the weekend. There may be the odd hotel room here and there. Don't give up. The beach is calling.
Coastal communities look for big Labor Day weekend business
With Tropical Storm Ernesto no longer a local threat, tourism officials in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach said they expect big crowds this holiday weekend, hopefully helping offset last year's Labor Day, when Hurricane Katrina turned Alabama's beaches into virtual ghost towns.
As Ernesto churned in the Caribbean last weekend, and early projections called for it to smash the Gulf Coast, officials feared the worst.
Once the storm weakened and shifted east over Florida, it signaled good news for the Alabama coast, a region that missed out on the traditional end of summer bonanza last year.
"We all breathed a little sigh of relief," said Marie Curran, the director of marketing and reservations for Brett/Robinson, a real estate conglomerate that manages more than 1,500 rental units.
"We hate to see the hurricane go anywhere, but we're happy it's not going in this direction. I think that's a common thought along the Gulf Coast."
Curran said all of the real estate conglomerate's 1,856 condo units are booked for this weekend.
Big changes in store for Gulf Shores condo owners. OK not really. Anyone who owns a condo in Gulf Shores already knows the price of insurance is skyrocketing.
What they might not know is how coverages may be changing and what new alternatives may become available. Read on for more information.
So many proposals for new condo developments and marinas in the Gulf Shores area are on the table it's attracting the interest of residents and regulators. The concern is the sum total of the impact these proposed developments might have on the area.
Do they make it more vulnerable to storms? Are there too many economic eggs in one basket? What about the environment and preserving the natural beauty of the area? These are among the questions being asked and debated.
Residents mull over Intracoastal development
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could set regulations on condos, marinasGULF SHORES -- Beth Via stood in front of a sketch of proposed condo developments along the Intracoastal Waterway and scratched notes on a legal pad Tuesday night.
"There's so many reasons for not paving over this," she said. "Hurricane evacuation, habitat destruction, wildlife destruction, traffic and safety on the waterway. Isn't that enough?"
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had invited south Baldwin residents to help determine the effect -- both economic and environmental -- of thousands of planned condos and boat slips developers want to build along the waterway.
The 12th Annual BayFest Music Festival is sure to delight music lovers this fall. The festival, to be held October 6-8, 2006 will feature artists Lynyrd Skynyrd, Al Green, Michael Bolton, Gretchen Wilson, Patti LaBelle, Little Big Town, Charlie Wilson, Gary Allan, Shinedown and Keith Anderson.
But that's just for starters. BayFest will host over 100 national, regional and local artists who will perform on nine separate stages over the three-day weekend.
You can get your weekend pass for BayFest on their web site. After Labor Day tickets will be available at area Compass, Regions, and AmSouth banks. Full weekend passes are $35. Single day passes are $25, and can be purchased at the gate. Children under 12 get in free when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.