baby alabama
&child
OCT/NOV/DEC
Holiday Festivals & Events Trinity Medical Center The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Family Getaway: Orange Beach, AL
$2.95
Ht: 0.816", Wd: 1.4872", Mag: 80% BWR: 1
www.albabymag.com
Inside:
LOCAL INFANT & MATERNITY SHOPPING GUIDE
family travel
destination family fun in orange beach, alabama Family adventure awaits on the beaches and bays of orange beach Photos provided by Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau
TURQUOISE PLACE 888-607-7020 www.turquoiseplace.com
AFTER A LIFETIME of beach getaways to
Orange Beach, Alabama I thought I knew everything there was to know about this strip of the Gulf Coast nestled between Gulf Shores, Alabama and Perdido Key, Florida. However I have recently discovered that after all this time I had only experienced a fraction of
what Orange Beach has to offer. A recent trip revealed an abundance of ecotourism options and the latest in luxurious beach dwellings. ACCOMMODATIONS
Turquoise Place is the newest high-rise on Perdido Beach Boulevard. www.albabymag.com 23
family travel It is comprised of two, 370-foot “turquoise” glass towers housing 400 three- and four-bedroom condominiums. The three-bedroom condos average 2,300 square feet, so families will feel right at home with the spacious accommodations. Other amenities include a full kitchen lavishly equipped with Wolf and Sub-Zero stainless steel appliances, a dining room that seats six-to-eight guests, a spacious den with a gas fireplace, and on each balcony a Jacuzzi hot tub and outdoor gas grill kitchen. Parents of young children will especially enjoy the fourth-floor recreation area, which includes an indoor pool with swirl slide, an outdoor play system, and a lazy river.
Another fairly new addition to the area is The Wharf, a prime destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment. Entertainment options include the Southeast’s tallest Ferris Wheel, movie theaters, and a 10,000-seat amphitheater hosting top touring music groups. Ferris Wheel at The Wharf Open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m.-8 p.m. Tickets are $4. The Water Plunge at The Wharf The Wharf’s newest entertainment attraction featuring The Hippo®, the world's largest water slide, measuring 36 feet high, 47 feet wide, and 175 feet long. Tickets are $4.
FAMILY FUN
he Wharf Th 4550 Main Street Orange Beach, AL 36561 877-942-7325 w w w.thewharfal.com
BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL hike along miles of trail along the Gulf State Park.
LULU’S AT HOMEPORT MARINA Enjoy great food at Lucy Buffett’s Family Restaurant. www.lulusatthehomeport.com
FERRIS WHEEL at the Wharf, the tallest Ferris wheel in the Southeast.
BEACH BIKE RENTALS offers bicycle rentals with free delivery and pick-up. 251-968-1770.
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The Wharf Adventu re Zone The Wharf Adventure Zone family recreation venue includes an 800foot-long zip line and a 32-foot-tall ropes course. Zip line, $18; ropes course, $12; combo, $25.
family travel ECO-TOURISM
Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail 251-981-1063 Hike, bike, or take the guided golf-cart tour to explore the trail one walked by the indigenous peoples of Gulf Shores. Gulf State Park 20115 State Hwy 135 Gulf Shores, AL 36542 8 0 0 - A LA -PA R K w w w.alapark.com The park’s 6,500 acres of land includes 2.5 miles of beach, three fresh water lakes, a nationally recognized scenic nature trail, a beach pavilion, picnic area, and a campground. Sailaway Charters 251-974-5055 Take a 2-hour eco-tour through Longs Bayou and Wolf Bay with Capt. Skip. where you will see and learn about oysters, blue crabs, shrimp, and a variety of fish and birds in their natural habitat. Fun and informative. $25 per peson with 6 passenger minimum.
Capt. Skip of Sailaway Charters explains how crabs are harvested.
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family travel
ALLIGATOR ALLEY 19950 County Road 71 Summerdale, AL 36580 251-946-2483 www.gatoralleyfarm.com
alligator alley 251-946-2483
Just a short 30-to-40-minute drive from the beach is Alligator Alley, home to more than 150 alligators. Journey through the swamp on elevated bridges and see alligators roaming free in their natural environment. You can even meet Captain Crunch -- a sight to behold, he’s 38 years old, 13 feet long, weighs over 800 pounds, and he holds the world’s record strongest bite ever recorded from an alligator. (He lives alone.) Those who meet owner Wes Moore are often tempted to compare him The Crocodile Hunter, especially when he goes into the thick of a dozen or so 10-foot gators with just a stick and an ice chest full of meat to feed them. Wes’s passion is giving these massive creatures a safe haven, a world where they should not be considered a nuisance just for being what they were created to be. All of the alligator at Alligator Alley have been rescued and will be allowed to live out their lives in this environment. As part of the Florida Nuisance Alligator Removal Program, Alligator Ally transports animals that are considered “nuisance animals” to the farm. As mandated by the state of Florida, any alligator over four feet in length, determined to be dangerous to humans or their property must be killed. The only exception is when they can be placed in a safe captive environment. Alligator Alley is an adventure 26 www.albabymag.com
the whole family will enjoy.