Vacationing at Orange Beach, Alabama (Including Pensacola, Florida)

Have you ever actually been treading a vacation?  I normally love my vacations and/or my time off from work.  This year we really did not plan our vacation until about two weeks out, totally unlike years past.  Through the recommendations of Lily's friends we decided on the Gulf Shores area and settled on Orange Beach, Alabama.  To say I was under impressed at the outlook of going to the middle of nowhere would be an understatement!  A 16 hour drive, even with three drivers was hard!  

We made it down in record time, LOL.  We left at 12:30 at night with Lily taking the first shift, because, as she says, she is nocturnal!  We made it down around 4:30 on Monday June 10, 2019.  We made it through and the first evening just kind of drove around to get the lay of the land and to find a place to eat dinner.  That night we also took a nice long look at the beach which was out the back door of our hotel.

I made a plan to get up for the sunrise each morning, this was the first really smart move on my part!  Let me correct that, my first really smart move was doing the research in the few weeks after having decided on Orange Beach  for things to do around there.  Being a Navy Veteran, I love everything Naval Aviation.  I discovered that less than an hour from Orange Beach was the National Naval Aviation Museum.  I was sold, the added bonus was the fact that Tuesday's and Wednesday's the Navy Blue Angels practice right outside the museum, since the museum is actually located on NAS (Naval Air Station) Pensacola.  Tuesday I went down, I took just a few hundred shots, LOL.

 Do you know how hard it is to get a plane in focus when it is moving at around 400 m.p.h.?

 The planes get to within a foot and a half of each other, and you can only click the shutter so fast...

 To say the day was made by the Blue's might be a slight understatement.

 I thought the shot above flying through the contrail of the other plane was cool, what do you think?

 I love the move below, It shows the versatility and the training of the pilots, just think, one wrong move and you kill, not only yourself but the two other pilots!

 Thinking my day was complete, I went back to find Marilou and Lily on the beach!  We decided to go to the Warf, just a few short miles away in Gulf Shores.

 Again, I was impressed with this little shopping area with restaurants and a beautiful ferris wheel.

 After it is full dark, they do a light show throughout the main shopping area.

 Although my photos don't give it justice, you can get the general idea...

No evening in Orange Beach could be concluded properly, at least while on vacation, without a stroll on the beach.  Off in the distance I could see a storm starting to roll in.  I have tried many times to time a lighting strike but I was never successful until our second day in Orange Beach!  This was shaping up to be a good vacation so far.

 Wednesday started out with another beautiful sunrise.

 Each day while in Orange Beach you would see Blue Heron, right on the beach.  The photo below, shows how dark it was when my day started, and as you can see the Blue Heron were out already!

 Wednesday proved to be a great day as well.  In the morning we decided to rent bicycles, but, we decided to make it more fun than most bicycle trips by renting Electric Bicycles.  Dean and his crew at Pedego Electric Bikes (PedegoOrangeBeach.com) were outstanding!  Marilou rented a trike so I could put my camera backpack in it.  Below is Lily standing watching me...

Wednesday we also went on a Dolphin/Sunset Cruise.  This was kind of fun, but, I never really got the photos I was hoping for...

Thursday, for the sunrise, I wanted to try something a little different, so I got in the car and drove towards the bridge which connects Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, so I would not have the hotel in my way for the sunrise.  

 By manipulating the shutter speed, ISO and length of time the shutter is open on the camera I was able make the wonderful, eerie photo below.

 The photo below is just a little dark and I kind of cut the nose of the boat off, but, I love the sunrise coming through  the top of the boat!

Next on Thursday was something just for Lily, or so I thought!  Lily wanted to try parasailing! It is not cheap and Lily wanted to go, but not paired up with a stranger, so I decided to go as well!  Orange Beach Parasailing(obparasail.com) what can I say but AWESOME.  What a thrill it was to get up there, and of course to come splashing down, literally!

All week long I had been getting up to catch the sunrise, Thursday someone suggested  GT's ON THE BAY for dinner and to see the sunset.  Like everything on the trip so far, we were not to be disappointed!  Like always, I took way too many photos of the setting sun, but, it was AMAZING!

I could add probably a dozen more shots, but, I think the shot below says it all!

Friday was our last full day, so Marilou and Lily wanted to stay on the beach.  Anyone who knows me, knows my skin coloration can not handle a day at the beach, although on this trip, I made into the ocean (Or the Gulf of Mexico) at least once a day.  So with time to kill, or do what I wanted to do, I made the trek back over to Pensacola, Florida and went to Uncle Sandy's Macaw Bird Park(Macawbirdpark.org).  The fee is minimal, a $5 donation, and the sites of birds are pretty neat, well worth the nominal fee, in my opinion!  

On Saturday morning the plan was to get up for the sunrise and get on the road shortly after that.  I was pleasantly surprised to have both Marilou and Lily join me for the last sunrise...

All good things must come to an end, sadly our vacation is over.  Our trip back from Orange beach took us close to 22 hours driving, pretty much straight through with three major stops along the way, Auburn University, the University of Alabama and, at 9:15 at night, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  So, what should have been a 16 hour drive, actually took us 22 hours because of the delays and the detours which we took.

I know this has been a long post, but, I was just so above and beyond thrilled at our vacation to Alabama, that I wanted to share.  If you have read this all the way through, thank you!  

All photos are solely owned and are the intellectual property of Michael W. Noonan and mwnphotography.  If you like any of the photos, as always, everything is for sale.  If you want to see more of my collection from this wonderful trip, that can be arranged as well, all you need to do is reach out to me.  I can be reached via email at mwnphotography@gmail.com or by phone at 847.636.9130.

For all you shutterbugs out there, KEEP CLICKING THAT SHUTTER!