Orange Beach...This City is more that sand and surf

Published by the Mobile Press Register

Orange Beach
This city is more than sand and surf

Monday, July 30, 2007
By RENEE BUSBY
Staff Reporter

It's more than just a place to go soak up the sun on the pristine beaches and take a dip in the Gulf of Mexico.

While the white sand and surf are a big attraction, Orange Beach has more to offer.
Aside from shopping and dining, you can parasail, charter a fishing vessel, take a tour on a glass-bottom boat, board a dolphin-watching cruise or rent your own boat and see the sites.

The city known for its mullet toss and songwriters festival is also becoming a favorite spot for powerboat racing. Next month you can watch the excitement of huge hydroplane boats going at speeds up to 150 mph when Thunder On the Gulf comes to Orange Beach Aug. 16-19. For more information about the race, visit www.thunderonthegulf.com.

On shore, the Flora-Bama Lounge and Package Store at the Alabama-Florida line is still a favorite spot among tourists. The parking lot was almost full on a recent weekday afternoon, with vehicles revealing license plates from around the country.

When the children get bored, you can try out Adventure Island amusement park on Perdido Beach Boulevard. It offers everything from miniature golf to laser tag, bumper boat rides, a roller coaster simulator, go-carts and an arcade. For information, visit www.adventure-island.com.

SanRoc Cay Marina is another place where you'll find one-stop shopping and dining, as well as deep sea fishing charters. When the sun goes down on the weekends, you can enjoy live music in the courtyard near the shops. To find the SanRoc Cay, just look for the giant metal marlin water fountain on Perdido Beach Boulevard.

Mike Foster, vice president of marketing for the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau said you don't have to come to Orange Beach for just a day.
He said there are plenty of hotel rooms and condos available for rent.
"A lot of people think we're booked up," said Foster.

To find out how to rent anything from a condo to a kayak, or where you can shop and dine, visit www.orangebeach.com.

The Wharf, the newest shopping, dining and entertaining complex, is located a few miles from the beach off the Foley Beach Expressway Bridge.
If you choose to take the expressway to head over to Orange Beach, be prepared to pay $3 at a toll booth.

At The Wharf, you can spend the day shopping, enjoy a spa treatment, catch a movie and have a drink and a cigar at a cigar bar. You can also dine on everything from seafood, Cajun cuisine and Mexican food to a hamburger at a "retro diner" where the staff perform a mini-show between meals.
While at The Wharf, you can see the Gulf of Mexico from atop the 112-foot tall Ferris wheel, the largest Ferris wheel in the Southeast. Tickets are $3.50, and the ride runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Amid the shops and restaurants is something you might not expect in a shopping complex -- a shark and deadly sea creature exhibit.

"Monsters From The Deep" features a live octopus named Oliver who is known for his ability to open jars with his arms, a Piranha named Jimmy, a shark and a moray eel located in a section of the exhibit called the 10 most dangerous sea creatures.

"We couldn't have the top three (dangerous) here because our insurance company wouldn't let us," said Shaun Wallace, who owns the exhibit with his wife, Susan.

While they aren't part of the live display, you can see them in a video.
You'll also see the world record fish hall and top 12 killer shark exhibit, which features life-size replicas of the fish and sharks. There's also a kids' learning center, a deadly creature display of animals that live on land, and a theater that shows a video of sharks and other water animals.

The exhibit includes a "Shock Room" with "gruesome real photographs of actual shark attack victims." Wallace said no children are allowed in the room without a parent.
It is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10.95 for adults, $7.95 for children 13 and under, and children 3 and under get in free. For more information, call 980-JAWS or visit www.monstersfromthedeep.com.

Located next door to the exhibit is Paradise Indoor Miniature Golf, where you can putt without worrying about the weather. The cost is $8 for adults, $6 for children ages 5-11, and free for children 4 and under.

Stay late at The Wharf and catch a sunset while walking on the boardwalk near the marina, or stay for a concert at the 10,000-seat amphitheater where celebrities from Hank Williams Jr. to the Marshall Tucker Band and Montgomery Gentry have performed.

For information about The Wharf or upcoming concerts, visit www.thewharfal.com, or call 224-1000.

ON THE NET
Orange Beach: www.orangebeach.com
Thunder on the Gulf: www.thunderonthegulf.com
Adventure Island: www.adventure-island.com
The Wharf: www.thewharfal.com