Our Local Spotlight of the week is a vacation rental company located in Gulf Shores called Lucky Bird Vacations. Broker/Property Manager, Betsy Price and Owner Relations, Ally Reid are the driving forces behind this successful rental company. They are some of the nicest people I’ve met and provide quality customer service to all of their owners and renters!
Lucky Bird Vacations goes above and beyond what is expected of rental companies. They have specials for upcoming events, specials for bachelorette parties and more throughout the year. Are you having a special event while staying in one of their rentals? They will help you make that special event a magical occasion that you’ll never forget!
This year Lucky Bird launched the “Flocklet” which is a wristband Lucky Bird guests will receive upon arrival and wear throughout the duration of their stay. The wristband will also give you discounts at participating stores and restaurants in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area! A few of the participating businesses include The Hang Out, Surf Style, Zeke’s Marina, The Gulf and more!
Lucky Bird is also a Property Management company that knows how to take care of their investors/owners. They want to help you take your property to the “nest” level. They provide quality customer care and hands on services which make them stick out from the rest. Give them a call, connect with them on social media, or check out their website if you want to learn more!
This week’s Local Spotlight is on our local brewery in Gulf Shores called Big Beach Brewing Company. If you enjoy any type of beer from stouts to cream ales to IPA’s and pastry stouts, you’re sure to enjoy this brewery!
Big Beach Brewing is family owned and operated by the Jim and Julie Shamburger and their family. If you have never had the opportunity to stop by the brewery, it’s a fun fact to know that they brew their beer on site!
We had a great opportunity to talk to the manager, Ryan, about their day to day operations. He gave us the very basics of the process of making the beer and gave us some information on the most popular items on their menu. We asked him which beers were the biggest crowd pleasers and he said it’s the Rod’s Reel Cream Ale followed by the Area 251 Hazy IPA. They often have seasonal tappings and we asked which specialty beer he thought would never work but ended up being a hit and he said the Basil Beer that they now have on tap.
Every week they have events happening that occur throughout the year which are the Monday night “Geeks Who Drink” trivia and Wednesday night “Runner’s Club”. There are multiple events coming up soon such as the Area 251 Celebration on September 20th, their 3rd Anniversary in October and the Day of the Dead event after Halloween.
This month they opened their doors to a local coffee shop called Our Coffee that serves their coffee and specialty drinks Monday through Saturday mornings from 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Big Beach wanted to work with Our Coffee because the coffee beans are roasted locally in Baldwin County.
Let’s remind everyone to Shop Local and Drink Local!
Our local spotlight is on a new gym in Gulf Shores opening soon called 9Round Kickbox Fitness. 9Round is a kickboxing-themed gym with a full body workout which only takes 30 minutes to complete. There are no class times so you can workout whenever is convenient for you!
The 9Round franchise is based out of Greenville, South Carolina. It was founded by kickboxing world champion, Shannon Hudson and his wife, Heather, in 2008. It is one of the fastest growing fitness clubs in America and currently has over 750 locations worldwide.
One great thing about 9Round is if you’ve never worked out before or you’ve worked out your entire life, there’s a workout for you! You have trainers that will adjust the workouts to your level and help you reach your goals.
There are so many extra benefits for joining this awesome gym! You have access to an online member portal that has a nutrition guide to help you with meal prepping and recipes, PULSE heart rate technology, no class times, personal trainers, work outs change daily, and an overall fun time while exercising!
Gulf Shores’ 9Round franchise owner, Justin Collins, recently released the gym opening dates: the Open House days to see the gym, sign up or pick up gloves and wraps if you have already joined are scheduled for Wednesday, August 28th and Thursday, August 29th from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. The official opening day for workouts to start is Tuesday, September 3rd at 6:00 a.m.
This week’s Local Spotlight is a handmade jewelry business based in Orange Beach called Bloomin’ Bailey’s. Owner, Madison McDonald and her boyfriend, Reid Caldwell make gorgeous, handmade necklaces that will match any style out there. They are amazing at what they do and have the rave reviews to back it up!
Madison began making jewelry a few years ago when she realized she could make the pearl and leather string necklaces for a fraction of the cost of the boutiques. She said she wanted to make nice jewelry and make it affordable. In 2017, she and Reid made Bloomin’ Bailey’s a jewelry business and it has been growing in popularity ever since!
Madison and Reid both have backgrounds in retail and sales which makes them a great team and makes Bloomin’ Bailey’s a quality brand. Their business slogan, “Express Yourself in Layers” is also their mission to help everyone show their personality through jewelry. They are passionate about Bloomin’ Bailey’s and it shows in their work and the way they talk about the business.
Bloomin’ Bailey’s sells gorgeous necklaces and more on the website. Some of their pieces are already layered so you can see how they will look together before you buy them. If you like layering the necklaces yourself, their pieces are easy to mix and match to make it your own style.
Bloomin’ Bailey’s is an online business and they frequently do “pop ups” in boutiques, coffee shops, local events, and more! Be on the lookout for a pop up near you!
This week’s Local Spotlight is on a performer at OWA Amusement Park named Brandon Styles. He is an impressionist, singer, magician, dancer and entertainer. In his show, 1-Man Variety Show, Brandon Styles wears many hats, literally and metaphorically.
Brandon started doing impressions and magic and a very young age. He received his first magic kit at age 7, started learning how to do impressions at age 10, made it to the Top 6 in the World for Close Up Magic at 18 and could do over 200 impressions by the age of 24. He has an amazing talent for entertainment and making people smile!
His 1-Man Variety Show is 60 minutes long and he does impressions of over 60 singers, characters, celebrities, presidents and more! His impressions and magic tricks throughout the show will keep you laughing, singing, or scratching your head trying to figure out how he did it.
Brandon Styles’ 1-Man Variety Show is entertaining for people of all ages! It’s a funny, clean and entertaining 60 minute show. Some of our favorite impressions included Michael Jackson, Elton John, Napoleon Dynamite, Bob Marley and Elvis. Everyone will have their own favorites and you have a very wide variety to choose from!
If you have time while you’re visiting Pleasure Island, we suggest you take the time to go see one of Brandon Styles’ shows! He has a Variety Show every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday night, and also has a Magic Show every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night.
This week’s Local Spotlight is on a new business in Gulf Shores called Mr. Munchies Cookie Co. They are a cookie bakery shop that opened last week on Gulf Shores Parkway and they have already received over thirty rave reviews online!
Mr. Munchies sells traditional cookies, deluxe cookies, ice cream and a “cookiewich” which is an ice cream cookie sandwich. The warm cookies are absolutely amazing and they have a variety of delicious ice cream flavors. Owners, Joan and Ariel explained they bake small batches of cookies throughout the day so the cookies will always be fresh from the oven.
In my opinion, the most exciting part about Mr. Munchies is that they deliver! If you are binge watching Netflix or just don’t want to go anywhere, you can call Mr. Munchies and they will deliver within a five mile radius of their bakery so the cookies will be warm and the ice cream will be cold. They are open from 5 p.m. until midnight so if you want to grab an after dinner dessert or pick up a late night snack you can go by the bakery or call them for delivery.
Here’s what one customer had to say about Mr. Munchies Cookie Co.:
“Stopped by after hearing from a co worker how good it was and it didn’t disappoint. The girl working was so sweet and very helpful. The cookies and milk was an awesome combo and super yummy. Really enjoyed my experience and will be returning. “
Do yourself a favor and go try one of the deluxe cookies and a scoop of their “Blue Panda” ice cream! The sweets, fantastic owners, and instagram worthy atmosphere make this place a summer must visit while in Pleasure Island.
This week’s Local Spotlight is a new coffee shop that recently opened in Gulf Shores called Beach Girl Coffee. Beach Girl Coffee is a different kind of coffee shop than most in our area because it is a drive-thru only. So many locals are excited about this shop because of the great location and the fact that they serve coffee, smoothies, lattes and more! There are so many choices and it’s so quick and easy to pick it up at the drive-thru on your morning or afternoon commute!
Owner, Chrissy Clay and her family moved to Gulf Shores almost four years ago from Illinois. In Illinois, there are multiple drive-thru specialty coffee shops but when they moved to Gulf Shores, they realized there was a definite need for one. They wanted to give you the option of being able to quickly swing by to get a delicious coffee to-go on your way to work or the beach.
They have been open for a very short time but already have many rave reviews of their coffee and service online. One customer left this review: “Wishes really DO come true! Finally…a drive thru coffee shop in Gulf Shores! The coffee is excellent and the service is even better. I look forward to supporting this local family for years to come!”
From the delicious coffee to the sweet people who work inside, they will definitely be a big hit on Pleasure Island! Do yourself a favor and give Beach Girl Coffee a try! They are open Monday – Saturday 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
This week’s Local Spotlight is on a “sweet” Airstream food truck called Frost Bites. Frost Bites is a food truck that serves Hawaiian style shave ice, ice cream, root beer floats, coke floats, lemonade freezes, and specialty treats that combine shave ice and ice cream. Frost Bites is open every night 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. May through Labor Day at The Beach Club Resort.
In May of 2017, mother-daughter team Elisa & Kylie Lynch opened their Frost Bites location at The Beach Club Resort in Gulf Shores. Their vision is to create new family memories at the beach as well as relive old ones. The tradition continues with unique photo ops, family operated staff, and delicious sweet treats for everyone.
Melissa was lucky enough to try out Frost Bites on Wednesday night and she had a tasty treat called the Mississippi Mud Pie made by owner, Kylie. It was in a “piggly wiggly” form with chocolate ice cream on bottom, shave ice with vanilla syrup, and topped with chocolate syrup, cream, and garnished with a gummy pig. We can safely say Frost Bites is not lacking in creativity!
Frost Bites has a lot going on right now! They recently announced their festival trailer is ready to go and have already attended two festivals in May. If you have any outside events or festivals coming up and need some sweet treats, they’ve got you covered! They also have their Coastal Alabama Business Chamber Ribbon Cutting and The Lawn Village Kickoff Party Friday, May 31st at The Beach Club Resort.
Every night is a party at The Village Lawn with all of the food trucks, live music, events and family friendly activities! Even if you miss the ribbon cutting, you won’t miss out on all of the fun any other night of the week throughout the summer!
This week’s Local Spotlight is on a veteran-owned and operated business called Compass Rose Charters, LLC. Compass Rose is a business where you can rent Electric Jet Body Boards and take them out for a ride on the Bay. This is a family friendly activity that should definitely be on your “Summer Bucket List” when in or around the Pleasure Island or Baldwin County area.
Owner Jeremy Russow wants to share his adventures on the water with new body boards that have never been offered in South Alabama before. These body boards run off batteries and even go up to 20 miles per hour! It may not sound very fast but we can promise you it feels so much faster than that on the water!
Formerly at Bear Point, Jeremy has recently moved operations to the Florabama Yacht Club in Orange Beach. This weekend is his first official open weekend and you can find his rentals in the yellow building next to Ole River Grille.
They enjoy giving back to the community by offering a 10% discount to any Active Duty US military, reserve, or veterans, fire fighters, first-responders, and law enforcement officers. He also has special discounts for renting multiple boards at once so be sure to check out his website for more details.
This week’s Local Spotlight is on a Baldwin County based business called High Cotton Bath Co. The company started in Fairhope almost 12 years ago then opened their store at the Wharf in Orange Beach in October of 2011. High Cotton Bath Co. specializes in customizing high quality home, pet, bath and body products. The High Cotton owner and employees want you to have as much fun in their store as they are!
High Cotton is a place where women or men of any age can come play! You can make your own fragrance for your favorite bubble bath, hand scrub, lotion, hand soap or cologne. There are 40 base products to choose from and over 200 scents to mix and match to make your own. The scents are color coordinated and divided into different categories to make the process more fun and easy to follow. To add a little something extra to the process, you can watch the employees mix the scents and colors into your chosen base product!
Don’t be deceived, High Cotton Bath Co. is so much more than just a fragrance shop! High Cotton also offers a wide range of gifts and home products that will make everyone happy! Do you like robes and slippers? They’ve got ’em! Do you like home decor? Check! Do you love monogramming and vinyl cut outs? They have those too!
High Cotton Bath Co. can also throw a great party! Whether you want to have a kid’s birthday party, bachelorette party or just grab some friends and have a group outing, they can help you with the yummy snacks and age appropriate drinks. They are willing to go out of their way to make your event as fun as possible!
Just after sunrise in beautiful Gulf Shores, Alabama, and another amazing start to our day at East Point Cottages! 504 East Beach Boulevard 251-284-5387
*Our amazing trip to Alabama’s white-sand beaches was hosted by the great folks at Gulf Shores & Orange Beach tourism. Our stay at the the East Point Cottages was complimentary and the views expressed are always of our own. Let’s gallivant!
A fantastic care package to welcomes us to East Point Cottages!
1-20 minutes from everything in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach. That was the perception we had whenever we left the comfort of the Barefoot Bungalow and explored this remarkable community on Bama’s Gulf Coast. The centralized feeling of our bungalow made the weekend even greater since it was just a short walk or a short drive from everything we wanted to experience during our vacation. The best part was how much we looked forward to returning to the ambiance and perfect surroundings that Lucky Bird Vacations provided. Here’s a glimpse at what Team Goodvin enjoyed at East Point Cottages! Let’s take a quick tour….
Let’s Move In!
After a 15 hour drive to Alabama, we were greeted by our neighbors. “At Last” we were here and the Barefoot Bungalow life was next!There’s plenty of places to get a great Alabama cooked meal in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach. This includes what you can do in the Barefoot Bungalow kitchen!Need a hot shower? You can enjoy perfect water pressure from three shower heads at one time. I like to adjust the temps in all three to make it feel like I’m a bathroom tester. #LifeGoalsThe shower beer is one of life’s greatest little things. Lucky Bird Vacations has a spot for yours all vacation long. Now, leave me alone.“Do you really think I should pack all of this?” Yup! Because Lucky Bird Vacations has all that in mind when it comes to making you feel right at home with plenty of storage space.“Do you really think I should bring all these clothes?” Well….Sure! Or do some major shopping sprees at some of the areas stores and boutiques. Fill up that closet with wall to wall new Bama beach-style outfits!Trust me. You’ll need this and you’ll finally love doing laundry. The white-sand is attracted to you as much as you’re attracted to those beautiful little morsels. Why don’t I have this washer and dryer back home!Looking for ideas? There’s plenty of great ideas out there and Lucky Bird gives you a few of their own right when your family walks in!
This property is only a year old and Lucky Bird maintains the feeling of walking into a brand new condo when you check-in. Modern appliances, full kitchen with all the pots and pans you’ll need, multiple bathrooms, and spacious rooms. This is how you can make a family of five truly comfortable when you arrive to a bungalow 15 hours away from your front door. It didn’t take long for all of us to move in!
The living room was put to good use instantly and often. Plenty of Alabama sunshine flooding in during the morning and throughout the day.I called the top bunk but Leah beat me to it. Your family adventures will have plenty of beds during your vacation at East Point Cottages.Why sit somewhere else when you can battle for territory on the couch. That tradition continues with these girls no matter how many hours we are from home.Shut the blinds and take a mid afternoon nap. This was actually an idea our 15 year old son had. That’s a good indication that a long day on the beach did its job.Kicking back was the theme for me all weekend. On the beach, on the porch and watching football on the flat screen TV from our room at the Barefoot Bungalow.Post afternoon nap smiles are the best ones. That smartphone camera isn’t getting a rest.Remember what I said about moving in! Lucky Bird Vacations has a spot for everything!
What’s the first thing I usually say before we get unpacked? “Don’t touch anything! Let me take pictures first!” Not this time. There was no way I was going to hold back the family on this trip. The look in their eyes was priceless and the Barefoot Bungalow provided genuine excitement and a whole lot of amazement from the moment we arrived. I have a feeling the expressions we had will be very similar to many who discover East Point Cottages.
From the Pool to the Porch and Repeat!
What’s the first thing we did after spending a day swimming at the beach? We went swimming in the East Point Cottages pool, of course!Our porch had the gulf in direct view to the south. Like I said, these beautiful accommodations are just a scamper away from the beach!Just try to find a more content looking man in Alabama at this moment. Papa bear with a cold one in the warm afternoon sun with the gulf just behind him. Vacation achieved!
Pool, porch, cold bevs. All go better with a weekend in Gulf Shores. Lucky Bird has this technique down to a science and you’ll soak it right up when you get here, too. The refreshing pool is just a few feet away and your own porch is just a couple steps from your living room couch.
Let’s Stay In!
Bring fresh sub sandwiches home from nearby Crico’s Pizza & Subs!It’s a good thing that our bungalow came with plenty of paper towels. Crico’s BBQ chicken wings provided some saucy faces to the table!Papa Rocco’s is another well known Gulf Shores establishment right down the street. Don’t let their motto, “Home of warm beer and lousy pizza”, fool you. This is one of the best dang pies you’re going to get on the Gulf!Gulf shrimp on everything! The Papa Rocco’s Caesar salad is best with fresh seafood to go with all that fresh romaine.Down the boulevard in Orange Beach is Moe’s Original BBQ and they have your smoky craving fulfilled!Just look at that big’ole grin to go with a big’ole Bama pulled pork sandwich from Moe’s!Move over! Dinner is served to this lively family in their bungalow at East Point Cottages!
As you can see, the dining room table is a meeting place for more than a few meals… we had some of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach’s best pizza, sandwiches, salads and BBQ coming in! There’s something to be said about your accommodations when there’s so many ways to go out but you’d rather stay in and eat.
Goodnight, Gulf Shores.
East Point Cottages comes alive at night and the porch becomes even more inviting when the sun goes down.The evening stroll is calling. Take several while you’re vacationing here.
When the sun is down and the moon is up. From the break of day to the afternoon warmth of the rays shining in. The daily lifestyle at East Point Cottages is one of the most unique of its kind. For us, it was just an easy distance from everything in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach. Which means we were just minutes from a Lucky Bird home the whole time, day and night.
See You Again, Gulf Shores.
The early morning departure from Gulf Shores had to come at some point. Lucky Bird Vacations made it one we didn’t want to see anytime soon.One more relaxing moment in the Barefoot Bungalow.
This was a blog post I was looking forward to, but I knew it would be one that would bring out the softy in me. Lucky Bird Vacations has many options for what you want in a white-sand beaches getaway. For us, we couldn’t imagine a better way to spend it than at the Barefoot Bungalow. It showed us how to enjoy a weekend on the gulf in a way that none of us imagined when we were driving to Alabama from Iowa. All the talk on the way there was about the white-sand beaches, popular restaurants, sunny days, and the salt life the locals talked up. East Point Cottages brought all of this together for us and we adored every minute in the bungalow as much as we did everywhere else on the coast. That last sentence is a very satisfying one to write. Thank you, Lucky Bird!
The sandy days in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach are just around the corner. You just need to make your plans and make it happen.
Book your Lucky Bird Vacations reservation on their website.
