Orange Beach, Alabama / recreation (bike trails, parks, arts), dining, Happy Hours

November 2018, 7 nights

This post contains information about some of the places we visited by bicycle or on foot from Grand Pointe Condominiums. You can also click on the labels at the end of this post, or on the Orange Beach recreation links for 2018 and 2017  for further information about area bike rentals, trails inside Gulf State Park, Happy Hours, dining, parks, boating, and more.

Orange Beach Waterfront Park

Bicycle trails, Orange Beach Waterfront Park, Coastal Arts Center

In addition to biking and walking in Gulf State Park, we rode our bikes from Grand Pointe Condos to the bay on the north side of AL-180. There is a bicycle lane alongside Perdido Beach Blvd., and then most of the remaining route is a designated trail. We turned off Perdido Beach Blvd. onto the road to Cotton Bayou Boat Launch just east of AL-161. There is a trail from the boat launch that connects to the bicycle trail, which runs parallel to AL-161. Next, we turned toward the police station just before Al-180, and then crossed AL-180 at the crosswalk at the end of Callaway Drive. The screen shots below can be enlarged by clicking on them to view this detail.  

The turn from Perdido Beach Blvd.

The turns just south of AL-180

Orange Beach Waterfront park, located on Wolf Bay, has restroom facilities, picnic pavilions, BBQ grills, bicycle racks, a playground, and a fishing pier. There are also benches and swing seats in the grass overlooking the bay, and an area to launch canoes and kayaks. When I first looked at the canoe map in the park, I got excited because I mistakenly thought it was a bicycle trail map showing a different route we could take back. Silly me - the map clearly says "canoe" trail! I labeled our "GP" condo on the canoe map below to show where we started.

Orange Beach Canoe Trail

Orange Beach, Alabama / Grand Pointe Condominium #605 through Liquid Life

November 2018, 7-nights, Unit 605

View of gulf and pass from unit 605

This unit has the same 3-bedroom floor plan as unit 601 where we stayed in 2017, and it is located on the same floor with a view of Perdido Pass. I had contacted the manager for the unit we stayed in the prior year, and did not hear back from him before we decided to try a different unit. The cost for unit 601 in 2018 was higher than it had been in 2017, and the cost for this unit was similar.

One of the amazing sunsets from the beach at Grand Pointe

Reservation process with Liquid Life

I liked that we were able to do everything online for this rental, including the deposit payment and making the final payment. Additionally, we did not need to send in a security deposit. The contract we signed said that if there was any damage, our credit card would be charged, and evidence/photos provided. The only uncertainty with this process, is that we did not know when they had completed checking the unit after our stay. We did not damage anything; however, there were a few minor damages and some wear when we arrived (wall gouges/damage, carpet stains, cracked fridge shelves, etc.). Since we have not had much experience with property rentals, I am still unsure what to expect. When we rented unit 601 through Alabama Getaway in 2017, we had to mail in a security deposit check, which was returned after our stay. We also had to mail in the payment, and we preferred paying online by credit card.

Alabama Recreation: Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge and Gulf State Park

November 2018, weekend and weekdays

View from platform overlooking Gator Lake and
Little Lagoon in Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge

We only visited a small portion of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, which is HUGE! Specifically, 7,157-acres located in five separate units in Baldwin and Mobile Counties, United States, directly west of Gulf Shores, Alabama on the Fort Morgan Peninsula.

Start of Pine Beach Trail near parking lot

We hiked Pine Beach Trail, which starts at Fort Morgan Road and runs between Gator Lake and Little Lagoon out to the gulf. It is beautiful! The trail is a fairly easy hike of less than 4 miles round trip. Only a small portion of the trail is beach sand near the end.

We saw an eagle in the swampy area near the start of the trail before reaching the lake and lagoon. Unfortunately, I did not get any good photos of the eagle. Following are a couple more trail photos.

Alabama: Dauphin Island & Mobile Bay Ferry

November 2018

We learned about Mobile Bay Ferry when we were deciding upon our route to Orange Beach, Alabama from Mobile, Alabama. Since we had previously traveled around the top of the bay, and also visited USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, we decided to take the ferry from Dauphin Island across this time. We always like to try new things! Taking the ferry added less than ½ hour to our travel time.

Bridge to Dauphin Island

Dauphin Island 

Getting to Dauphin Island from Mobile was easy. The traffic was minimal, and the drive was less than 45 minutes from the Renaissance Riverview in Mobile. The island is not very big, and we walked around for a bit after we paid and parked for the next ferry departure. There is a paved trail, which goes as far as Fort Gaines at the east end, and almost to West End Public Beach at the opposite end of the island. There is a bicycle lane for a short distance where the paved trail ends before the beach.

Entrance to Fort Gaines

A private campground is located near the ferry dock, and there is a short trail across from the campground on the north side of Bienville Rd. called Magnolia Park. I was surprised there were not any businesses or tourist type shops near the ferry dock.

Carnival Fantasy Cruise ~ 6 - Day Western Caribbean [Cozumel Plus] from Mobile, Alabama

November 2018

This was our first experience on Carnival Fantasy, and our first time cruising out of Mobile, Alabama. You can find additional pictures and information about Carnival Fantasy in my Facebook album. 

Carnival Fantasy atrium steps and elevator behind bar.

Pre-cruise

This cruise was kind of a last minute decision for us. We initially thought we would rent a condo in Orange Beach, Alabama for two weeks; however, the cost was quite high. We rented a condo last year for a week, and my husband said he wanted to go for two weeks this time to make the drive from Michigan worth it. I am the one who usually does all our vacation research; however, he found this cruise! The cruise was a much better value than booking the condo for a second week. 

View of Carnival Fantasy in Mobile showing location
of cabin E244. Click photo to enlarge it.

Mobile, Alabama / Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza

November, 1-night, weekend, king guestroom 1106

View from guestroom 1106 after check-in

Gold perks and check-in

We booked the pre-cruise package at this hotel, which includes parking while on the cruise. I had checked several area hotels, and decided this one provided the best value at $149. When I checked in on the app the morning of our arrival, I noticed our room was listed as a riverview guestroom, as if we had already received an upgrade. The app also said that the reservation was for only 1 guest, and my reservation was for 2 guests, so I was not sure how accurate the room type would be. Seems there is still some difficulty with information displaying correctly on the app since the Marriott/Starwood merger.

View from guestroom 1106 in the morning;
Carnival Fantasy in the distance returning to port.

I had received a notification via the app saying that our room was ready, so we went to the front desk when we arrived around 1:00 PM. Our room was not ready, and it took a bit of shuffling by the front desk agent to find us an available guestroom. She said she was giving us a riverview guestroom because we had booked the cruise package. I am not sure if all cruise guests get a riverview room (it did not say that when making the reservation), or if that was actually a Gold member upgrade. She provided a parking key card to exit the garage when we returned, and she said she would sign us up on the first shuttle to the cruise port (after I requested this).

Guestroom diagram from back of door

King guestroom 1106

Guestroom 1106 is a basic room on the 11th floor overlooking the river. The 11th floor is only about half way to the top of the building; however, I cannot really complain about not having a higher floor, since we arrived before check-in time, and the hotel was quite full. In fact, I had looked online to see if I could add a second night--the night before--to our stay, and there were no rooms available. The king corner rooms at this hotel look amazing!

Guestroom 1106