Dauphin Island Restaraunts & Shopping

This post is going to be very boring.  There were not that many places to eat and definitely not many places to shop.  I enjoy going into a few souvenir shops to pick up some local stuff, but the few we visited didn't have much.  Groceries were out of the question.  We went to a Wal-Mart 50 miles away before we came onto the island.  We were warned to do this.  Thankfully, we listened.  There was one afternoon when I needed an SD card.  Nobody in town had anything like that and some of the locals looked at me like I was a crazy woman.  Definitely need to come prepared when visiting!  We generally only eat dinner out while on vacation, but this time we ate at the condo because of the lack of places to go.  This was the draw of the island, though.  We wanted fewer people and places. We wanted to have the beach mainly to ourselves.  We got that, so we are happy!  The few places we did go to were pretty decent.  Everything was fresh and tasty! 

The first place we visited was basically just a shack near the condo that didn't really look like much.  The name is Island Rainbow and is located on the main drag on Bienville.  They had snow cones, pizza, and other items for sale.  We ended up just getting snow cones because the kids were hot from the beach.  The syrup was horrible and watered down.  We decided we would not make a return visit.

One evening for dinner, Brad and I walked down to the "Islanders" for a meal.  The slogan was cute and read "Fine Dining in Flip Flops."  We got it to go and we were not disappointed once back at the condo.  We had the best sweet tea ever.  I said to Brad that it tasted just like my Nene used to make.  It took me back a few years and made me miss my Nene.  Brad got a burger with A-1 on the side and I got the shrimp alfredo with Italian bread on the side. 

I apologize for the poor picture quality.  I also scarfed my food down before I even remembered that I didn't get a picture! 

The following day, we headed back for lunch and I got the shrimp basket with sweet potato fries.  Again, the sweet tea was amazing and I didn't take pictures!  The sweet potato fries were probably the best I have ever had.  They didn't even taste fried, which was a huge plus.

During lunch one day we decided to hit up Pirate's Bar & Grill.  The day we were there, they had some sort of kitchen malfunction that was causing the place to fill up with cooking smoke.  No big deal.  We opened up the windows and let in the island breezes.  The food was fresh like it was plucked from the ocean.  They shut it down for repairs and we ended up being the only people dining.  I got the crab cakes with baked beans and cole slaw and Brad got the shrimp basket with baked beans and cole slaw. 

Their margaritas were pretty tasty.  I always get mine on the rocks with sugar instead of salt on the rim.  They used cuervo in mine. 

They had a view to die for. 

So, while on the island, we ate out three times.  Twice at Islander's and once at Pirates.  I suppose we saved quite a bit of cash!

On to shopping.  It was certainly not a shopping destination.  You could barely get the necessities, let alone if you forgot something major.  I'm not sure how long it would take to drive somewhere to get something you just HAD to have.  I mentioned before that we went to a Wal-Mart like 40-50 miles away before we even got on island.  There are a few gas stations and bait shops where you can get a few items, but I noticed the prices were up and there wasn't much to choose from.  I went to the Octopus shop to look for a few souvenirs and ended up getting a Purvida bracelet and some earrings.  I also went into a few other touristy shops but we didn't get much other than a magnet for our fridge and a sand toy for Sophia.  Overall, we mainly enjoyed the beach.  That's basically the only thing to do and you want to make sure you are prepared! 

We did have some cake while on vacation, though!  My Mom, Grandma, Brad, and Sophia conspired at Wal-Mart  to surprise me :)

On the way home, we bought some Alabama peaches. They are AMAZING!!! 

After buying the peaches, we stopped by Sikes & Kohn for some shopping.  I love this place.  They have all sorts of brands and for a decent price.  Brad ended up getting an Under Armour shirt, a Columbia fishing hat, and some Teva sandals for the next vacation (his Nike sandals chewed up his big toe).  Braden got a Guy Harvey shirt.  Sophia got some Choco sandals as well as a Guy Harvey shirt.  I got some Choco shoes that will be put to good use when we go on hikes and for vacations!  While at the outlet store, the kids got a bit hungry.  We ate at the Hamburger King and got scrambled eggs and breakfast sandwiches.  Quite tasty and cheap! 

We drove for quite awhile and when the kids were hungry again, we stopped at Milo's.  They had burgers and such and had some kind of special sauce.  The burgers were awesome and the tea was amazing!  What is it with the south and their tea?!? 

XOXO...Becky

Dauphin Island, Alabama

Dauphin Island, The Sunset Capital of Alabama

I happened to come across this little gem of an island while searching for a family beach vacation in Florida.  We always seem to go somewhere on the panhandle, which is great, but it gets tiresome going to Panama every year.  One thing I love about the HomeAway is that it lets you scroll your mouse on the map and it will bring up condos for rent above where your mouse is. I happened to scroll towards Alabama and saw this diamond.  So far during my research, I found that there are no huge resorts and it is basically a quiet little island with not much to do except go to the beach and enjoy the peace.  We have been looking for a beach house or condo for all 8 of us.  My Grandparents my brother and my Mom are going with us.  There are many options on the HomeAway app, and I found the perfect one!  It cost us $2451 for the week and has four bedrooms and is right on the beach.  That's not a bad price when you are splitting between 4 families (one family per room).  We have a pool and many amenities with our condo :)  The property manager was very fast at getting back to us about booking and very polite.  I hope this will be a fantastic family vacation!  You will hear how it all went after we get back I'm sure!  Now just to continue my research, make a list of things we must do, and count down to July!  The link to our condo is listed below:
https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3903189


This is what sold me on this property...Can you believe this view?!?


Location:  This island is south of Gulf Shores, Alabama.  You take AL 193 S (18 miles) across an ocean bridge.  The island is around 14 miles long and a little over a mile wide at the widest spot. There is also vehicle ferry that you can take.  The ferry will take vehicles across if that's what you need.  The cost of the ferry is minimal.  The website is listed below.  I would check it out for prices and hours of operation. 
http://mobilebayferry.com

Beaches:  So, I read in one of my sea glass books (Sea Glass Hunter's Handbook by C.S. Lambert) that this island is a great place to find glass.  I'm stoked about this!  It mentioned on the Odyssey website, which is in my helpful links on the side of my blog, that glass is mostly found by the piers.  I hope there is a ton to be found! Basically, as far as beaches are concerned, there is the gulf and the Mobile Bay behind.  On the gulf side, you will have the waves and more choppy waters.  On the bay side, it will be more calm.  There is a public beach that does have a small fee. There is also public access and the beaches directly in front of your condo or beach home. 

Things to do: There is actually quite a bit to do on this tiny island.  Some things to do include visiting Fort Gaines, seeing the bird sanctuary, learning at the Estuarium, beachcombing, and  make sure to visit the Indian Shell Mound Park.  As always, a vacation is only as good as you make it!  You all can guess what I'm mostly excited about! BEACHCOMBING AND A TAN!

Places to shop:  There are many places to shop, which include surf shops, gift shops, and small groceries. This island has all the essentials, just not any huge stores that your bigger places have.  Don't plan on going to the Wal-Mart to stock up on essentials for the week.  What I plan on doing, is getting toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, foods that don't need refrigerated, and any other essentials at home.  Then basically, we will just need any food items that need refrigerated.

Places to eat: There are a few good places to eat, which include Pelican Pub, Skinner Seafood, JT's Sunset Grell, and Barnacle Bill's Marina Grill Inc.  I also found an ice cream place that had some good reviews, called Icecream Haven.  I'm sure we will be visiting this little place numerous times with the kiddos!

XOXO...Becky

Dauphin Island Pier