Family Vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama: Part 2

Keith and I enjoyed the family vacation to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday while spending quality time with my sister and her family. There were two big excursions to celebrate my mom; parasailing and a catamaran cruise. If you missed it, read it here: Family Vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama: Part 1

More Highlights

Pirates and Princess Breakfast

A friend of my sisters recommended The Hangout for the Pirate and Princess Breakfast. This is an event for the whole family and includes a family-style, all-you-can-eat breakfast. The pirates and princesses interacted with the kids and there were optional activities built into the performance for audience participation. It was fun for Keith and me to see the kids in a “kid environment” and share this memory with them.

LuLu’s

The night we chose to visit Lulu’s was quite warm and a private event was being held in the restaurant when we arrived. We put in our name for a table, but the wait was 5 hours! There is a ton for the kids to do at Lulu’s, but none of us were willing to wait that long to eat. We opted to enjoy the entertainment and activities before heading elsewhere for food. You could spend hours at the arcade, ropes courses, beach, hair braiding, caricature drawing, gift shop, etc.

The Wharf

On our last full day, we decided to head down to The Wharf for shopping, lunch, and a family Ferris wheel ride! It was a hot day and midmorning so there weren’t many people around, but that was okay. We strolled along popping in and out of some of the stores, played yard games, and were in awe of the marina with yachts and fishing boats.

Seafood Dinners

Keith and I love seafood so traveling to an area with good seafood is a great bonus. I even ordered crab cakes three times! The area is such a vacation destination that all the restaurants have fun atmospheres. Here are a few of the restaurants that we enjoyed: Tacky Jacks, Bahama Bobs, Doc's Seafood and Steaks, The Gulf, Yo Ho Rum and Tacos

It would be too difficult to choose a “best or favorite” but several of us were surprised at how good The Flying Harpoon was. It’s a bar that gives off locals-only vibes. It is located right across the street from our hotel and I’d say easily missed if you were driving and picking out places that “looked fun.” As I said, it has a dive bar feel with pool tables, dollar bills covering the ceiling, and a bar lined with locals stopping for a beer after work. The food was solid and had great flavor.

Resort Condo

My sister found us the perfect condo with lots of amenities. The Oasis, formally Phoenix West II, seemed to have everything. The condo itself was super spacious and offered an amazing ocean view. Each bedroom had a full bathroom, closet, and more than enough space to unpack and move in. Plenty of seating was also available in the main area for meals and lounging.

Direct access to the beach, an adult pool, a swimming pool, an indoor pool, and a lazy river complete with a water slide was a hit for all of us! There was also a bar, food and snack shack, gift shop, arcade games, etc. Keith was also able to utilize the large gym for his physical therapy. Everyone was extremely pleased with the accommodations and features to enjoy!

What a Week!

This was truly a special week together! We were able to reconnect as a group and individually. It was family time at its finest. I'm so thankful we were able to plan this trip and celebrate this milestone together! Cheers to 70 Years, Mom!

Wrapping up

This wraps up our amazing family vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama. We hope you enjoyed this series of posts.

How do you celebrate milestone birthdays? Have you taken a vacation for your birthday? Let us know in the comments section below.👇 💬