Who's been here?
Welcome!
Welcome to VacationAlabama.com. VacationAlabama.com, your one-stop-shop for direct web links to whatever you need when planning a trip to, or within Alabama.
Alabama offers an amazing array of vacation opportunities. Few states possess the plethora of options from stunning mountain vistas, unspoiled hiking trails, sugar white sand beaches, historic sites originating from over five hundred years of history, world famous sporting events such as the Talladega 500 Auto Race, and sporting venues, like the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Add hunting, fishing, shopping, dining, theme parks, birding, cultural festivals, the arts... all with spectacular weather, with our nationally recognized hospitality, and you will see why Alabama is one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the U.S. today.
Users can search VacationAlabama by region or category. If you can't find what you need or want, simply use the "Ask Button", and we will use our resources to assist you in finding your answers.
Using VacationAlabama is completely free of charge. Our advertisers underwrite the service. Please let them know that you found them using VacationAlabama.com.
So whether you enjoy your Sunday paper sipping cappuccino at a sidewalk cafe, like your evening stroll along a moonlit lake, sunsets on Mobile Bay, or relish whiling away the weekend at a festival in the park, VacationAlabama.com is how to find it.
VacationAlabama.com creates a simple search and direct link.
- 118 reads
News
BP's top local official says response has moved to 'deep cleaning' of beaches
Published: Friday, September 03, 2010, 8:00 AM
Russ Henderson, Press-Register
View full size(Press-Register/Brendan Kirby)
Mike Utsler, BP's top representative to the Unified Area Command, speaks to reporters on Monday, Aug. 16, 2010, in Orange Beach.
GULF SHORES, Ala. — As part of a fast-paced tour of coastal oil spill response work sites from Florida to Mississippi, Mike Utsler — the man who recently became BP PLC’s top official assigned to the Unified Area Command — met Thursday with supervisors at a staging area at Little Lagoon Pass.
Utsler told the 20 or so workers and media representatives present that the emphasis of BP’s response has moved from offshore protection to onshore cleanup, and that Alabama crews in the coming months will focus on the “deep cleaning” of sandy beaches.
“At the very peak of this response, we had more than 48,000 people deployed. Today, we still have 30,000 people. It’s still a significant response,” Utsler said, speaking of the entire response spanning Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. “What will change is the type of workforce we use and where we use them.”
A state-by-state breakdown of those numbers and types of ongoing operations was not available.
In the coming months, the workforce likely will “grow and shrink based upon the detailed cleaning that’s required,” he said. “As that deep cleaning is completed, and we all agree that that sand is returned to its original condition, you’ll see that workforce come down again.”
He said he wanted to be clear, however, that BP “will be here for the long term, continuing to clean up the episodic tarballs that may wash up” and address other problems that may arise.
The number of local boats participating in the Vessels of Opportunity program will shrink in the coming months, though some boats will be re-tasked to conduct surveillance, water testing or do other work, he said.
Asked whether VOO centers would be shut down in the Mobile Bay area, Utsler replied only that “collectively, across the Gulf of Mexico, we’ll continue to downsize our Vessels of Opportunity program.”
He said “a joint group of scientists” — including state, federal and BP officials — is in the process of developing standards for how far down the sand should be cleaned and what, objectively speaking, constitutes “clean.”
Utsler said Pleasure Island’s beaches, where oil first hit in early June, already appear stainless and beautiful on the surface — largely due to the vigilant efforts of contractor crews. He said the upcoming cleanup will ensure that, “as you dig down and build your sand castles, they’ll continue to be clean.”
Utsler last month became chief operating officer of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, a long-term operation designed to oversee the environmental and economic recovery.
Asked for his reaction to the fire that engulfed the vessel Vermilion Oil Rig 380 about 100 miles off the central coast of Louisiana and forced its 13 crew members into the water Thursday, Utsler said that if oil spills during the incident his company will offer help.
“Any support that we can provide, having built in the capabilities for response that we have locally available, would be used to aid the Coast Guard in any ongoing activities,” Utsler said.
The Little Lagoon staging site is run by BP contractor Crowder-Gulf. Rick Stabler, the site’s project manager, said he believes his operation will continue to operate, though the number of workers may rise and fall.
“We had 450 workers here a day at the peak. Now it’s around 240 a day,” Stabler said.
Gabe Robinson of O’Brien’s Response Management, another BP contractor, said he was impressed that Utsler “addressed the one thing we’ve been wondering about, which is deep cleaning.”
Robinson said the oil can be imbedded anywhere from 6 to 36 inches below the surface, with the majority between 18 to 24 inches.
“He couldn’t get into specifics yet, but I think he definitely knows what he’s talking about,” Robinson said.
OIL SPILL IN THE GULF: Don't drop your visit to Gulf Coast
By Special to The Birmingham News
May 23, 2010, 5:44AM
By LUCY "LULU" BUFFETT
I can't remember when we have had a lovelier spring along the Gulf Coast.
In recent years, we have gone from crisp, clear mornings in February to tropical 90s temps by mid-March. But this year, it finally seemed we were getting back to normal -- back to the easy, Southern rhythms of my childhood, with the winter season moving gently into a luscious spring.
Spring was taking its own sweet time unfolding before diving head-on into the desperate heat of summer.
Everyone could feel it. You couldn't help but notice the majesty and color of the coastal foliage bursting with brilliant pinks and purples, sounding the calls that we wait for all year long: "Let's go to the beach!" "The fish are biting at the Big Mouth!" "Let's take a boat ride!" "Tadpoles are out in the creek!"
That is how we live here on the Gulf Coast. Our love of the water -- the Gulf, the bays, the rivers, the estuaries -- and the way we enjoy it are absolutely holistic. It transcends race, religion, socioeconomic status, age, gender and political affiliation.
The Gulf Coast is where the everyday person can play. We love where we live and are proud of it.
We get amused sharing it and seeing the surprise on folks' faces when they realize that a little piece of unlikely paradise exists smack at the bottom of this magnificent country of ours.
So imagine our dismay, anger, grief and absolute heartbreak over the ongoing catastrophe of crude oil continuously and arrogantly flowing into our beautiful Gulf of Mexico. This is indeed a major challenge for us physically, emotionally, environmentally and economically.
Personally, I prefer to remain positive about the oil spill's impact, because I know mountains can be moved with a positive attitude. Why wouldn't that work with a runaway well? I do, however, live in a very real world, and I know our corner of this world stands to be affected by the oil spill.
As we are called to action, we will respond with the dauntless spirit of coastal people, especially those born in the hurricane corridor. We will weather this storm as we have weathered the other monsters that have roared upon our shores in the past: by working hard, side by side, with dedication, compassion and a sense of community, and earning some fun in the process.
I am hoping there will be little damage or interruption of beach recreation. Perhaps the oil spill will be just an inconvenience, much like too many jellyfish in the water or the occasional riptides.
If not, we are going to need everyone's love, support and help. So I have a very special invitation for people to join us here in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and on Dauphin Island and Mobile Bay.
Don't cancel your plans or reservations. This could be one of the most memorable vacations you will ever have.
Most of you travel with children. What a great opportunity to teach our kids so many valuable life lessons -- from the beauty of volunteering to the importance of helping your neighbor during a crisis, learning about the fragile ecosystem that created the remarkable Gulf of Mexico, and meeting new friends from all over the country with the same purpose of keeping our beautiful shores safe for our children and wildlife.
Recently, I asked a friend's 6-year-old if she knew how many oceans there were. "One, Miss Lucy," she promptly responded. Then with a little hesitation, she added, "Don't they all touch?"
Out of the mouths of babes.
What is happening in our backyard could just as easily be happening in yours. But does it matter? We are all one. We all touch.
Am I outraged? Yes! Is there a need for accountability? Yes! But that is not my job. There are others who are trained and better equipped to master that task. I'm a fry cook. I'm open for business. And so is the Alabama Gulf Coast.
We will take each day as it comes and make the best of it.
I am asking all of you who love this area as much as I do and love your own coastal areas to please not abandon us.
I promise you we will welcome you with open arms, some ice-cold sweet tea, an ocean of belly laughs, a plate full of scrumptious food and a humble, grateful heart.
Lucy "LuLu" Buffett is owner of LuLu's at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores and the author of "Crazy Sista Cooking: Cuisine and Conversation with Lucy Anne Buffett." E-mail: lucyanneb@aol.com.
Alabama tourism hits record $7.6 billion
Tourism spending in Alabama rose 3 percent last year to $7.6 billion from $7.35 billion in 2004, despite the fact that both years were marred by hurricanes that caused damage along the Alabama Gulf Coast, the state's largest tourism draw.
Tourism earns state $8.9 billion
Alabama's tourism industry took in $8.9 billion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, an increase of 14 percent, or more than $1 billion, state officials said today. Spending by travelers in Alabama has expanded by 33 percent over the past four years, officials said.
