Our Beautiful Gulf Coast Is Still Beautiful!

Spent some time today touring condos along the Alabama Gulf Coast to select one for our upcoming Interior Design Feature.

Our Gulf Coast is absolutely gorgeous, and the units that Contributing Editor Marcia Bradford and I toured were beautiful. One was at Turquoise Place, and one was at Mediterranean in Perdido Key.

The owners of each unit, one family from Huntsville, Ala., and one from New Orleans, La., are committed to the Gulf Coast and are proud to own these units. That's apparent based on how beautifully designed they both were.

Our first visit was to the unit at Turquoise Place, and I was immediately struck by the gorgeous view from the lobby as we entered the building. I've been there before and admired the view in the past, but I think I paid extra attention to the beach and water during this visit because we're on such high alert due to the oil spill.

There was some kind of barge-looking watercraft out in the Gulf deploying quite a lot of containment boom several yards from the breaking surf. See photo above.

Not deterred in their desire to enjoy their vacations, there were many families that walked past me to happily take their kids down to the beach. The parents might not have allowed their kids to swim in the water (swim advisories were in effect today for gulf waters in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach), but everyone was frolicking on the still beautiful sugar-white sands. Maybe not as many folks on the beach, but those who were were having a great time.

Sure, beach-goers shared the sand with some cleanup crews who were picking up any of the small tar balls that were making landfall, but all in all, it seemed like a pretty normal beach day to me!

After we finished touring the unit at Turquoise, we headed just over the Florida state line to Mediterranean, where there are only 40 total units (20 per 10-story tower).

The first thing I noticed was that nearly all available parking spaces were being used. It was a tight squeeze to get into the parking lot! Once in the unit, it became apparent just how much the owners love this second home. Their family' photos were on the bureau, their laptop on the desk, the dog's bed in the corner of the bedroom, and the unit lovingly prepared for their next visit.

Oil spill or not, these owners aren't going anywhere. They've made an investment in the Gulf Coast and are committed to continuing to enjoy their little slice of paradise.

Watch for the summer issue of Condo Owner in the next couple of weeks, where we'll be featuring one of these two units in our Interior Design feature. This issue will also focus heavily on issues owners need to know as they face the oil spill crisis.

Check out our blog tomorrow for more on the upcoming oil spill coverage coming up in the summer issue.

Kristen McIntosh
Condo Owner
kmcintosh@coveypubs.com
www.condo-owner.com