In my family, we have always chosen experiences over things. Birthdays are not about what lands on the table wrapped in a bow. They are about where you go, what you taste, and who you are with when it happens. So when I started thinking about how to mark turning 51, the answer came quickly: get on a plane, take my daughter, and go somewhere that would give us both something worth talking about for years.
Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama said yes to all of it. What unfolded over five days was equal parts beach vacation, destination concert, and birthday celebration, woven together along 32 miles of sugar-white coastline that consistently surprises me no matter how many times I return. Paige had never been. I had. That combination, a returning traveler introducing a first-timer to a place she loves, turned out to be one of the best travel dynamics I have experienced.
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Disclaimer: We partnered with Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism and Allegiant Air to experience the new non-stop flights from OKC to GUF that make family travel more convenient by getting you on the beach faster than ever. All opinions are our own.
The Flight That Changes the Math
We flew Allegiant nonstop from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City directly into Gulf Shores International Airport at Jack Edwards Field (GUF). Allegiant is the only carrier operating at GUF, and this season they launched nonstop service from OKC and several other smaller cities, with fares as low as $44 each way. That price point, paired with how close the airport sits to the beach, makes this destination genuinely accessible for Midwest families who have always assumed the Alabama Gulf Coast required a long drive or a connection.
Jack Edwards Field is small and easy. You walk off the plane, collect your bag, and within minutes you are on your way. No long terminals, no baggage claim chaos. For a long weekend trip, that frictionless arrival sets the tone immediately.
Night One: A Brand New Hotel and Dinner with Live Music
Our first night was at Embassy Suites Gulf Shores, which opened in August 2025 directly across from the Gulf Shores Public Beach. The resort fee covers daily beach chair and umbrella setup and bicycle use, which made the Embassy Suites feel like significantly better value than the room rate alone suggests.
Breakfast is also included daily, and I took full advantage of it every morning we were there. A proper hotel breakfast before a full day of travel is one of life’s underrated luxuries, and Embassy Suites does theirs right.
Our first dinner was at Lauria’s By The Beach, walking distance from the hotel. It is Italian-inspired, heritage-driven, and the kind of place where live music plays softly behind your conversation without competing with it. That turned out to be a preview of this destination’s relationship with music, which showed up again and again across the trip in restaurants, a state park cafe, and a 10,000-seat amphitheater.
An Oyster Farm, a State Park Beach, and the Night My Son Showed Up
Tuesday morning we drove to the Fort Morgan Peninsula for a tour of Admiral Shellfish Company, and it was one of the most memorable hours of the entire trip, particularly for Paige, who loves eating oysters. Our guide Joe walked us through the biology of oyster development, the history of Alabama’s shellfish industry, and what it took to build a farm like this from the ground up. The mix of freshwater rivers and Gulf tides along Mobile Bay creates ideal cultivation conditions, and hearing that explained on-site makes it land differently than reading about it ever could.
The tour is educational and land-based; no special footwear is required. If you want a hands-on experience in the water, you can book a tour (Wednesdays only) at the Marine Resources in Gulf Shores and watch a safety video. It is worth asking about when you book.
For more on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, read my Fort Morgan travel guide.
Lunch at The Village Hideaway inside The Beach Club Resort followed, and after a morning spent learning about Gulf Coast seafood, the fresh catch sandwich hit exactly right. The dessert of the day was a deeply rich chocolate cake that we absolutely did not need and absolutely did not regret. The Village Hideaway had just completed extensive renovations, and it shows.
The afternoon we spent at Gulf State Park’s public beach. We paid to park on-site and had full access to restrooms, food vendors, and a wide, uncrowded stretch of that famous quartz sand that actually squeaks under your feet. It was the simplest afternoon of the trip and one of the best. After several months of Oklahoma winters, standing in the Gulf in late May recalibrates something in you.
That evening we checked into Timberline Glamping Orange Beach, located where Orange Beach meets Gulf State Park, and then headed to Bolo Restaurant for dinner where my son, who lives in Pensacola, drove over to join us. Two generations around one table on the Gulf Coast is not a bad way to spend a Tuesday. Paige had a lemon shrimp dish she kept talking about for the rest of the trip.
I had the redfish in creole sauce, which was layered and rich and exactly what Gulf Coast cooking should taste like. The mocktails at Bolo deserve their own mention: they were not simply alcohol-free versions of classic drinks. They were thoughtfully built with their own identity, which matters when you are traveling with a 20-year-old who wants something interesting in her glass.
The Zoo That Is More Than a Zoo
Wednesday we spent the morning at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, known as the “Little Zoo That Could” after its Animal Planet documentary, and it earns that affection. We did the Lemur Experience, which connected us with three of the zoo’s resident males. Our naturalist walked us through each one’s personality and history. Animals here are never forced to interact with guests, and on our day, the boys were not particularly curious about the two new humans standing in their space.
Rather than feeling like a letdown, it was one of the most honest parts of the experience. Watching them move through their environment on their own terms, with someone who clearly loves them explaining what we were observing, was still extraordinary.
Lunch at Safari and Vine on the zoo grounds was genuinely a restaurant I would visit even without the zoo as a reason. We had fried plantain chips with mango salsa, an Ahi Poke Bowl, and the Picnic Chicken with mac and cheese and collard greens. The menu pulls from global culinary traditions and executes each dish with real intention.
Wednesday evening ended at The Wharf Amphitheater for the Black Crowes and Whiskey Myers, with Southall opening. The Wharf is a 10,000-seat outdoor venue where the sight lines are genuinely good from everywhere. We arrived early to walk the broader Wharf district, grabbed concessions, and settled in for a rock concert on the Gulf Coast on a warm May evening. That is as good as it sounds.
On the Water, in the Air, and One Lesson About Opportunity
Thursday was the most active day. Breakfast at Woodside Restaurant in Gulf State Park set the tone: french toast, a BBQ omelet, and a screened porch overlooking the treeline. Woodside serves creative Southern cuisine with locally sourced ingredients and hosts live music on select nights, which is worth checking the calendar for before you go.
Staying inside the park meant the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail system was steps from where we woke up. That trail network covers 28 miles of paved paths through six distinct coastal ecosystems, from sand pine scrub to longleaf pine forest to coastal marshland. USA Today named it the best recreational trail in the country in both 2023 and 2024.
You can ride it on a bicycle at whatever pace you want; the park offers rentals and a free bike share and guests at the Timblerline can include bicycles in your rental fee. Riding through the backcountry with the Gulf somewhere behind you and native birds overhead is the kind of thing that resets something in you.
From there we went to Beachside Circle Boats at Romar Marina. No license required, eco-friendly, and completely self-directed. We putted around the intracoastal waterways and took our time going nowhere in particular, which is the whole point.
Lunch at Shipp’s Dockside Grill followed, with fresh oysters on the half shell, sushi, and a shrimp po’boy that Paige declared outstanding.
Then we went parasailing with Sky Surfer, and I want to be honest: I liked it more than I expected to and far more than a Tarzan swing I once did in Costa Rica. That was jarring. Parasailing was smooth from lift-off to landing. You rise slowly, hundreds of feet above the Gulf, and then you are just floating over the coastline. Paige spent most of the time swinging her legs and yelling “weeee,” which is a sound I want to hold onto for a long time.
Here is the moment I keep thinking about, though. Another group on the boat was scheduled to go up after us. A fast-approaching storm moved in off the Gulf and their parasailing had to be rescheduled. The difference between their experience and ours was timing, nothing more. If an opportunity is in front of you, take it. You do not get to know in advance which ones will be the last one available that day.
We spent the late afternoon at High Cotton Bath Company, selecting fragrance oils and creating custom scents for body lotion, body spray, and a beard oil for Paige’s boyfriend. It is a creative, sensory hour that doubles as a practical souvenir, and I suspect more retailers could be doing something like it.
Dinner at Fresco in Bon Secour was the meal of the trip. Full stop. Chef Greg Buschmohle makes everything in-house daily, and it shows in every layer of every dish. We started with a charcuterie board and arancini.
I had the braised short rib ragu. Paige had the Shellfish Risotto. Then the pistachio cake arrived and I celebrated my birthday a few days early with something genuinely worth celebrating. Fresco is a drive from the main beach corridor, out into the quiet coastal town of Bon Secour. Make the reservation before you go.
Flora-Bama: A Pre-Birthday Tradition Now
We spent part of one evening at the Flora-Bama, the legendary juke joint on the Alabama-Florida line that has been exactly what it is for decades. We went before 8 p.m., which is when guests under 21 are welcome with a higher cover charge. Paige had mocktails. Live music was already going.
Across the street, the Flora-Bama Yacht Club is where we had oysters, and given the oyster farm tour earlier in the week, that moment had a satisfying full-circle quality to it. For readers traveling with someone who is 20: the before-8 window works. Call ahead to confirm current hours and policy, but do not skip this on their behalf.
Last Morning: Baby Alligators and the Coffee Shop I Keep Coming Back To
Our final morning started at The Southern Grind at Indigo, which sits steps away from the Timberline Glamping entrance and has become one of my favorite coffee shops in the entire Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area. I return here on every visit. The baked goods are excellent, the coffee is serious, and the lunch options are real food rather than afterthoughts.
From there we went to the Gulf State Park Nature Center for the Alligator Adventure program, which was one of the most well-attended educational events I have encountered at any state park anywhere. The naturalist brought out baby alligators and walked the crowd through their biology and their role in the park ecosystem. It is genuinely engaging for adults. Visitors not staying in the park pay a small per-vehicle entrance fee to access all park programming. Guests at Timberline Glamping have that access included along with the swimming pool, sport courts, and park amenities.
Then GUF, two hours on Allegiant, and Oklahoma City. That ratio, a short flight each way for five days of that much living, is the whole argument for this destination.
Before You Go
Getting there: Allegiant Air nonstop to Gulf Shores International Airport at Jack Edwards Field (GUF). Fares from OKC as low as $44 each way this season.
Where to stay: Embassy Suites Gulf Shores for beachfront access, included breakfast, and a resort fee that covers bicycle use and beach chair and umbrella setup. Timberline Glamping Orange Beach for air conditioned safari tents inside Gulf State Park with en-suite bathrooms, direct Backcountry Trail access, firepit, and park amenity access.
Live music: Lauria’s By The Beach, Embassy Suites Gulf Shores (Thursday & Friday), Woodside Restaurant at Gulf State Park (select nights), The Wharf Amphitheater C Spire Concert Series, Flora-Bama, The Hangout on the Beach.
The trails: Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail, 28 miles paved, inside Gulf State Park. Free bike share available through the park; rentals also from local vendors.
Daily beach conditions: Text ALBEACHES to 888777 for daily flag updates and rip current information.
For more Gulf Shores planning resources, read my Gulf Shores with Kids destination guide.
I turned 51 a few days after this trip ended. I came home carrying what I always hope to bring back from travel: the particular satisfaction of having shown someone you love a place you love, and watching them love it back. Paige is already asking when we can go again. That is the only review that matters.
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