Turtle Season at the Beach

It's Turtle Season again and those Mama Turtles have been busy laying nests this year. So far we have 20 nests, just on Ft. Morgan beaches alone. Ft. Morgan Beaches consists of about 13 miles of beach and they are patrolled each morning on an ATV by a refuge worker and 2 volunteers from the Share the Beach program. The patrol is looking for signs of a mother turtle and possible nests. These signs are pretty easy to spot most of the time. A turtles tracks look like a four wheeler, or a tractor drove out of the water, made a loop, and went right back in the water. If there is a nest she leaves tell tale signs of that too!!! The volunteers and the refuge workers are trained to spot these signs quickly, and start looking for eggs. Sometimes the workers and volunteers have to move the eggs back a little further from the water. They do this because the mother turtles laid the eggs in a place that will be covered by water if we get high water and the eggs will drown. The Alabama beaches are very important to the turtle population because it is considered a northern beach to the turtle territory. The gender of a turtle depends on the temperature of the sand they are laid in. Our sand is a bit cooler so we are more likely to produce males. A Mother Loggerhead Turtle can lay up to 190 round white eggs at a time and she can do this up to three times in a year. These eggs look just like ping pong balls except the shells are leathery. I have included a couple of photos donated by Mr. Dave Record a visitor to our area. This is a mother Kemp's Ridley preparing to nest. We have Loggerhead, and Kemp's Ridley Turtles nests primarly on our beaches. Thank you Mr. Record for your help.

You should never touch sea turtle eggs, hatchlings or adult turtles because they are protected animals, and it could be dangerous to your health and theirs. If you come up on a nest or an animal, wait by it and get a friend to call 1-866-SEA TURTLE they will know how to help.
I have been truly blessed to help find two nests this year, I have included a couple of pictures below of the eggs so you can see what they look like. The babies will hatch out about 55 days after they are laid. I know I will be there to see my nests hatch out. I can't wait!!!! Our Ft. Morgan nests start hatching next week, and everyone is very excited. Who knows you may get to see this exciting event on your trip to the beach.
Did you know the less you leave on the beach the easier it is for the mamas to lay eggs and get back to the water before daylight. Because of things on the beach we have had several mothers get lost and go toward streets instead of the water and get trapped behind chairs and under tents. Make room for our turtles on the beach, pull your things away from the water, or take them back completely, give these rare creatures all the space they need.

A Massage at the Beach!!!

We want to welcome Adam and Rachael Austin to the Sunset Properties Family. Adam and Rachael are massage therapists whose dream was to work on the beach. Rachael recently came down to our office and every member of the staff received a massage from the boss. HAVE I MENTIONED I HAVE THE BEST JOB EVER????
Each of us walked out of our massage completely relaxed and ready to do NO work at all for the rest of the day. Rachael did an amazing job working on each individuals problems and sore spots.
Rachael and Adam specialize in couples massages, and Rachael will be available Tuesday mornings for individual massages on the beach or in the condo. The massages range from $25 for an individual for 15 minutes to $75 for an hour. Couples start at $180.00 for an hour massage. All services are licensed and professional.
The Austin's also do set up meals to go along with the couples massages. There are all sorts of pricing and packages to fit all budgets.
Gwen our housekeeping supervisor said, "having a massage with Rachael would be a necessity to a relaxing vacation!" Brenda said, "it was simply AWESOME!" Becky wants, "have one every week!" I absolutely agree with everything they said and can't wait until Rachael comes back for staff massage day again!!!!!!!!!

Beach Pictures

I wanted to introduce all of you to a very good friend of mine, Tony Thagard! Tony has done a good portion of our photography on our websites, and is a true artist. He has decide to make his art his full time job this summer. Tony has set up a website www.on3fotos.com to showcase some of his photos and advertise what sort of photos he can do. We wanted to give you a smattering of Tony's talent and the opportunity to get in touch with him if you need beach, event or wedding photos. I cannot say enough good things about Tony and his professional approach to photography. everyone who has used him in the past has been thrilled with the result and the variety of photos to choose from. Enjoy some of Tony's beautiful photos, and be sure to give him a call to capture your sunny beach memories!!!

Beach Vacation or BUST!!!!

I've mentioned in the past we see some of the most unusual things at the beach!!! I wanted to take this opportunity to remind all of our vacationers to be sure you take back everyone and everything you bring along. Look under beds and in closets, in all those special little hidy holes that little hands like to stick things.
We have noticed that it is not just you and your family that want to come on a BEACH VACATION, your things want a vacation too!!! Your shoes, your I-pods, sunglasses, medication, and even your children's stuffed animals are longing to be at the beach. How do we know this you may ask??? Well we always check all the best hiding places for your things and sometime we find them. Lately I have noticed your left behind stuffed animals and other treasured things having all sorts of adventures around the property.


It seems all your special things needed a vacation too!!!!


The stuffed animals are the wildest on these adventures. They have no fear!!!
Be sure to look for ALL of your family before you go, or your things may just decide to move down here and let you visit!!!
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Slow down, your at the Beach!!!!!!!!

One of the most important things I have learned since moving to the area is to SLOW down and take in everything around me. I moved here from a very busy place and a very busy life. The beach is busy in its own way but we always try to make things as relaxed and laid back as possible for our guests and ourselves. We have noticed that if you slow down just a little, and look around you get to see the most incredible, beautiful, and unique sights. Having the opportunity to see new things at a slower pace is true here at the beach, but I am sure it is a rule that is good throughout life wherever you are.
Take a closer look at the photo with this post. It is a picture of a dear friend's shoe print in the sand. As you look notice the beautiful sand dollars that are undamaged in his track. Sand dollars are so fragile and rare. It is really amazing that they all are still intact. This was such a fun find and a great memory of a beautiful day.
Take some time and slow down. It's just good for the soul!!!!

A Wedding on the Beach at Ft. Morgan

We have Weddings on the Dunes Community Beach on almost a weekly basis in the spring and summer. A couple of weeks ago we had the most unusual wedding to date. A family that lives in the community, and very dear friends or theirs had a wedding ceremony for their beloved pet poodles. The Dunes beach at Ft. Morgan is dog friendly and the owners here take that very seriously. You will often see owners letting their dogs romp through the waves or playing fetch with a tennis ball out on the beach.

On this particular occasion you could see owner and pets enjoying the festivities of the happy day. The puppy bride, Lulu is the pet of Elizabeth, and the groom, Murphy, is proudly owned by Callie. The ceremony included both pets dressed to the Nines in their wedding attire. Murphy wore a new wedding collar, and Lulu wore a beautiful white ilett dress. Elizabeth and Callie explained that the two dogs are long time sweethearts and became engaged on Valentines Day. Murphy a "famous" ball player has always been a fan of Lulu who spends her days as a stay at home model, Auburn Cheerleader and gardener / explorer in her free time. Invitations were sent to the dogs and friends in the Dunes Community soon after their engagement. The guests all enjoyed the reception. The humans enjoyed a lovely two layer cake prepared by Lulu and Elizabeth's mother. The dog friends/guests were all given treats that were their choice of peanut butter, or a marshmallow, even a pet friendly chocolate cookie.

The bride and groom gave each other wedding gifts of a beautiful new outfit for the ever stylish Lulu and 4 new balls to play with for Murphy the sportsman. The couple looked lovely in their photos Murphy in his naturally black coat with bow tie, and Lulu always the lady in her beautiful white fur and white dress. A great time was had by all who attended, with a couple of the 4 legged guests participating in a game of catch the sand crab after the reception.

There were no plans for a honeymoon; puppies are not in the plan for this active couple. They do have a special marriage training planned that will take place in a "Tricks Class" coming up really soon.

I recently heard from the owners, that Lulu was already nagging Murphy about playing football every afternoon. We are so glad that this special event was held here at the Dunes Community and Murphy and Lulu can be added to long list of happy couples married at the Dunes Beach. If you are planning a beach wedding soon, give me a call. Helping the brides and families with all the ins and outs of a beach wedding is one of the favorite parts of my job.

Sunset Properties Goes On Vacation!!!

We are usually the destination for vacations in the Ft. Morgan area. It is unheard of for all of us to take a vacation together. The boss decided that we needed a getaway together, to be waited on and taken care of, just as we take care of our guests. We were given a cruise to Cozumel!!!! Thanks John and Karen!!!! We all boarded a cruise line that leaves from the port of Mobile and began our much needed 4 day getaway. The ship gave us fresh linens and turn down service each night, along with friendly towel animals each night to great us when we came in from our evening activities. We enjoyed live musical shows, comedians, magic shows, Afternoon tea and a huge variety of classes for adults and kids. My favorite part by far was just being out on deck in the sun. We come to work at the beach each day, with the beautiful water and sand just steps away and rarely get down to the shore to enjoy it. We all took advantage of our time in the sun. I came back with a very special tan, that included lines on my face from my sunglasses. It was fun!!!!
Once we arrived at Cozumel the Bobe's headed out for a Coral reef tour on board a Submarine.
It was really fun and very educational. We went down to a depth of 109 feet below the surface, and enjoyed creatures that one usually only sees in aquariums or on TV.
We did a bit of shopping through the city, while John and Karen did a tour of the local bars, trying Karen's favorite drinks. Becky and her sister enjoyed a sailing trip on a private boat and an afternoon on a quiet beach.
We boarded the boat that afternoon with stories to share about our different adventures. That evening we had a dress up dinner where we all had a great meal and were entertained by our wait staff in between stories of our adventures that afternoon.
All around it was a great vacation. We had lots of rest that allowed us to come back all geared up for Spring Break!!! We wanted to Thank Mike and Brenda, who took care of everything while we were gone. Thanks Guys!!!!