If you want to help those most affected by the oil spill, please visit the Gulf Coast this summer. I have spent the past week in Pensacola, Florida, Gulf Shores, Fairhope, and Dauphin Island, Alabama, and the beaches have never looked better and the water has seldom been clearer. If people are volunteering their time to clean the beaches, the least we can do is enjoy those beaches, have lunch in a seaside burger joint, and maybe drink a beer or two at a Gulf-side bar.The economy, on the other hand, has been decimated - no oil, no fishing and shrimping, and no tourism. Out of the three, the one that should not have been affected is tourism.
Anyone who has spent time at the beach has had a vacation where it rained all week, or there were jellyfish, or seaweed. From a tourist perspective, the threat from the oil is no different. Sure, there might be oil if you plan a trip toward the end of the summer. But a week at the beach is always a chancy proposition weather- and water-wise, which is why there are swimming pools, water parks, restaurants, pubs, golf and shopping aplenty- just to name a few diversions. I hope everyone who was considering vacationing in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or Florida any time this summer, but especially the 4th of July, will come on down and spend a little money and have a lot of fun. You'll help people out who need it and you'll have a blast - everybody wins!
The 4th of July is the biggest weekend of the summer. If it fails, then the people who live along the coast - shopkeepers, inn keepers, bartenders, waitresses, dive boat personnel - all lose their livelihoods. There are not many better ways to celebrate Independence Day than patronizing small businesses in a beautiful part of the United States.
What it looks like today
As for the current, visible effects of the oil, the picture at left was taken on Father's Day on Johnson Beach, Florida. Snowy white sane, clear water - just gorgeous. Thanks to the clean up crews and the lack of boats, the beach and the water everywhere I've been is cleaner than I've seen it in years and years.I read today they think the oil is drifting away from Alabama. I've seen so little oil compared the media reports I watched and read in Colorado.
Last week, I spent a night at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama. I saw some of the biggest, fattest, healthiest pelicans I've seen in ages. They were diving for fish in the Bay, so I know there were minnows around. The sea gulls and terns were all over the grounds, looking for scraps as always. My sister-in-law and I went on a four mile hike along the shore and saw no oil, just sand and bay.
I drove over Mobile Bay today and saw lots of birds, though not as many as I saw last week. Lots of boom, too - the grim reminder of our ongoing defense against what is lurking out in the deep sea, wherever it may be.
But, people were swimming in Mobile Bay both days, and my family and I swam in the Gulf this past weekend. Kayaks, paddleboats, and jet skis were all popular at the Grand Hotel. Life goes on in this part of the world. Folks are not looking for a handout, but they'll gladly work for a fair price to ensure you have a great vacation, fishing trip, meal, mixed drink, or memento. Check it out.
