Getting the flavor of...Alabama’s underrated shore

Alabama’s underrated shore

The BP oil spill has done great things for Gulf Shores, Ala., said Bob Carden in The Washington Post. TV coverage of the 2010 gulf cleanup reminded a lot of people that Alabama has “some of the prettiest beaches in the country,” so visitors are flocking to a place I’ve loved since first visiting my in-laws here 21 years ago. With its white sand, turquoise waters, and free public access, it’s long been the beach for me—“and for lots of other people, be they families, students, beer-swilling bubbas, or shiraz-sipping sophisticates.” I once made the mistake of calling it the Jersey Shore of the South, but here “it’s more grits” and less hair gel, there are no kitschy boardwalks, and the beaches stay clean because visitors seem to “respect the beauty of the place.” The local musical talent is another highlight. The guitarist you hear singing a beautiful John Prine song one night “might be the same guy patching your drywall the next day.”

A lesser-known New England island

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“Things feel little changed since the 1800s” on New Hampshire’s Star Island, said Phil Primack in The Boston Globe. Located a few miles offshore at the Maine/New Hampshire border, the thinly populated Isles of Shoals have long offered few opportunities for overnight stays. But that changed recently when the 19th-century Oceanic Hotel, owned by the Unitarian Universalist Church, opened its rooms to non-conference visitors. The hotel still also offers retreats and conferences on writing, dance, and photography. A stay there “is not for everyone.” The rooms are “Shaker simple,” with mismatched antique furniture, no TVs, and showers available only every other day. “If that seems too much like indoor camping,” consider a day trip to the 46-acre island (starisland.org). On your way to Gosport Chapel, built in 1800, watch for snowy egrets, cormorants, and seagulls. You might “even catch a whale spout offshore.”