Canopy on the beach

Clearly some of you value turtles over tourist. Well I have never seen a turtle give anyone a job, but, then I have not seen everything. I just do not understand why leaving canopies up overnight has been okay for years, but now all of a sudden it is not.

As for the enviormentalist comment, I did not think it was a slur or something that would be considered an insult by people who claim to want to keep the beaches pristine and in their natural condition. It certainly is not lazy, but I in no way meant to offend.

As I stated, I have already been down for my week, sorry to say. I loved every minute of it. I do not plan to let this stop me from coming and I will be back next year.

Fryday -
I'm really glad you enjoyed your visit. I think we've had pretty great weather this year. I met many family's enjoying the 4th of July weekend! It was great. I just love our Summer visitors.

Please keep an eye on SoWal.com before you come next year. I can tell you are unhappy with this rule. If the county gets all of it's 'ducks in a row' with the ordinance soon (as we hope and expect), you may find your canopy removed next year when you leave it overnight.

I think this will make you even more unhappy. Maybe in the meantime you can find easy to remove umbrellas to serve your beach needs. Our goal is not to run people off, but to make it nicer for everyone and the turtles too.

Perhaps the canopies many years ago were a much smaller number of canopies and therefore didn't get as much attention as the greater number that are there today.
Walk out to the wet sand line at 6AM and look to either the East or West and you may begin to understand what has changed from years ago and what a growing number of people are wanting to see protected.
The changes you are feeling pains from are the same growth pains affecting many areas of the Panhandle.

Clearly some of you value turtles over tourist.

Most people here like both.

I just do not understand why leaving canopies up overnight has been okay for years, but now all of a sudden it is not.

It has never been okay, only convenient, but the situation has changed. The number of people visiting here has increased dramatically over recent years and so has the amount of stuff on the beach. I'm sure you've noticed this.

As for the enviormentalist comment, I did not think it was a slur or something that would be considered an insult by people who claim to want to keep the beaches pristine and in their natural condition.

I saw your comment about "left-wing environmentalists controlling everything". You should be thankful that people who live here and visit here love the beaches and our environment with strong passion. Otherwise it would already be ruined. I hope that you can understand that the folks who are trying to eliminate stuff left on the beaches have your best interests at heart, as well as the interests of our beaches, waters, and wildlife.

If nothing is done then one day you will come to set up your tent and you won't have a clear spot to do it.

I've said this before, but in all my years of coming to the beach, it never occurred to me that it was OK for me to leave my stuff on the beach overnight. I never asked anyone, I didn't look up any laws, it just seemed obvious to me--the day's over, take your stuff in. Granted, there were times it was near sunset when I'd drag myself back down there after going in for the day, but I still did it. Sowal visitors with entitled attitudes like Fryday give me the itch to go after-dark beach shopping.

In civilized society we do not get to pick and choose which laws we obey based on what is convenient for us and not what is good for everyone, turtles included.

To do so would be chaos.

Clearly some of you value turtles over tourist. Well I have never seen a turtle give anyone a job, but, then I have not seen everything. I just do not understand why leaving canopies up overnight has been okay for years, but now all of a sudden it is not.

As for the enviormentalist comment, I did not think it was a slur or something that would be considered an insult by people who claim to want to keep the beaches pristine and in their natural condition. It certainly is not lazy, but I in no way meant to offend.

As I stated, I have already been down for my week, sorry to say. I loved every minute of it. I do not plan to let this stop me from coming and I will be back next year.

It's not just about turtles, Einstein. It's about SAFETY. Any one of 100 different things could happen to your tent overnight, and none of them are good. Suppose someone is walking on the beach on a dark, moonless night and breaks their foot on one of your stakes? Suppose a storm comes up and turns one of your poles into a javelin-like projectile?

Wake up.

The reason folks leave these canopies up for seven days is because they are generally a pain in the butt to deal with. After a day of blazing sun and fifteen beers, who wants to try to wrestle a contraption like that?

Take a couple umbrellas, leave that tent at home, and the problem is solved.

The reason folks leave these canopies up for seven days is because they are generally a pain in the butt to deal with. After a day of blazing sun and fifteen beers, who wants to try to wrestle a contraption like that?

Take a couple umbrellas, leave that tent at home, and the problem is solved.

Only 15?

Only 15?

Only on Sunday

Only on Sunday

Which photo gives you that "I need to be in Sowal right now" feeling?

This

or this


Dang I wish I was there.

I'll take photo #2, thank you very much.
Wonder who's canopy that is....

It's not just about turtles, Einstein. It's about SAFETY. Any one of 100 different things could happen to your tent overnight, and none of them are good. Suppose someone is walking on the beach on a dark, moonless night and breaks their foot on one of your stakes? Suppose a storm comes up and turns one of your poles into a javelin-like projectile?

Wake up.

LOL! JB honey...you do get worked up!

The reason folks leave these canopies up for seven days is because they are generally a pain in the butt to deal with. After a day of blazing sun and fifteen beers, who wants to try to wrestle a contraption like that?

Take a couple umbrellas, leave that tent at home, and the problem is solved.

Only 15?

amateur


It's very simple....just take your stuff off the beach at the end of the day. That's all.

The authorities were told to allow the chairs and canopies during the 4th so I was told by a life guard. This morning in Grayton the beach authorities did come by and take all the canopies, etc. off the beach and said they will continue to do so. Many today were mad and said they saw the signs when I stated to them that the law was posted on the entryways to the beaches, but these same folks stated that they were "personally" never told that their items would be taken. (I believe they will know now.) I also believe that the rental agencies should let their renters aware of this policy if they do not. I know that the local Jr. Food Stores, Grayton General, Publix, etc. are racking up the cash with people buying replacement chairs, etc.

The authorities were told to allow the chairs and canopies during the 4th so I was told by a life guard. This morning in Grayton the beach authorities did come by and take all the canopies, etc. off the beach and said they will continue to do so. Many today were mad and said they saw the signs when I stated to them that the law was posted on the entryways to the beaches, but these same folks stated that they were "personally" never told that their items would be taken. (I believe they will know now.) I also believe that the rental agencies should let their renters aware of this policy if they do not. I know that the local Jr. Food Stores, Grayton General, Publix, etc. are racking up the cash with people buying replacement chairs, etc.

These people are beyond redemption.

The reason folks leave these canopies up for seven days is because they are generally a pain in the butt to deal with. After a day of blazing sun and fifteen beers, who wants to try to wrestle a contraption like that?

Take a couple umbrellas, leave that tent at home, and the problem is solved.

We think the reason they leave these things up, is because they can! Just like Fryday said, they left there canopy up the whole week and nothing happened. People see other people doing it, they try it, it works, so they bring more stuff the next night. We just can't believe the amount of stuff left on our beach overnight --- never remember it being like this before --- and to top it all off, one of the beach chair companies left their setup at the water's edge all ready to go for the next day ... even had a chain & lock around it ..... this does not send a good message.

oh ... forgot to mention the amount of kayaks ... it's crazy that people would leave these out overnight and so close to the water ....

it feels like a big portion of the stuff on our beach is the same stuff we've been seeing for a while now .... think it mostly belongs to rental homes in the neighborhood .... and quite frankly, perhaps the guests just don't care if someone takes it or not .... they didn't pay for it .... this kind of mentality is hard for us to grasp but it does exist .... just don't understand why people don't get it ... they come here for a reason ... because it's so pristine and amazingly beautiful -- it would seem like they would have a vested interest in keeping it that way!

Most vacation rental companies put the "remove it or lose it" flyers in the guests welcome packet. In my office, it is also posted on the check-in desk. Plus...it is posted at all public accesses....it's kind of hard to not be informed. IMO....I think there are those that choose to ignore the ordinance and now have to blame someone when their stuff disappears off the beach.

I haven't tried it but I think if I left my Eureka tent on the HWY 98 shoulder or other public space such as Helen McCall Park or Eden State Gardens it would be removed. I don't think I would be surprised, or have any right to be upset, even though my existence creates jobs and continually pumps cash into the local economy.

We just got back a few days ago from our annual stay in Grayton. We were dismayed to see so many canopies left up (the frames), and other debris overnight within spittin' distance of one turtle nest area. Since this was our first time being there during the
July 4th week (and our last-next year will be back either earlier or later), we assumed things were being overlooked due to the July 4th crowds. Whatever the reason, it is something that hopefully will be enforced more strongly in the future. The other thing that really amazed me, (besides the large amount of "June grass", aka algae bloom), was the absence of dolphins in the water. Our last day there we finally saw some swimming off-shore. During my childhood in the Panhandle they were a common sight. I'm glad to see the Surfrider Foundation folks were doing fundraisers and awareness campaigns in the area. Those of us who are coastal dwellers need to be better stewards of our environments. We hope to be back in the fall; love that Gulf.

The dolphin have been hanging out in Tucker Bayou recently....maybe they headed north too...to get away from the crowds.

Would they have moved away from the fireworks?

Clearly some of you value turtles over tourist. Well I have never seen a turtle give anyone a job, but, then I have not seen everything. I just do not understand why leaving canopies up overnight has been okay for years, but now all of a sudden it is not.

As for the enviormentalist comment, I did not think it was a slur or something that would be considered an insult by people who claim to want to keep the beaches pristine and in their natural condition. It certainly is not lazy, but I in no way meant to offend.

As I stated, I have already been down for my week, sorry to say. I loved every minute of it. I do not plan to let this stop me from coming and I will be back next year.

Fryday, I value the natural beauty of the beach over tourists who leave their crap on the beach. I also value my safety while on the beach at night. I don't need to be looking out for canopy guide-wires with night-vision goggles.

If you were as respectful as the people who didn't disturb your canopy, the beach would be clear crap at end of the day. Other people have made the effort to remove their stuff daily, and I applaud them. It is a great improvement.

Ten years ago, when you first began coming to the beach, there were much fewer numbers of people on the beach, and beach crap wasn't so readily available, so the beaches didn't look like a flea market. Today, the beaches do look more like a flea market than the Blue Wave Beach, which SoWal is proud to say it has been designated.

That is a real shame that those vacationers had their canopies and things taken. Most likely those tourist had small children or where there with other family members. Small umbrella's just want work, canopies are needed. It is very difficult to bring canopies down every night and put them back up the next day. Now these vacationers, who have contributed to the SoWal economy, will have their time at Grayton ruined. I hope this does not continue. It will make it much harder for the rental of beach homes.

I realize that many people do leave trash and toys and even chairs and that it is a problem. But there should be some sort of compromise other than a total ban on canopies left over night.