travelteri

We're from St. Louis, MO and just purchased a vacation/rental house in Miramar Beach 6 months ago. I'm not sure how we're going to pay the mortgage if we get too many cancellations. This mess really has widespread effects that I'm sure BP has no way of rectifying!

tracyld

travelteri what part of st louis are you from that is where im from imperial mo.My prayers are with all renter and wildlife creatures.Im hoping we don't have to cancel i know this will effect not only the people we are renting form but business as well my fingers are crossed that they get it stoped soon i have to make final descion by thursday morning

travelteri

Tracyid, We're in o'fallon now. originally south city then south county.

MAP

Floridafan, we have been assured by our condo rental agent that they will refund our deposit in full if the beaches are closed due to oil when we are due to arrive. Of course, that promise could be full of legal holes, but we are long time customers of this condo, so we are hanging in there with them holding on to a thin thread of hope that the oil will miss Seagrove beaches.

We were tempted to rebook on Amelia Island, but now they are raising a concern about the Gulf Stream taking the oil all the way to the east coast. Who knows? I'm sure if we had not already booked our flights, we would cancel for this year. I guess worst case senario is that we will still have a nice accommodation with a great view, a big pool to use, lots of shops to explore, bikes to ride,water parks, miniature golf, and possibly even a clean beach we could locate in the area.

Makes us realize what a very special place the Panhandle has been over the many years we've visited. I will mourn not only the loss of the beach this year, but also my yearly treat of the finest grouper sandwich one can imagine!!

We really appreciate your intelligent updates. Thank you.

tracyld

Ok we have decides to keep reservation I know a alot can or can happen but we will deal with that when we get there.I'm sure there is more to Destin then the beach

travelteri

Tracyid, there is definitely more to Destin than the beach! Try Baytowne Wharf, Harbourwalk, Destin Commons, The Big Kahuna, drive to Seaside for the quaint shops, stop in Grayton to eat at the Red Bar, Silversands outlet mall, be sure to have a great meal at Fat Clemenza's (tell Dominic that the toasted ravioli fans from St. Louis said "Hello"!) And check out vrbo.com
# 269771 for next years reservations!

tracyld

thanks for the info any any one else have hot spots send my way.big kahunahs on our list gulf aquarium,my son wanting to go to air force base was going to dolphin cruise but will have to wait and see what happens with that thanks fo all the info on site.Don't have lots of money to spen im sure in bit will help.

panoramicplaces

Tracy

The north GA mountains are a good option. Absolutely beautiful this time of year. Google panoramicplaces...

tracyld

Beutiful place my by are adventure next each year we find a new state to visit or to last year and year before was orlando we have decide to wait about two years before we go back been to tn a couple times goes to az in July we do two vacations a year if we can afford it

cjmc

My fiance and I are scheduled to be married on the last weekend in June at Grayton Beach State park. The final payment to the wedding company is due at the end of May. Not wanting to forfeit the money spent on the wedding, but also not wanting to cancel our plans unless absolutely necessary, we talked to a lawyer about our options. Basically he told us that we could get a refund on the contract based upon the "frustration of purpose" legal argument. As I understand it, this allows the contract to be disposed if the intended purpose (beach wedding) has been deemed of no value to us due to no fault of either party in the contract and there was no way to foresee the event (oil spill / black beaches) when the contract was signed.

Just thought this little bit of info may help some people out, or give a heads up to the people renting houses as to what they may be facing in the near future if the oil does come ashore.

jordanrhughes

I am looking to find a great.cheap place to stay for a couple of weeks while in Florida.

Looking for another.

Thanks in advance.

tracyld

this is whre im staying june 6th-12
http://www.destinsvacationcondo.com/

wincha

We have a condo booked for the end of May. I have not paid yet as we rent from the owner year after year. I'm sure he'll understand if we cancel. I'll hold out a little while longer but in the meantime I need to have a back up plan. We stay in a 3 bedroom condo every year at Silver Shells and need to come up with somewhere else to go driving from St Louis. My husband, 2 college kids and I have our vacation plans set from work also traveling with a 13 and 10 year old. Any suggestions? Want to go to the beach. Can't afford Disney. Other side of Florida? Myrtle Beach? We would also look at a home but can't spend anymore than we had planned as we just had enough for this vacation. We also eat in alot at the condo. Thanks for any help!

wincha

Hi-just went to your vrbo site-from st louis would love more info such as location for next year
travelteri

We're from St. Louis, MO and just purchased a vacation/rental house in Miramar Beach 6 months ago. I'm not sure how we're going to pay the mortgage if we get too many cancellations. This mess really has widespread effects that I'm sure BP has no way of rectifying

gracie

Try going to local tv websites. In the Panama City are, our tv stations are WMBB.com and WJHG.com. In Pensacola, WEAR. I can't recall the Mobile station. For printed news, PensacolaNewsJournal.com and PanamaCityNewsherald.com.
For cjmc, did you check with a Florida lawyer? Because if you only checked with someone in your state, it won't necessarily apply. The contract will most likely be governed where the wedding is to take place, which is Florida.

Floridafran

Hi again,

I posted to a different thread about the spill because when I first looked, I couldn't find this one.

MAP and tracy,

I'm glad you're still coming. Even if we do get tarballs, this is still a beautiful area with lots to do.

As for the oil. Nobody seems so know "if", "when", "where," or "how bad." At least that was what most people took away from the meeting out here on the Island yesterday with the BP people and tons of other "experts." There were more "I don't know." answers than anything else. Frustration and anxiety are running pretty high around here.

Previous predictions said it would be here by now. Now they're saying it will be at least another 72 hours. It actually moved back to the West, away from us, for a couple of days.

The rough seas and high winds have been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because as bkluvsNola said, it's breaking up the oil which means tarballs are more likely than a huge beach-blackening slick. And a lot of it is evaporating. A curse because they can't work at stopping it, containing it, or burning it in rough seas. Also, the smaller particles are more likely to sink. This is wrecking havoc on the bottom of the Gulf.

tracyld

When we thinking about canceling we started looking at tn and daytona beach here are a couple place found in daytona if you go to homeaway.com u can find good deal we have been to orlando twice last year and the year before we rented a house last year 950 for 9 days 10 min from disney.

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-ren...6#calendar-bar
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-ren...3207#rates-bar
We are from st louis also but we will be in destin from june 7-12 oil may not even come there i do need more ideas on things to do there in cases beaches would be close which im praying they don't have they shut down any beaches yet

Floridafran

This will be short, I'm trying to get ready to leave for Atlanta early in the morning.

No beaches shut down here. Prediction - 3 days out - is we're still in the clear. Weather over the next week looks favorable for skimming, burning, and capping attempt. Right now the winds are light and the direction is working in our favor.

There was an excellent article in today's Pensacola News Journal. And WEAR 3 had a great update tonight. You can access both of these online.

Once I get to Atlanta I'll be in touch with my husband here at home and I'll try to post anything new.

So far, so good, but they warn us that we'll get something, some time. Just don't when, how much, or exactly what.

Reneecullum

We have reservations for Pensacola Beach for the week of May 24th. I would appreciate any information as the time approaches about the beach/water conditions and if the seafood prices will be affected. We have a 72 hr cancellation but we were there in 08 when the hurricane was predicted and had a great vacation-we are hoping that Florida will escape this disaster

gracie

Reneecullum--
Floridafran and I have both given you websites so you can check for yourself. I don't know what else we can do. I live in Panama City and the weather and beaches are fine today.