European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse By Strat Douthat associated Pressa n Alabama Martini is a powerhouse concoction thai includes neither Gin nor vermouth. Its principal ingredients involve Beer a Large funnel and a 2-fool length of plastic Hose. Get the idea ii not Hawaita. A bemused local observer in Panama City Beach. Fla., will he Happy to spell it out they pour tha Beer into the Tunnel stick the Hose in their Mouths and Swallow the contents in a single she said Silling Al a beachfront bar in her Florida Panhandle town. It s a very popular drink on saturday nights when the Feitos from Southern Georgia and la. That s lower Alabama come Down Here Welcome to the redneck Rivera. As he lyrics of a popular local song explain it Ain l no Monta Carlo. Ii Ain t no vegas night it s cutoff jeans and Bikini Queens and a slice of Dixie Bui in the decade since Singer songwriter Madison Shine Powell isl captured the special Southorn tried ambience along 130 Miles of sugar Fine while Sand and sparkling Blue water stretching from Panama ally Beach to Gulf shores ala., much has changed. High Rise condominiums now draw hordes of tourists to tha Gull of Mexico beaches. Fancy restaurants and gloaming hotels Rise amid the needy bars Lacky motels water slides to shirt shops and miniature got courses. As a result the term redneck riveria one of endearment to Powell and Many other longtime residents has become taboo among local politicians and chamber of Commerce types. The quit shores City Council at one Point considered outlawing use of the term inside City limits but was advised such a ban would be unconstitutional. We did have Hal redneck Label several years ago but in really does t fit us said Judy Morris a Gulf shores chamber of Commerce official. We now have All the latest conveniences and most modern vacation Norris said the Community now prefers to be called cutoff jeans and Bikini Queens and a slice of Dixie delight1 the american whatever the tag Spring break and summer vacation revive the raucous nightlife in Gull shores and Panama City Beach tha Polar hot spots Al the redneck Riviera. Saturday night is really something to see this Lime of year when the pickup trucks and customized cars Are backed up bumper to bumper along the Beach Highway said Waits a special education teacher who moved to the Gulf coast five years ago from Lansing. Mich. The Good ol1 boys sit in their trucks waving their Confederate flags out the windows end drinking Alabama martinis. Then after a big gulp they let out a belch and a rebel Julie Binford owner of the euphoria lounge where Waile was holding Forth laughed As she picked up the conversation the Ira flip gets so thick hat they can jump out of their trucks and come in for a restroom Stop and a Beer. And Whan they go Back outside the truck they re Riding in won t have moved Mote than 30 feet said Binford a transplanted oregonian who said she used to keep a dictionary behind the bar to help her customers with the meaning of euphoria. It s those yells that i find funny said Waite. We Call them mating Calls. The boys will see some girls and scream,1 Yahoo and the Girts will answer Back. Eewha " the night become More Serene As one Heads Wesl Oul of Panama City Beach to Beach Sida communities such As Destin and fort Walton. As the Honky tonks grow fewer the Shore still sprouts High Rise condos including a lowering 21 Story affair in the Village of Seagrove Halfway Between Panama City Beach and Pensacola until recently Gull coast developers could build More or less where they chose. Bui lawsuits brought by environmental groups and a deflated real estate Market have brought Mote stringent land use codes and a slowdown in development. Despite the development it s the area s natural charms which include some of the whitest beaches and clearest water in North America hat make it so popular with rednecks and northerners alike. Squadrons of pelicans flying in tight formation patrol the Beach. Hordes of Quick stepping sandpipers skip along the waterline. And dolphins frolic a Lew eel offshore. On the Riviera s Western and the state Border is marked by the Flora Bama bar. A sprawling establishment of Wood and Brick. Located just a Lew feet inside the Florida line which allows it o open sundays the bar signals re entry to redneck territory. If you re Lookin for the redneck Riviera this is it said buddy Wells a bearded bartender Al the Flora Bama. Where one famous Good of boy former pro football quarterback Kenny tha Snake Stabler sometimes stops by to pass the Lime. Stabler who lives at nearby Ono Island was t in residence this Day but Ron Lacy a Sun burned construction worker volunteered that the Snake has retained his redneck ways us alabamians Don t mind and milling we re rednecks Lacy said. Bui some floridians especially those folks Over around Pensacola Why it nearly kills them to admit yet even Shine Powell a Marine biologist when a s not singing in Honky Lonks acknowledges the area s nightlife has loved Down since 1979, Whan Hurricane Frederick wiped out most of the tars Beach cottages and fishing shacks along the shoo and set the stage for the onslaught of condos. I know that the Council and chamber of Commerce would dearly Tike to promote this area As a retirement Haven Powell said but frankly i liked ii better when there was nothing Here but Lille or Beach collages and Laid Back Barefoot Vanca Jannings who drove Down to Gull shores with a Bunch of buddies from the Mobile area said no Maltar what it s called the Beach is still the Best party spot Hen Osof. We come Down Here every Chance we said Jannings who was drinking Beer beside the Beach in a Black pickup truck. Just of Young Bikini dad women drove past in Paduno buggy Selling off a chorus Olya Hoos from Jannings and his Crew. Eek a replied the women and the pickup roared off Down Highway in hoi Pursuit doing what comes naturally on the redneck Riviera. Tunas 1986 the stars and stripes Page 16
