The Salt Line, Vol. 8: Wet, Muraled, and Slightly Fermented
Welcome back to The Salt Line, the only coastal news column legally required to be read while slightly sunburned. Volume 8. We’ve made it farther than most local aquatic centers. Speaking of which — oh, we’ll get there. Buckle up.
A World-Famous Whale Guy Just Blessed Gulf Shores With His Presence
Internationally renowned marine artist Wyland — yes, the Wyland, the man who has painted more dolphins on the sides of buildings than anyone in human history — rolled into Gulf Shores and unveiled a brand-new large-scale mural at Surf Style. A world-famous artist. In Gulf Shores. At a surf shop.
Look, we are not knocking it. The man is a legend. It’s just that Wyland has painted murals in Tokyo, Honolulu, and Sydney — and his 2026 calendar apparently had “Surf Style, Gulf Shores” penciled in right after those. Somewhere there is a very proud Surf Style manager who made one phone call that absolutely worked out.
The mural is presumably large, ocean-themed, and significantly more tasteful than the airbrushed shark T-shirt hanging three feet away from it.
Foley Is Building an Indoor Pool, Which Is Objectively a Power Move
Construction on an indoor aquatic center in Foley is set to begin later this year, located in the Max complex. An indoor aquatic center. In coastal Alabama. Where the Gulf of Mexico — a famously large and free body of water — is approximately twenty minutes away.
This is the most Foley thing imaginable and we mean that as a compliment. Foley looked at the literal ocean, said “not climate-controlled enough,” and decided to build its own. Respect. Absolute respect. The pool will presumably feature lane lines, a concession stand, and a complete absence of jellyfish, which honestly puts it ahead of the Gulf on at least one metric.
No word yet on whether it will have a Wyland mural. (Callbacks — this column has them.)
Pensacola’s Roger Scott Pool Is Open. Sort Of. Mostly.
The pool at Roger Scott Athletic Complex is reopening for a shortened summer swim season — with a temporary restroom facility. A temporary restroom. At a public pool. In June.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the bureaucratic poetry here. The pool is open. The season is shortened. The bathroom is temporary. Everything about this situation is provisional, conditional, and slightly impermanent — which, honestly, describes most of the Pensacola summer experience anyway. The water’s wet, the sun is real, and the facilities are “we’re working on it.” Book your lane now before they shorten the season further into a single enthusiastic Tuesday.
Twelve Years of Craft Beer and Nobody’s Stopped Them Yet
The Fish House Deck in Pensacola hosted its 12th Annual Craft Beer Fest on Saturday, June 20th, from 3 to 6 p.m. Twelve years. Three hours. One deck. Unlimited local craft beer.
The three-hour window is doing a lot of heavy lifting there — whoever scheduled this event has clearly attended a craft beer festival before and made some difficult but responsible decisions on behalf of everyone. This is not a criticism. This is admiration. “Here is a finite amount of time, here is a large amount of beer, good luck to you all.” The Fish House: tempering chaos with a hard stop since 2014.
Foley Also Got $2.7 Million for Medical Manufacturing and It Just Casually Didn’t Lead With That
The City of Foley and the state approved roughly $2.72 million in incentives for a new advanced medical manufacturing project heading to town. Advanced medical manufacturing. In the same week they announced an indoor pool. Foley is out here building a whole civilization and leading the press releases with the swimming.
In fairness, the pool is more exciting. The pool has lanes.
That’s Volume 8. We’ve got murals, pools (two of them, one conditional), a decade-plus of responsibly short beer festivals, and $2.7 million in manufacturing money that barely got a headline because the pool announcement absorbed all available local hype. This coast contains multitudes.
Stay salty. Stay hydrated. Check the temporary bathroom situation before you commit.
— Sully