GULF SHORES, AL – Four fresh faces from the University of Missouri paused from spring break revelry underneath one of the massive beach houses on West Beach Boulevard.

“It’s so pretty here,” they all echoed as college-aged girls are wont to do.

So pretty would you come back here for another spring break?

“No, no, no, no,” came four staggered responses. “We’ll go to South Padre Island, Texas, next year,” one said over the din.

On March 18 Gulf Shores banned alcohol an all the beaches in town – about eight miles worth – until April 17. Rowdy gatherings of 1,000 or more students on the beach prompted the action.

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach both issued stern warnings that underage drinking, drinking and driving, public lewdness, public drunkenness and leaving trash on the beach would not be tolerated.

Both police departments were good on their word. From March 14-20 Gulf Shores made 249 arrest while from March 4-18 Orange Beach arrested 280. More than 80 percent of that 529 total were for minors in possession of alcohol.

The girls received news of the ban when they arrived. Three were 20 and one was 21 and all were from the Chicago area. They have noticed the heavy police presence.

“I love this place, I think it’s beautiful but I don’t think I’d come back because I feel like we’re a target,” Sara Pearson said. “I’m in this beautiful place but I just feel like I’ve experienced some things that have gone on that should not have called for that much attention.”

Sidney is studying to be an environmental scientist, but declined to give her last name.

“They’re going to lose a lot of business here,” she said.

The girls’ experience didn’t have a rousing start. They booked a house in the 1200 block of West Beach Boulevard, but ended up in the 2100 block.

“The owner double booked us,” Sam Brauer said. “Then he put us in a house three miles that way.”

Last year the girls said they went to Panama City Beach and had a great time. But that city tightened its beach regulations after some violent incidences and spring breakers looked at other options.

Like Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

Vann Owens drives a van and has seen his share of problems shuttling the kids up and down West Beach Boulevard. He even took a lot of kids who wanted to drink on the beach from Gulf Shores to Orange Beach where there is a ban on alcohol at state park beaches but not beaches in front of condos or private houses.

Owens said he was looking at the coming week with a little foreboding but a friend’s post on Facebook about spring breakers gave him a new attitude.

“When I first started I had a little bit of a negative attitude toward it,” Owens said. “Honestly what Jack Robertson put up there made me see things a little bit differently. Instead of walking up to the kids with a negative attitude, you know, give ‘em a chance.”

Robertson is a somewhat bawdy entertainer at the Flora-Bama known for speaking his mind on stage and on social media. He admonished “old (folks) like me.”

“You just better be glad we didn’t have cell phones with video when we were growing up,” Robertson wrote.

Owens said the vast majority of kids he’s shuttled around since spring break started have caused him no trouble at all.

“Ninety percent are good kids that I’ve had in the van,” he said. “All respectful. But you got 10 percent – and I got 10 percent of adults – that’s rougher than the kids. The kids, after you really get on ‘em, they’ll mind a little bit. The adults won’t.”