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Family Fun on the Florida Panhandle

Do a little or a lot on the best beaches this side of the Caribbean

By Angela Wibking

Call it the Emerald Coast, the Florida Panhandle or just the best beach this side of the Caribbean, the stretch of the Florida Gulf Coast that lies between Pensacola and Panama City is one of the most popular family vacation spots in the Southeast. You can tell that simply by counting the number of cars you see here in the summer months from as far away as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Texas and Virginia. Families from nearby states like Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee also flock to the area where the white sands of the Panhandle meet the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The natural beauty of the beaches is just one reason for the region’s growing popularity with families, honeymooners and retired couples alike. In the larger towns of Destin and Ft. Walton or in Panama City, you’ll find all the typical summer fun attractions, from water parks and cinemas to souvenir shops and miniature golf. You’ll also find a wide array of chain motels, restaurants and retail. But if you’re looking for a quieter sort of family beach vacation -- but one that’s still just minutes from all aforementioned attractions -- consider an area called The Beaches of South Walton. Located along the coast of Walton County, the area includes the beach communities of Seaside, Seagrove and Rosemary to the east and Dune Allen, Sandestin and Miramar to the west. In between runs Highway 30-A, a 19-mile two-lane road along which you’ll find hundreds of beach cottages or low-rise condo rental properties perfect for a laid-back week of family fun and sun.

The clusters of cottages and condos that string themselves along the road can’t really be called towns, at least not in the dictionary sense of the word. Still, a definite sense of community – as well as individual personalities – can be found in these beaches with names like Blue Mountain, Santa Rosa and Grayton. What sets them apart and ties them together is the fact that there are no chain hotels, stores or eateries anywhere along the scenic road, just dozens of privately owned enterprises with some of the best food, accommodations and shopping you’ll find in the area. Yet major grocery stores, outlet malls and other big-city stuff is just a short drive away in Destin. 

Our large extended family (whose members range from age 4 to 74) has been vacationing at different beaches along 30-A for the past 10 years. We’ve rented cottages in Dune Allen Beach and condos in Blue Mountain. We’ve also stayed at the Hibiscus Bed-and-Breakfast in Grayton Beach and at various places in the unique planned community of Seaside. We have our favorite local restaurants (Bayou Bill’s for heaping platters of fried seafood in a family-friendly setting and D & K Café for more upscale dining without the kids) and seafood markets (Goatfeathers) that we return to year after year. The owner of Angelika’s Gift Chalet remembers us each year when we drop in to check out the superb selection of beach-themed gifts there.

We also return annually to Bayou Art and Antiques where, besides wonderful original artwork, antiques and gifts, you’ll find a tiny St. Francis Wildlife Chapel sure to delight the kids. The inside walls of the one-room chapel are painted with maritime murals and a model of a ship sails among the rafters. Outside the chapel door is a shrine to St. Francis and a wildlife graveyard with markers for dearly departed seagulls, crows and opossums. Another favorite shopping stop is Monet Monet, an upscale garden and gift shop in Grayton Beach that recreates the famous French Impressionist Claude Monet’s home and garden in Giverny, France – right down to the lily pond and Japanese footbridge.

This year we discovered the Shops of Grayton Beach, a new cluster of pastel-colored frame cottages filled with antiques, art, clothing and gifts. During our stay, the shopping complex hosted an art event in which kids and local artists collaborated on creating a mural of some of the top dogs of the neighborhood, with proceeds benefiting the local humane society. The female members of our family spent a little time (and money) at Deo Favante, an upscale clothing shop with great linen and cotton attire designed by the shop’s owner, that was located in a white frame house within walking distance of our “Sandcastles by the Sea” condo in Blue Mountain. We also rented bikes and kayaks from Big Daddy’s, also within walking distance of our Blue Mountain condo, for the first time and enjoyed rolling along the bike paths of 30-A and paddling in calm Gulf waters.

Still, the best things at the beach are often free. A sand sculpture artist seemed to be using our stretch of Blue Mountain beach as his studio and each day we would look eagerly for his latest creation. One day it was a dolphin and man swimming side-by-side and sandy Snoopy getting a suntan. The next it was a huge frying pan of eggs and bacon simmering in the sand and a nest of sea turtles hatching. There were also larger-than-life manta rays and crabs perfectly crafted out of the sparkling white sand. We never spied the sand artist at work but each day we and all the other lucky folks on the beach enjoyed his handiwork. We built our own sandcastles, of course, dove for sand dollars on a sand bar not too far off-shore and strolled at sunset on the beach. We ate too much ice cream and almost too much seafood and indulged in all the other simple pleasures that make a week by the sea so special. By week’s end we were eyeing real estate in the area and wondering whether we should become full-time beach bums. In the end, though, we headed home – talking as we drove about when we would go back to the beach again next summer. Or even in the fall, for that matter, since the rental rates throughout the area drop by almost half after Aug. 14. 

For more information on The Beaches of South Walton call (800)822-6877. For information on rental cottages and condos in Blue Mountain and elsewhere along Highway 30-A, try Rivard Realty at www.rivardnet.com or call (800)423-3215.

Photos by Angela Wibking

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