The Naked Grape at Gulfplace is a great place to start! With an extensive wine and beer selection as well as gourmet tapas, this intimate wine bar is the perfect place to begin an evening of romance. Just six miles east and you’ve arrived at the best spot in town to watch the sunset. Bud & Alley’s is famous for their outside, upstairs bar overlooking the green gulf waters.

Next on the list is V in Seagrove Beach for a special Valentine’s Day dinner. This sleek, South Beach style venue is serving a three course meal with a sweet heart theme. Enjoy delicacies such as: Lobster Gnocchi, Strawberry Sweetheart Salad, Pink Rose Pepper Seared Shrimp, and Triple Chocolate Molten Cake. The perfect ending is found at The Red Bar in Grayton Beach where you can dance into the next day to live music in a cozy atmosphere.

Make this the perfect Valentine’s Day and bring your date to 30A!  

Of course, for a vacation rental call Garrett Realty Services @ 1-800-537-5387

Susanna Hoffs is not the only Songwriter that our beautiful City of South Walton has inspired. Recent releases such as “Life Shines (The 30A Song)” performed by Bryan Kennedy and written by Kennedy and Mike Ragsdale can be heard on YouTube. The Beaches of South Walton are truly music making material!

Susanna Hoffs will debut her song live at the upcoming Songwriter’s Festival. Music lovers don’t want to miss this event. I guarantee you’ll “like it right here”.

For more information and accommodations, contact Garrett Realty Services @ 1-800-537-5387.

Venues vary from intimate settings to open air amphitheaters and include 30A hot spots such as: Gulf Place Amphitheatre, Naked Grape, First Note Music Hall in Blue Mountain Beach, and Bud & Alley’s in Seaside. Performances by The Bangles, Rodney Crowell, Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet, Indigo Girls, Joan Osborne, and so many more. Truly a world class event of amazing performances at one of the most beautiful spots in the Country!

For a full list of artists and venues or ticket information visit www.30asongwritersfestival.com. Need accommodations, call Garrett Realty Services @ 1-800-537-5387

South Walton is being featured as TravelZoo’s Destination of the Week. The Destination of the Week is being promoted on TravelZoo’s homepage and in their Top 20 email which drops to a minimum of 12 million subscribers!  

Read and find out what we are all about!!!

31 Turtle Nests Marked in South Walton!
As of July 19, there have been 31 sea turtle nests marked by South Walton Turtle Watch volunteers. Early each morning, volunteers walk South Walton beaches looking for signs of new nests and checking closely for signs of tampering by animals. Nests are clearly marked to keep beachgoers from disturbing them. Hatching is expected to begin this month. Thanks to everyone who works toward protecting one of South Walton’s most valuable assets! For more information or to volunteer, please visit:  SouthWaltonTurtleWatch

By WENDY VICTORA                             

Northwest Florida Daily News

April 10, 2011

The wide, paved path stretches over 19 miles, through coastal communities, across bridges, past flowering bushes, wetland plants, colorful shops and state parks.

The Timpoochee Trail, as it is formally named, runs along Walton County’s Scenic Highway 30A from beginning to end.

It’s considered a multi-use path, but about 75 percent of its traffic consists of visitors riding beach cruisers or comfort bikes.

“They park their cars and unless they have to go to the grocery store, they ride their bikes,” said Michele Foreman, who owns 30A Bike Rentals, one of a dozen rental businesses along that stretch.

The bikes, which can be rented for anywhere from a few hours to a week, have one speed and one way to brake, by pedaling backward.

Cyclists sit upright on padded seats, unlike road bikes used by more serious cyclists.

Also popular on paths like Timpoochee Trail are “comfort bikes,” which are similarly styled in that you sit upright, but are equipped with gears and hand brakes.

The bikes are used for recreation, to carry folks along scenic stretches of the partially shaded path. They are also transportation for vacationers who travel back and forth between coastal communities.

“We usually stay in the Seagrove area,” says Jim Rice, an Ohio man who vacations regularly in the area. “So that means we can ride our bikes for breakfast in the morning and Rosemary Beach for lunch.

“We love touring through the little neighborhoods,” he adds. “That’s part of the attraction here — not just the beaches, but the bike path.”

Rental agencies deliver the bikes to visitors and pick them up, which makes it easy for folks just coming into town. They provide combination locks, baskets and helmets. Prices start at $10 for a half-day rental and range from $45 to $75 for a full week.

When the path is crowded, riders have to weave and brake frequently, as well as watch for cars turning in and pulling out of driveways and side streets. That makes it less desirable for serious cyclists.

“It would be better if it were a little safer,” said Bruce Braseth, who owns Dragon Sports in Fort Walton Beach. “But cyclists are just happy to have a bike trail anywhere.”

The trail crosses over or near water a dozen times in the 19-mile stretch. In the open spaces between communities, the path is so quiet you can hear birds singing and the wind rustling through the foliage.

“From spring to summer, it’s always full,” said Jeremy Keeney, who owns Bob’s Bicycles in Mary Esther, adding that he wishes the area had more options for cyclists.

“I think more people would be inclined to get on a bicycle and ride if there were more areas like that.”

An Eco Tour in Walton County Is a Natural

You’ve heard the expression, “When in Rome.” Well, when in Walton County, you cannot overlook the opportunity to get up close and personal with the stunning nature around you. With state parks, preserves and wetlands making up 40 percent of the area, “green with envy” takes on a whole new meaning. Walco Eco Tours provides hands-on eco-tours guided by owner Murray Balkcom. An avid outdoorsman, Balkcom has been paddling on the coastal dune lakes of South Walton and the Gulf of Mexico since 2002, and has been leading guided nature walks and guided kayak tours in Walton County since 2006.

Balkcom describes the coastal dune lakes as  rare national treasures that are unknown even to longtime locals. He explains that this particular type of lake is found only in New Zealand, Australia and Walton County, where there are 15. “Our tours are a great way to reconnect with the outdoors, and provide a great alternative to a day at the beach,” he says.

Walco Eco Tours offers two wonderful ways to explore Walton County’s Western Lake and the surrounding animals and plant life that call it home. Opt for an excursion that combines kayaking and walking/hiking or try the new offering — a YOLO Yak. YOLO, an acronym for You Only Live Once, is a brand of stand up paddleboard birthed in Santa Rosa Beach. The YOLO Yak is a hybrid board designed with elements of a paddleboard and a kayak to facilitate better stability while paddling. This tour combines a YOLO Yak ride and walking/hiking. Both experiences are two hours long and are customized to the level and interest of the group. Tours launch from the boathouse at WaterColor, located on Scenic Highway 30A.

The kayak tour requires two people and maxes out at eight. It is open to kids ages 5 and up. Adults are $60; kids under 10 are $30. The YOLO Yak tour is $60 per person and open to kids ages 12 and up.

When you go, wear waterproof shoes, sunscreen and a hat (as long as it is secured). And don’t forget to drink plenty of water before you venture into the sun on the tour. For more information, visit WalcoEcoTours.com.

Forest trail a leisurely, picturesque hike

Located within the Point Washington State Forest and part of its Eastern Lake Trail System, Cassine Gardens trail offers a pleasant, easy hike showcasing the diversity of Northwest Florida’s ecosystems.

Continue Reading…

Vision Airlines, a company that started by giving tours of the Grand Canyon, will begin offering commercial flights to 20 U.S. cities on Tuesday, promising to save vacationers time and money on getaways to Florida.

Vision says fares, some initially as low as $49 one way, will go on sale Tuesday for trips between the beach communities of northwest Florida and such cities as Baton Rouge, Knoxville, Tenn., and Little Rock starting March 25.

Flights aimed at business travelers shuttling between Louisville and Atlanta began Dec. 13, while service between northwest Florida and Miami and Niagara Falls, N.Y., launched Dec. 17.

The carrier, based in Suwanee, Ga., is taking a page from the playbook of Allegiant, one of the most profitable airlines in the country, by flying non-stop from smaller cities to tourist spots and offering vacationers one-stop shopping by selling packages that include everything from the hotel room to the rental car.

“If Allegiant Airlines is Coke, then there’s always got to be a Pepsi,” says David Meers, Vision’s COO. “Our goal is not to take over the aviation industry. It’s not to go out and try to poke the large carriers in the eye. We believe there’s a niche available in the marketplace to provide … packages to consumers at discounted prices.”

Low fares, non-stop service and large jets — perks more often enjoyed by fliers through major hubs — will be key, Meers says.

“We’ll be flying from cities that have been neglected by large carriers with large aircraft for a number of years,” Meers says, adding that many visitors to the tourist hubs of Destin and Fort Walton Beach in northwest Florida often drive to avoid connecting flights and high fares.

“It opens up the ability for people from all these communities to not only go as they normally would (but) to go more frequently,” he says.

Vision’s entry into commercial passenger service comes as the airline industry is starting to climb back to profitability after skyrocketing fuel prices and the economic downturn that caused leisure and business travelers to cut back on flying.

Still, airline analyst Mike Boyd says that Vision is carving out good turf. “They’re not going into business to meet pent-up demand, they’re going into places to provide a product that wasn’t there before,” Boyd says. “It’s an entirely different business than an airline, but I think it’s going to be a very successful one, as Allegiant has been. They’re creating their own business, a low-cost, high-value vacation to the Florida Gulf Coast.”

Vision started in 1994, operating tours of the Grand Canyon with small planes, and grew into a charter service for celebrities and others.

But it’s long been a goal to become a full-service travel company that offers commercial flights and other packaged travel services, Meers says.

Vacation packages should be available on Vision’s website in the next 60 days, he says. And in the next three years, “It’s realistic to expect we’d add cities out West … and we’ll look at the Caribbean and Mexico.”

Some smaller airports are welcoming the new service, seeing it as a way to boost Gulf Coast tourism, which dipped after the BP oil spill last year, and to get travelers who would usually drive to take to the air instead.

Vision’s non-stop service could even help Florida residents traveling within the state, such as those who now take a connecting flight or drive seven hours from the Destin area to get to Tampa, says Greg Donovan, director for the Northwest Florida Regional Airport in Fort Walton Beach.

“The communities that they’re going to be flying to are difficult to get to via hub connections,” says Donovan, who adds that fares on larger carriers such as Delta and US Airways are often more than vacationers want to pay. “I think it’s going to bring back many people we’ve lost to driving,” Donovan says.

Some airports are waiving fees for Vision and helping to promote its new service.

Northwest Florida Regional will waive Vision’s landing fees and terminal rent for two years, as well as spend tens of thousands of dollars on marketing efforts in targeted communities.

Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, which will see non-stop service to and from Orlando Sanford International, as well as Northwest Florida Regional, which serves the Fort Walton Beach-Destin area, is also waiving some fees and tapping funds for new air service.

“We all try to secure low-cost carriers for our community,” Anthony Marino, Baton Rouge’s airport director, says of small and midsize airports. “The competition it creates in the market helps us when we’re dealing with (legacy) carriers like American and Continental and US Airways.”

Vision will continue to separately offer tours and chartered flights. That diversification, along with the vacation packages it sells, should create a healthy revenue stream, Meers says.
Source: USA Today

TOWN: Seaside

Set during one of the prettiest seasons on the Emerald Coast, the 20th Annual Seeing    Red Wine Festival will feature hundreds of wines from around the world November 4-7, 2010.

In conjunction with Taste of The Beach, the main tasting on Saturday is often described as the perfect afternoon. Wine enthusiasts stroll through tasting areas, sampling a wonderful selection of wines.

Thursday, Nov. 4: Winemaker Dinner   
Bud & Alley’s 7PM

Friday, Nov. 5: Al Fresco Wine Walkabout
Ruskin Place 6-8PM
$145/person  (866) 976-7990

Saturday, Nov. 6: Seeing Red Grand Tasting
Seaside 1-5PM
$120/person (866) 976-7990

Sunday, Nov. 7: Champagne Brunch
Great Southern Cafe 11AM