TRAVEL
Florida’s Sweet 16 Words and photographs by Janis Turk
F
lorida is always an easy sell for New Yorkers. It’s a no-brainer destination: You leave cold and grey JFK and in a few hours you land sunny side up someplace warm and welcoming. How sweet it is. But Miami and West Palm Beach are just so been-there-done-that, aren’t they? And The Keys are fun and funky, but they lack good beaches. None of those places has the same allure as the topaz Gulf waters and white sugar beaches that edge the Florida Panhandle, and they don’t offer as many options for a custommade coastal vacation as South Walton. MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER PRETTY BEACH In the southern half of Walton County, Florida, are 16 neighborhoods from which to choose and an array of unique vacation experiences available. Want a family-friendly getaway with the kids and the dog? No problem. Booking a romantic honeymoon? Forget the Bahamas; this is just as nice. Want a man-cation – you know, golf with the guys? Tee up here. Need a wine and retail-therapy girlfriend getaway? Got it. Each of its 16 perfectly planned communities along the Florida Gulf Coast is unique, offering a bespoke experience: a tailor-made Florida to fit your personal style.
112 • Resident May 2014
NOT THAT KIND OF FLORIDA First, leave your stress and old Florida stereotypes at home – this part of the state doesn’t cater only to retirees. South Walton beach communities are young and vibrant, hip and happening. Sure “snowbirds” flock to Florida, but many visitors are young professional couples who love watersports, fine dining and good wines. At first it can be hard to conceptualize what the communities of South Walton are all about. They’re not really towns, and they’re a little too large to be considered neighborhoods. What they are is young, planned developments that follow the New Urbanism concept of design: walkable communities with diverse housing and amenities within steps from your front door. That may sound fake and Disneyland-like – but they’re not. They’re a string of 16 unique pearls – small pedestrian-friendly, residential, retail and entertainment developments that tug at the sleeve of a pristine 26-mile shoreline along the Florida panhandle. Just a few short hours by car from both Atlanta and New Orleans and 45 minutes from the small Panama City airport, each has its own architectural style, colors and personality. Some are upscale and new, while others
have a wind-blown, laid-back beach village vibe. Whatever your preference, there’s a beach community that’s right for you. ROSEMARY BEACH, SEASIDE, AND WATERCOLOR Seaside and WaterColor stand shoulder-toshoulder along the whitest beaches and the bluest waters I’ve seen since Aruba and are the perfect Florida vacation spots. Seaside is the oldest of the young communities in the area. Founded almost 35 years ago, Seaside is a carefully planned idyllic quarter of pristine pastel-colored houses, white-picket fences, tree-lined cobblestone streets, a chapel and town center. Small wonder it was chosen as the setting for the Jim Carey movie “The Truman Show,” where characters lived in an eversunny Utopia that turned out to be a reality show set. I went expecting Seaside to be too perfect, plastic and commercial. Turns out, it isn’t phony at all: The past 30 years have softened its edges and allowed a real neighborhood to take root. Tall trees shade the sidewalks, flowering bushes and sturdy hedges line broad streets. Food trucks and open-air markets line the town center. It’s charming, but not contrived. Condos, vil-