Scallop Season Begins Tomorrow!

Some of us can hardly wait for this particular season on Florida's Forgotten Coast. In years past, we traveled to Cape San Blas with boat in tow and snorkels packed for a week in this delightful area of Florida's panhandle. Living in Destin, one might think we get enough beach time. That we do, but St. Joseph Bay, just two hours to our east has something that we do not - scallops. We love searching for these shellfish, relaxing in a quieter area and spending quality down time with loved ones. As a matter of fact, we are heading that way tomorrow evening to join my sister's family and do just that. Schedules do not allow a weeklong stay, but a couple of nights are doable. It is something that everyone looks forward to; husband loves to fish and my teenage daughters and nine year old love scalloping, too. I had heard that the lack of amusement parks and huge shopping centers deters some, but it only entices me and mine more. Life is so busy these days with kids' activities, school, work, etc, that we need some down time. Port St. Joe has become our short drive to destination. Specifically, we love the Barefoot Cottages and now with Windmark Beach, it will become a favorite, too.

If you get a chance to visit Port St. Joe, Mexico Beach and/ or Windmark, I encourage you to spend a day in Apalachicola. I love the shopping and dining there. My favorite store is Avenue E, by the way.

Sunday Night Sight & Sound at Windmark

Sunday Night Sight & Sound - The Films at Windmark Series begins tomorrow night at Windmark Beach in Port St. Joe, Florida.
Live Music begins at 7:00 pm and the Movie plays at 9:00 pm. Admission is free. Bring your blanket, chairs & picnic baskets and enjoy a night under the stars on the lawn at Windmark Beach. Sunday, June 29 - I Am Legend (Action/Thriller) Sunday, July 13 - The Eye, (Horror) Sunday, August 10 - The Bucket List (Comedy) Sunday, August 24 - The Blues Brothers (Comedy/Musical)
Contact 850-229-7989 for more information.
Windmark Beach is a new development by the St. Joe Company. Located in the heart of Northwest Florida’s Forgotten Coast, Windmark Beach is a coastal community that recalls the beach community you enjoyed as a child. Southern Resorts is proud to represent vacation rental accommodations in the Morning Glory and Turtle Glass lofts at Windmark.

Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic

Head to the Village of Baytowne in Destin tonight and/or tomorrow night to witness the spectacular night time weigh-ins held at the Baytowne Marina for this annual bilfish tournament. The Emerald Coast Classic is a "modified release" tournament and led the Gulf Coast tournament circuit in setting high minimum lengths for blue marlin. Release points are awarded for blue marlin, in addition to white marlin, sailfish and spearfish.
The three heaviest weighed blue marlin, dolphin, tuna and wahoo are eligible for cash awards, as are the top three teams entered in the All Release Division, and the top three Crews entered in the Crew Division. Seeing these magnificent fish big and small is always a lot of fun. The atmosphere surrounding the docks is exciting and the evening life at the Village presents something for everyone.

For information on the tournament, visit here.

For information on great deals this summer on Destin vacations, visit Southern Resorts Vacation Rentals.

Movie Night In Port St. Joe

After a wonderful day in the sun on the Forgotten Coast in Port St. Joe, Mexico Beach or Cape San Blas, Florida, unwind in the evening at the Frank Pate Park on Hwy 98 in Port. St. Joe with movie night. Bring your blanket, chairs and picnic basket for a evening full of family fun. All movies begin at dark, which in the summer is typically 9 P.M. Eastern Time, so come early and pick your spot! Tonight's showing is Nancy Drew, PG. Other scheduled movies are:
July 10- Enchanted, PG
July 24- The bee movie, PG
Aug 14- National Treasure 2, PG

For more information call the Gulf County Tourist Development Council @ 850-229-7800 or visit their site http://www.visitgulf.com/

Frank Pate Park in Port St. Joe is just 3 miles from the Barefoot Cottages and approximately 4 miles from Windmark Beach where Southern Resorts manages Morning Glory and Turtle Glass vacation rentals.

Panama City's Pier Park Express

Last weekend was the inaugural trolley run from the Wal-Mart Supercenter to Pier Park on Friday morning as the summer trolley service quietly commenced operations at 10 a.m. And what a perfect time to begin! As beautiful Panama City Beach gets busier with vacationers from all over the country it is great to have access to this service that not only helps with traffic congestion, but also the price to get around. The Express fare is a flat rate of only 50 cents per person, per ride. This shuttle service uses two Baytown Trolley vehicles traversing the city in opposite directions from Wal-Mart to Pier Park. The system will operate 10 a.m. to midnight each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with scheduled stops every 30 minutes during its season, which runs from June 20 through Sept. 28. Pier Park Express, Inc. has plans for impromptu local talent, giveaways, and more to entertain and surprise riders throughout the entire summer. So hop-on-board the Pier Park Express and sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery on Panama City Beach.
The Express is in addition to normal Bay Town Trolley operations countywide on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For more on the story, visit the Panama City News Herald on-line or the Panama City Beach Daily News.

Looking for a Last Minute Vacation Deal in Destin?

Look no further. Southern Resorts Vacation Rentals has a few last minute vacation specials available this summer. Just posted today is the beach front home Bel Esprit II in the Dunes of Destin neighborhood in downtown Destin, Florida. Stay in the week of July 12-19, 2008 and save with a reduced weekly rate of $5,500. This beach front home sleeps up to 21 guests and has incredible views at each level. It is a steal at this price.

Even more last minute is the Villas of Santa Rosa 4 bedroom condo right on the beach, too! Stay in this charming area of the Beaches of South Walton, just east of Destin for only $2,995 for this popular week.

For additional specials that are changing daily, visit http://www.southernresorts.com/ or their Specials Page.

International Surf Day

Today is International Surf Day and to celebrate the Florida Panhandle Chapter Surfrider Foundation is hosting a family-friendly event on the beach behind Pompano Joe's in Miramar Beach, Destin, Florida from 6 pm-till. The event will include a paddle out, raffle prizes, silent auction, live music, food and a bonfire. Guests are encouraged to bring their own beverages. We will ride our bikes there tonight and check it out. If you are in the vicinity of Crystal Beach and Miramar beach stop by. There are not many bonfires on the beach anymore and they are so much fun!

I guess they have been celebrating the entire month of June with Paddle Board Races and Beach Clean-ups throughout Destin and the Beaches of South Walton. Check out the Panhandle Chapter's blog for images from both.

If you are interested in taking surfing lessons, visit Ride On Surf School, Destin's first and only surf school. It is located next to Pompano Joe's. People of all ages can learn. It is great fun and what an experience to take home and share! Our beautiful Gulf of Mexico is a wonderful place to learn.

Diving the Empire Mica

In Port St. Joe, Florida on Tuesday, I learned a little more about this charming community in the beautiful stretch of beach appropriately named the Forgotten Coast. While I am not a diver, I do love history and the water, so I was excited to learn about a dive spot in the Gulf of Mexico, beyond Cape San Blas, which reaches out sheltering St. Joseph Bay, just beyond Port St. Joe. Located in water depth of 105 feet, 45 miles offshore of this big bend area of the Florida Gulf coast, the Empire Mica is a large freighter torpedoed and sunk in WWII. At 29 18.72N and 85 21.22 W, it rests holding with it a history of its own. Apparently on June 29, 1942, this British tanker EMPIRE MICA, a 431 ft. ship built just the year before, found itself in the cross hairs of the German U-Boat U-67 right in the Gulf of Mexico. On that night WWII would no longer be a world away.. For a great read on this bit of history, visit KillfishCharters. Their story is a good one. To visit the dive site, come stay with Southern Resorts Vacation Rentals. With charming vacation rentals at the Barefoot Cottages, Starline in Mexico Beach and now the new loft accommodations at Windmark Beach , by St. Joe Company, we have something for everyone. Bring your own boat or rent one at the St. Joe Marina.

If you happen to travel in July and August, remember the another wonderful time in the area ... scallop season. You do not have to be a certified diver to find these and enjoy searching for them. Now, that I can do!

FSU Circus Performs in Panama City Beach

Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach, Florida hosts some wonderful events and festivals throughout the year. The performance by the Florida State University Circus team is one of the best! Catch a view here at this video on the Panama City Daily site. This Panama City Circus by The Sea shows are at 7:00pm Monday through Saturday until August 2nd. General admission is $24 for adults and $16 for kids 4 and up. If you are visiting Panama City Beach, or even neighboring Beaches of South Walton and want something a little different for your kids to do at the beach, sign them up for the Panama City Circus by The Sea camps, a series of Summer Circus Camps June 23-July 31st. The area's first circus camp will include lessons in a wide variety of thrilling circus performance skills such as trapeze, juggling, acrobatics and balance. Please visit site for details. http://www.circusbythesea.com/ .
If you are looking for a place to stay, visit SouthernResorts.com and our growing selection of beautiful resorts on Panama City Beach!

Parasailing in Destin

One of Southern Resorts' favorite partners Destin Dockside, now offers parasail rides with Hang em High Parasail, LLC. Conveniently located on the Destin Harbor, this local business has been a great source of water fun with pontoon boat and wave runner rentals. Their store also carries drinks, snacks, coolers and crab island supplies making your day on the water complete. The rates are great and even have an early bird special at 8 am. Visit their site http://www.parasailindestin.com/ for more information. In downtown Destin, it is very accessible.

I have never been parasailing. My fear of heights keeps me from trying, but I have heard great stories of the views and the experience. Isn't this a great shot of this father/daughter duo?

Manatee Sighting

This weekend I read in the Northwest Florida Daily News that some people have spotted manatees swimming along the Emerald Coast. These particular ones were in hip-deep water near Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park, just north of Destin. There were apparently two of them. The spotter called the FWC wildlife hotline after her manatee sighting and was told that there were five breeding manatees near Destin. I am particularly interested because several weeks ago my daughter told me she saw two at the beach in Crystal Beach at James Lee Park where she and some friends were longboarding. At first she could not identify what they were , but as she drew closer, from shore this time, she excitedly decided them to be manatees. Now I have been in this area for years and have contemplated many times traveling to central Florida to view these gentle creatures, but never have. I would love to see some for myself.

According to Andy Garrett, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Manatees do visit local waters infrequently during the summer. Read the article by Wendy Victora in The Daily News on-line.

Delta Sky Magazine Profiling the Emerald Coast

Yesterday evening I attended a presentation of the Delta Sky Magazine. Created by the Destination Publishing Group, this in-flight magazine regularly features a destination with in depth editorial on that area. The Emerald Coast will be the feature of the September issue. Focusing on what to do in the Fort Walton Beach / Destin beach communities, this profile will surely bring some attention to our beautiful beaches, accommodations, dining, retail, attractions and hopefully history. Not only about tourism, the piece will also promote our Emerald Coast as one of the nation's most promising places to work and prosper, too.
They'll sure have a lot to cover. We have incredible options in dining from mom-and-pop casual beach restaurants to exquisite upscale dining.
If you are visiting Fort Walton Beach, or Destin for that matter, stop by the High Tide on Okaloosa Island. We are headed that way after work. Having a long history on the Island, it has some of the best fried shrimp and steamed oysters on the coast.

Art Workshops at the Barefoot Cottages

Southern Resorts' Barefoot Cottages in Port St Joe will be host to three art workshops beginning on Friday, June 27, 2008 at the community building at The Green.

The workshops taught by artist Heather Parker will continue on Fridays, July 25th and August 29th. Running from 6:00pm - 9:00 pm, the classes will be small and specialize in a theme. The themes are "Sailboats,” "Beach Scene" and "Garden Flower," respectively.

The cost is $40 per person with refreshments included. I am thinking of bringing a friend for a great girl's night out at a beautiful location. Join us for an evening of art and fun! Acrylic Paints, all materials, and 16 x 20 canvas are provided– just bring yourself! All workshops require prepayment and space is limited so call soon! Call or email Heather for registration information. 850-249-9295 or 240-625-7195, painterparker@yahoo.com.

The Green at Barefoot Cottages is a wonderful venue for these events, weddings and reunions. In Port St. Joe, just east of Mexico Beach, it is a perfect location.

Big Bend Saltwater Classic

The 20th Big Bend Saltwater Classic is next weekend. I am sure there will be a lot on anglers celebrating Father's Day on the water with this fishing tournament begun in 1989 by The Organization for Artificial Reefs, Inc, (OAR), a private, non-profit, marine interest group based in Tallahassee. There are three weigh stations, Carrabelle, Panacea and Port St. Joe. Since 1990, the Tournament has been a three-day event set on Father's Day Weekend. It is a rodeo format featuring multiple species in three divisions for competitive fishing for Juniors to Pros. The format has proven itself productive and inviting to participants and their families. The Bend Saltwater Classic is the Fishing Family’s place to be on Father's Day Weekend in Northwest Florida. So come stay with Southern Resorts Vacation Rentals near one of the weighing stations in Port St. Joe at the Barefoot Cottages or in Mexico Beach at Starline.

Dancing with Desire in Fort Walton Beach

After such a busy weekend with Billy Bowleggs festivities, Fort Walton Beach has yet another fun week planned.. Join us Thursday, June 12th at 7:30 in Fort Walton Beach at the Emerald Coast Conference Center for this great charity event benefiting the Desire Street Ministries and the YMCA. It promises to be an evening to remember while featuring Dancing with the Stars cast! Tony, Elaina, Max, Val, Valeriya, Fabian, Ilya and Nadia! For more information please visit http://www.desirestreet.org/. "The Desire Street Ministries exists to train and send leaders to revitalize impoverished neighborhoods through spiritual and community development."

It's Executive Director is Danny Wuerffel. Danny graduated as valedictorian of Fort Walton Beach High School here in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where as quarterback, he led the football team to the state championship. His football career continued at the University of Florida, leading the Gators to four SEC championships and a National title. Besides graduating with High Honors and a BA degree in Public Relations, Danny won the 1996 Heisman trophy, the Draddy award (for the nation’s top student-athlete) and set 17 NCAA and Univ. of FL football records. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1997, where he first learned of Desire Street Ministries.

Southern Resorts, a proud supporter of Fort Walton Beach High School, has many properties from which to choose on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton. Visit our site to see the beachfront vacation rentals available this summer.

Coastal Dune Lakes in Beaches of South Walton

Yesterday I had the chance to see a video presentation on the Coastal Dunes Lakes by the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council. It is a phenomenal video showcasing the beauty of the Northwest Florida Gulf Coast with interesting facts about these lakes. Did you know that the area’s 15 coastal dune lakes are so rare that they are only found in Beaches of South Walton, just east of Destin, and remote portions of Africa and Australia? Accordingly, they have a high occurrence of rare wildlife species in Florida, some of which are found no where else in the world.
We really should not be surprised with more than 40 percent of the Beaches of South Walton destination preserved through state parks. This creates a variety of diverse ecological communities, including beach dunes, mesic flatwoods, scrub, depression marshes as well as the coastal dune lakes, all within minutes to the variety of vacation accommodations sprinkled along the beach. You must watch this video, if not for the information shared, then just for the incredible footage of our area. Well done!
Southern Resorts represents beach homes, cottages and a few condos along this corridor. Our Villas of Santa Rosa is a beachfront beauty on special for $2595 a week for June 14-21. This is a savings of $995!

Blues at the Beach

Head over to Port St. Joe, Florida, just between Mexico Beach and Apalachicola on the Gulf Coast. Dockside Café will be having their first concert of the year June 12th at 8:30 pm EDT. Sauce Boss will be playin the blues and cookin up the gumbo! This will be a free concert at this fun waterfront restaurant at the Port St. Joe Marina. It is one of my favorite places to eat and just hang out. The Buffalo Shrimp is a favorite of mine, but everything is great!

Southern Resorts Vacation Rentals manages wonderful vacation beach homes and condos in the area. With the Barefoot Cottages in Port St Joe, Starline in Mexico Beach and now the Barn at Windmark Beach, we have something for every taste in this charming area coined the Forgotten Coast.

Grand Panama at Panama City Beach

Southern Resorts Vacation Rentals is excited about the newest addition to our vacation rentals in beautiful Panama City Beach, Florida. Added to an already great line-up of beachfront family resorts, The Grand Panama at Panama City Beach offers a unique experience. Spectacular views, two pools, two spas, state of the art fitness, luxurious accommodations and on-site retail village are just some of the highlights. Visit the Grand Panama #1606 to see the beauty of this vacation rental. It is wonderful to have great shopping and restaurants on-site. Have you ever tried Another Broken Egg Cafe or Bonefish Grill? I have and can assure you that you will not be disappointed. At these establishments, I recommend the Bacado Omelet and Bang Bang Shrimp, respectively. But if you would ever need to venture off property, you will be close to Pier Park, Panama City Beach's newest "lifestyle center," offering even more retail and dining options.

Summerfest on the Destin Harbor

Also this weekend, the Destin Harbor will be busy with the new series: Summerfest on the Harbor. This series of events is hosted by the Destin Harbor Association (DHA) and Harbor businesses to showcase the uniqueness of the Destin Harbor. The festival is planned for Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and will feature live entertainment, fabulous dining, exciting art, and spectacular fireworks all in a family-friendly atmosphere. Most events are free to the public. For more details on specific events, visit Southern Resorts' Event Calendar or read more... here. For a list of participating restaurants, including some of Southern Resorts' favorite partners, click here.

The Destin Harbor Association is dedicated to the mission of increasing the public awareness of and preserving the heritage of the Destin and the Destin Fishing Fleet. Let's all support them in this endeavor by stopping by to enjoy the festivites.

If you are visiting, it takes place just over the Destin Bridge on the west end of Destin and only a few miles from Fort Walton Beach vacation rentals on Okaloosa Island.

Billy Bowlegs This Weekend!

This Thursday, June 5 is the Billy Bowlegs festival kickoff! Each year, residents and visitors of Ft. Walton Beach and Destin turn into Scallywag's and celebrate the area's buccaneer history. Things get started at 5pm at the Scallywag ball with food, live music, and a costume contest and ends with a Pirate's Walk through historic Downtown Ft. Walton Beach. The rest of the weekend will be filled with food, music, crafts, and of course PIRATES! It all ends Monday, June 9th at 8pm with a torchlight parade down Eglin Parkway. Keep your eye open for pirates this weekend, arg!

Beach Weddings in Destin

This was an absolutely beautiful weekend at the beach in Destin, Florida. We watched a friend get married at James Lee Park at sunset and what a perfect setting. James Lee Park is located at the Crab Trap restaurant with boardwalk and several pavilions on the Gulf. As with all public beaches in June in Destin, the beach still had many beach goers present to witness the ceremony. It just adds to the laid back, beach going atmosphere. The sky was clear and the water was blue green, creating the perfect backdrop. As the couple finished exchanging vows, as if on cue, the Sea Blaster passed by in the water and honked its notable horn. After picture taking on the beautiful beach, the party moved over to a home in Destiny for dinner and dancing. While I do not recommend a July wedding on the beach because of the heat and even more beach crowds, I certainly recommend a beach wedding during this time of year. I even specially love October for marriages at the beach, too.

If you need any help, Southern Resorts has some beautiful beach homes to provide the venue for either wedding and / or reception. If interested, take a peek at Il Paradiso one of those wedding options directly on the beach and uniquely designed to host such events.