Here comes summer

Rosemary Beach

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My God do I love the Panhandle. Having exhausted Central Florida’s beaches over my years in Orlando, I’ve newly discovered our state’s vast Northern offerings. With the weather (finally!) heating up last weekend, I made a pilgrimage up Interstate 75 and along I-10 to the beloved Highway 30A – my absolute favorite stretch of Florida’s beachy coastline. The best of the best – as they say.

Not only does this road skirt the clearest, Gulf-water beaches, but it’s also home to the prettiest neighborhoods -- Seaside, Watercolor and Alys Beach to name a few. Staying in a gorgeous Rosemary Beach carriage house with four beautiful pools and a dune-lined beach all within a few minutes walk, it’s impossible not to wind down and set your mind on pause and your body to relax.

Days go something like this: Eat breakfast on the balcony peering over rooftops to the Gulf, wander down to the pool for a swim and some sun, then bicycle to neighboring Deer Lake State Park to traverse endless dunes on a meandering boardwalk. Around noon head back to Main Street for lunch – try the seafood pizza at the Cowgirl Kitchen - then wile away the afternoon digging your toes into the softest, whitest sand imaginable. All days should end watching the sunset from an Adirondack chair perched atop a dune walkover. But then there’s dinner so drive to Stinky’s Fish Camp at the other end of 30A for their locally caught cobia and authentically Southern fried green tomatoes and crawfish etouffee. Listen to the nearby waves as you fall asleep next to an open window and repeat, repeat, repeat! rosemarybeach.com

Tags: 30A | Alys Beach | Panhandle | Rosemary Beach | Seaside | Watercolor