Remembering the Redneck Riviera

Kind of like January. Except the nude part. Really sounds like the 90s though, not so very long ago.

Those of us who "weathered" Opal can attest to the team spirit that was felt in a time of trouble. Seagrove Village Market was the downtown meeting spot for water, ice and news. Restaurants opened their freezers and fed the locals and FEMA workers what ever they could. Thank goodness for gas grills and portable generators. And swimming pool water!

I'll always remember the incredible peacefullness after Opal. There was no electricity, hence no lights, no TVs, no sounds. It was the beach as it was in the beginning. It's truly awe-inspiring to be swept clean like that every so often.

I remember this area as America's Riviera and it still is. The term you used never really fit, imho. Our beaches have always been better than other parts of Florida, they just didn't know about it. I think they stuck us with that remark just because they were jealous. We are fortunate that we have the many miles of state and county parks and some developments interested in the environment. South Walton is still one of the most beautiful and unique environments in Florida. There are also many friendly people who make this area their home and wave to one another along 30A and throughout the entire county. Luckily, some of the people who overdeveloped Okaloosa and Bay County got started late in Walton, have run out of money in some cases and may do time in others. Mother Nature and time are on our side.

I remember the quietness of the area, the view of the beach from 30A, waving to every car you passed on 30A and actually knowing the person. I remember finding a lonely place on the beach to bath nude if desired. People friendly and warm, sharing homes that had water after the storms came through.
Ahh, but that was what seems to be a generation ago......never to return

I'll always remember the incredible peacefullness after Opal. There was no electricity, hence no lights, no TVs, no sounds. It was the beach as it was in the beginning. It's truly awe-inspiring to be swept clean like that every so often.

My best memory of living here was after Opal. My house was full of friends. Mom and dad left all their good food with us cause they evacuated. We ate and drank and enjoyed doing nothing but living for a few days. We even left the doors wide open day and night. Good times.

I remember dancing at Butler's Store (now the Red Bar) to the juke box, carving our initials into the wooden booths there, watching guys jump out the back windows into the sand dunes if a fight began. There was no place to eat, but you might get a hotdog with no expiration date at Butler's--out of the same cooler where they kept the live bait. We had to go up to the Bay to Chapman's for fish. The dunes were huge then! There were tons of shrimp and blue crabs in the inlet to Western Lake when it was open. Little posses of children ran all over Grayton, spending the night at whichever house they grew sleepy at and no one worried. People walked the streets with Dixie cups in their flip-flops, visiting at each house. Sometimes we'd sneak off to The Hangout at Panama City Beach, where you could meet people from more exotic places...like Texas. Those were the days. But we have a lot of nice things and people that we didn't have back then. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I remember dancing at Butler's Store (now the Red Bar) to the juke box, carving our initials into the wooden booths there, watching guys jump out the back windows into the sand dunes if a fight began. There was no place to eat, but you might get a hotdog with no expiration date at Butler's--out of the same cooler where they kept the live bait. We had to go up to the Bay to Chapman's for fish. The dunes were huge then! There were tons of shrimp and blue crabs in the inlet to Western Lake when it was open. Little posses of children ran all over Grayton, spending the night at whichever house they grew sleepy at and no one worried. People walked the streets with Dixie cups in their flip-flops, visiting at each house. Sometimes we'd sneak off to The Hangout at Panama City Beach, where you could meet people from more exotic places...like Texas. Those were the days. But we have a lot of nice things and people that we didn't have back then. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Donna!

I remember this area as America's Riviera and it still is. The term you used never really fit, imho. Our beaches have always been better than other parts of Florida, they just didn't know about it. I think they stuck us with that remark just because they were jealous. We are fortunate that we have the many miles of state and county parks and some developments interested in the environment. South Walton is still one of the most beautiful and unique environments in Florida. There are also many friendly people who make this area their home and wave to one another along 30A and throughout the entire county. Luckily, some of the people who overdeveloped Okaloosa and Bay County got started late in Walton, have run out of money in some cases and may do time in others. Mother Nature and time are on our side.

Or it could be all the rednecks.