Upload to the photo gallery or email photos to info at SoWal.com or contact me to scan. We will put them on the web, but in the spirit of history you will have to use dial up and AOL to access - just kidding about that part.
Oldtimer said:Heck, when I was a kid, there wasn't even a road from Grayton to Seagrove (Seaside had not even been invented). We used to walk on the beach from Grayton to Seagrove, then to Point Washington by the hard road. There was an old country type store and we'd usually get lucky and someone we didn't know would give us a ride back to home at Grayton. We must have been really dumb, 'cause we actually thought we were having fun???
Who would have thought you'd need gourmet restaurants and coffee shops at the "beach"? We literally "had no where to go and all day to get there".
A really good day was when we hiked all the dunes between Gulf Trace and Grayton. We carved our initials in the trees at Magnolia Cave; had battles with our boy cousins using Magnolia burrs as hand grenades; slid down the dunes (no harm done then as there were only a few of us that even knew about Grayton Beach).
At night we'd build large bon fires behind the dunes (also against the law now). Someone who was lucky enough to have a modified beach buggy (no SUVs) would gather all the wood from all over the large dunes during the day then we'd all sit by the fire and do nothing. I suppose a few folks were fortunate enough to have a boyfriend, but mostly we were just all friends.
Does anybody remember the "lonesome pine" back on the dunes? I'd really like a picture of that. Don't know when it disappeared, but it was a neat sight in the middle of the dunes.
Lots of memories. I loved the beach then and I still love it today. It's just different and not all of the change has been good.
Just my two cents. :roll: :roll:
I agree. That's really interesting, Oldtimer. Thanks!destindreamin said:Oldtimer: LOVE your two cents! What wonderful memories and what a great place to grow up. A simpler time for sure. Thanks for sharing!! :clap_1:
Oldtimer said:Heck, when I was a kid, there wasn't even a road from Grayton to Seagrove (Seaside had not even been invented). We used to walk on the beach from Grayton to Seagrove, then to Point Washington by the hard road. There was an old country type store and we'd usually get lucky and someone we didn't know would give us a ride back to home at Grayton. We must have been really dumb, 'cause we actually thought we were having fun???
Who would have thought you'd need gourmet restaurants and coffee shops at the "beach"? We literally "had no where to go and all day to get there".
A really good day was when we hiked all the dunes between Gulf Trace and Grayton. We carved our initials in the trees at Magnolia Cave; had battles with our boy cousins using Magnolia burrs as hand grenades; slid down the dunes (no harm done then as there were only a few of us that even knew about Grayton Beach).
At night we'd build large bon fires behind the dunes (also against the law now). Someone who was lucky enough to have a modified beach buggy (no SUVs) would gather all the wood from all over the large dunes during the day then we'd all sit by the fire and do nothing. I suppose a few folks were fortunate enough to have a boyfriend, but mostly we were just all friends.
Does anybody remember the "lonesome pine" back on the dunes? I'd really like a picture of that. Don't know when it disappeared, but it was a neat sight in the middle of the dunes.
Lots of memories. I loved the beach then and I still love it today. It's just different and not all of the change has been good.
Just my two cents. :roll: :roll:
bsmart said:I love to hear stories like this. My undergrad degree is in History (also urban planning). With history I am concerned with environmental history and southern history, particularly spoken accounts. I am an advocate of converting spoken history to written history for all to admire. In fact my favorite book is Of Days Gone By: Reflections of South Walton County, Florida.
bsmart said:I love to hear stories like this. My undergrad degree is in History (also urban planning). With history I am concerned with environmental history and southern history, particularly spoken accounts. I am an advocate of converting spoken history to written history for all to admire. In fact my favorite book is Of Days Gone By: Reflections of South Walton County, Florida.
wetwilly said:Donna may have some old pix of Grayton Beach and SoWal. She also has some really good stories (see past threads) from the past since she has been going to Grayton since she was little. Also, mentioned in other threads is a book that we bought a few years ago named "The Way We Were"..."Recollections of South Walton Pioneers" it is published by South Walton Three Arts Alliance, Inc. I do not remember where we bought ours but Kurt or someone else probably knows where to get one. The book has some great stories and it is full of old photos of SoWal and all of Walton County.
Check it out since it is a great book and I have read many stories several times and they just seem to get better everytime I read them.