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happy2Bme

Beach Fanatic
Sep 24, 2007
879
1,243
Sowal
My family and I live here, and have for nearly 13 years....it is our Paradise. I love walking the beach. I walked three miles of beach (Grayton to Seagrove east) both yesterday and today. Yesterday, the water was so crystal clear, light green, and immaculate, and the wave action so perfect for even smaller kids, that I commented to my wife how, if "they" only knew, those who opted not to come due to "oil on the beach" and cancelled their long-anticipated vacation truly lost out. Today, the surf was a bit more active, but I saw less than a small hand-full of "tar balls" (which really should be called "sand/oil coins" since that's what they really resemble), and they were spread so far and wide that one would have to try hard to find them, much less be bothered by them. What may come in the weeks ahead, we can only guess. But, for now, Paradise is still Paradise. Come. Enjoy. You'll be glad you did.
 

pk305

Beach Fanatic
Apr 11, 2005
416
11
Nashville & Seagrove
Enjoying Seagrove Beach

Arrived Sunday and was so happy when I walked the beach today!
The surf was a beautiful sight & things looked as great as ever...my heart was truly racing as we walked toward our beloved beach!

The crowd is not as large as it usually is this time of the year....felt such sadness for those who stayed away.....and such immense gratitude and appreciation:love: for those who are here and enjoying the beaches of 30a....and by doing so are supporting the great folks all up and down 30a!! :clap:

Will be here for a couple of weeks and am thankful for the opportunity to do whatever we can to help the local economy!

A big thanks to all who make the decision to come to the Beaches of South Walton this summer!!
 

CChandler

Beach Lover
Apr 30, 2010
53
14
Oklahoma City, Ok
Hi I'm a fellow Oklahoman too and we just returned from Seagrove Beach two days ago! We had a fantastic time. The water was very clear the first few days, then the winds kicked up and caused the June grass to "disperse" everywhere:) It was like swimming in orange juice with pulp!

The tarballs we saw were very small and only at the shoreline. None floating in the water while swimming. Therefore, I felt it was safe to swim and we did almost every single day. It was a risk I was willing to take. Some aren't as comfortable with the tarballs though, so it's your own personal decision.
The beaches were fairly busy every day with lots of people swimming. It was too beautiful (and hot) to just sit on the shore, in fear of the unknown.

Since you've been coming for so many yrs, you already know what the area has to offer. The beaches are the main attraction but there's so much more to 30a you would enjoy. I'd keep your plans and continue to support the community you love.
 

happy2Bme

Beach Fanatic
Sep 24, 2007
879
1,243
Sowal
If all else fails, you can see Le Grand Cirque at Grand Boulevard! Or, you can enjoy the circus of visitors and locals alike as they vie for space at the outlet mall, or any of the many local restaurants!! Me?.....I'm gonna be at the beach.
 

Paula

Beach Fanatic
Jan 25, 2005
3,747
442
Michigan but someday in SoWal as well
We were there all last week and sadly left on Saturday, pouting all the way home (a looooong drive because we live in Michigan). I spent most early mornings at the beach reading and watching the beautiful ocean while sitting on the white sand. One morning, one of the Walton County guys in a truck came by and told me to look out and see the dolphins (which I did - I see them once or twice every week when I'm in SoWal). It's amazing that he was probably in his 70's and lived in the area all his life, and seeing the dolphins in the ocean still made him stop and watch (and tell me, a stranger, to stop reading and watch!). The ocean does that to people.

We spent several nights on the beach watching the sunset while laying on a blanket and then watching the stars come out one by one as the sky turned from blue with yellow/red ribbons from the sunset into the Starry night sky. That has become a bit of a tradition in our family. We toasted the ocean and wished it well during this tough time and told it that it has been so good to us over the years, that we'd stand by it in bad times as well as good times. I must admit that I shed a few tears while looking out at the beautiful ocean just thinking about what BP had done to the gulf and wildlife and the people who have built their lives around it.

We watched a build-your-own-sandcastle workshop (free) at Alys Beach one morning and learned some great techniques for building our own sandcastle. Gotta have the right ratio of water/sand in the bucket and learned about making some neat sandcastle tools from things we have around the house - a ruler is the sandcastle maker's secret tool for edging and I'll be digging into my kids old school stuff and cookie cutters to build my sandcastle maker kit to bring to SoWal in August. There are sandcastle workshops at Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, and Seaside every morning around 9:00 am - it rotates and I think Alys Beach was on Wednesday. Just walk down to the beach and you'll see the guy with a few kids around him. You may be able to see the dates/times on the SoWal calendar. We rented a tandem bike but only used it a few times because it was too hot.

We found a few tarballs (that are flat and about the size of a fingernail). We saw the BP crews in their yellow shirts out one morning walking up and down the beach with little buckets looking for tar balls. I didn't smell any oil at any time. Just fresh air from what I could tell.

We ate out at George's at Alys Beach, Red Bar in Grayton Beach, Paradis at Rosemary Beach, and Cafe 30A in Seagrove. The rest of the time we usually ate on the porch. I swam laps almost every day at the pool and then floated on a float in the pool and read magazines one afternoon. The most stressful part of my week was trying to figure out how to get on that #!%! float without tipping it over while people at the pool were watching (I didn't succeed).

I called the guests renting the cottage this week and they said the beach is still lovely and they're having a great time. So, I think all's well (great) at the beach. I think your biggest risk is not wearing sunscreen at this point. I hope it still is when we go back mid-August.

Enjoy your trip.
 

Miss Kitty

Meow
Jun 10, 2005
47,017
1,131
69
Well, I say....come on down! I am never here in the summer, but I snuck into town yesterday via Southwest (good trip!). First order of business....walk down to the beach....omc....beautiful, clean sand, clear water (it is a little stirred up...I am guessing from Alex).

I certainly understand being so far away and trying to make the call on whether to spend your vacation somewhere that may be affected by this spill. Sowal.com is the best way to keep up on what is happening locally. The people on here are not going to BS you! Best of luck on your decision....I hope you get to come down and enjoy!
 

beasmiester

Beach Lover
Sep 1, 2009
163
37
GREAT letter!

We love 30A so much because there is so much more to offer than just the beach. We even come down here in the winter after Xmas and of course we can't get in the water then - no we can't.
Sometimes we come down and the June grass is so heavy we don't want to get in.
Sometimes there are double red flags and we can't get in.
Sometimes the waves are too frequent and high and that gets tiring after awhile.
So we do other things - walk, ride our bikes, sit near the water, dine out, drink at Bud & Alleys, go to Crosspoint Chapel, window shop/shop, go to the pool (or next week we have our own pool)....
The only thing that will keep us from coming down - or leaving early would be if the air would be heavy with the smell of an oil refinery.
The vacationer/rental house issue is almost separate from the worst of it - the environment.
Sometimes we drive to Mexico Beach - stinks over by St. Joe's(?).
Growing up, Lake Michigan was awful, can't go in.
I understand if families with children - they should go elsewhere unless they like riding the bikes, playing in the pool instead, or can settle for playing in the sand away from the water.
See you soon,
Ellen
What a super letter, Ellen!
You certainly captured what the Emerald Coast is all about. SoWal is so much more than just our FANTASTIC beaches and beautiful Gulf. We are still beautiful without oil and smells, please come see us soon!
 

traceyandmary

Beach Crab
Jan 2, 2006
1
0
El Dorado, Arkansas
Of course you should come!!! We agree whole heartedly with Paula,
"We toasted the ocean and wished it well during this tough time and told it that it has been so good to us over the years, that we'd stand by it in bad times as well as good times."
My family has been coming here for the last ten years. Through tropical storms (we rode out Arlene one year) and hurricanes (we're not that dumb, we headed home to Arkansas), we always come back year after year. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world....
 

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
Quite frankly, I think Sowal (even w/ tarballs) is far better than where most visitors live, so a vacation is still a nobrainer IMO.
 

CChandler

Beach Lover
Apr 30, 2010
53
14
Oklahoma City, Ok
Quite frankly, I think Sowal (even w/ tarballs) is far better than where most visitors live, so a vacation is still a nobrainer IMO.
Exactly! My poor kids keep on asking to go back to the beach now. Lol my 4 old thinks we need to find one close to home...unfortunately in Oklahoma that's not gonna happen:lol:
 
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