I kept saying to the kids and my husband when we were there last week that things really didn't seem as busy as I thought they'd be based on comments from this board. We live in a college town so SoWal was much less busy even during the peak summer week we were there. And our college town clears out during the summer, but I think we're still busier than SoWal. So, I guess it's perspective. If you live there or grew up there and are used to off season or the way it used to be, it would seem crowded. If you come from a busier place, it may not seem as crowded compared to other vacation areas. It also probably depends on where you are on 30A. I imagine Seagrove and Seaside would be busier, but frankly we didn't think they were too busy either when we drove by those areas.
I tried for two years to see what it was like in peak season so we could tell our guests. Last year we were scheduled to come the week after Dennis, so it wasn't crowded at all. This year, I think we were there at a peak time and we didn't feel it was too crowded at all. We only had to wait once at a restaurant, and the waiter said they were short two staff and that's why the wait was longer than usual. And, as I said, Publix was busy on Saturday night but frankly we bumped a few carts but there wasn't a wait at the checkout counter (maybe one person but I can't remember). I really don't like waiting in line or being in crowds much (I've never been to one of our football games in our college town even though they're a really big deal because it's not worth the crowd or standing in line to me), so I think I'd be particularly sensitive to crowds in SoWal.
Anyway, SoWal seemed like a relatively calm place to visit compared to when we went to Siesta Key once during New Years. I think the July 4th week could be much busier given what I saw on the Bay Bridge when we were leaving.
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Those clerks at Publix are a stitch!!