| Date: 7/12/2008 Rosemary Beach, Fla., is a laid-back enclave St. Louis Post-Dispatch Published on: 07/07/08 "We're addicted to bocce," said Ken Gifford, a resident of Rosemary Beach. "Lawn, sand and extreme. In extreme, it's anywhere you want to throw it. Anything in the street is fair game, except through someone's window."
So here we are, playing a sunset game of beach bocce as the surf tries to bury our target — a little yellow wooden ball called a pallino — in the sand. This is the place where a bocce tournament is front-page news in the "Rosemary Thymes." Yes, it's that laid back here, but that was the plan. Here's a look at the community's brief history and things to do in-between bocce breaks. Rosemary Beach was created in 1995 on Florida's gulf coast, between Destin and Panama City on Scenic Route 30A. One cachet is that it has a ZIP code — 32461 — that Google recognizes as neighboring Sunnyside. On beachfront property that was about to become a trailer park, Patrick Bienvenue and the Rosemary Beach Land Co. bought the 107 acres with another plan in mind, said Gifford, who is also vice president and managing director of Rosemary Beach Cottage Rental Co. The inspiration for it came from classic beach towns such as Seaside. Many may know Seaside as the set of "The Truman Show," with its new urbanist style of cookie-cutter beach homes and uniformity. But the town named for the rosemary herb growing wild in the sandy paths gave the look a new twist. "Here the colors of the homes are natural colors, [and] the landscaping is indigenous to the area," Gifford said. "And there are no palm trees brought in. They weren't indigneous to this area." The look of the homes in Rosemary Beach brings to mind architecture you would see in New Orleans, St. Augustine, Charleston, S.C., and the West Indies. You'll see homes in shades of dune gray, chocolate, Spanish moss, sage green, pecan, fall straw and Atlantic spray. Deep eaves provide shade from the afternoon sun. High ceilings draw breezes through houses. The homes are close together and streets are narrow, which encourages visitors to park the car and walk. It's pedestrian friendly, meaning it's flat and virtually nothing's more than a five-minute walk away. Nearly 570 homes have been completed, and the community has 206 rental cottages and carriage houses. This fall, Hotel Saba, located in the town center, is set to open with 53 guestrooms. EAT AND RIDE It doesn't get much better than riding a bicycle and eating a butter-pecan ice-cream cone, at the same time. This is a great way to learn your way around the town. The Bamboo Beach & Bicycle Co. rents bikes for all ages; rates average $20 a day for an adult bike rental. And the Sugar Shak can supply you with a cone or a malt, candy or real sugar-cane stalks for snacking. After the ice cream, burn it off by taking an eight-mile ride to Deer Lake State Park. It's worth it to see a rare coastal dune lake. It is an estuary, allowing saltwater and freshwater to continually exchange and flush out the lakes, creating some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. They are characterized by the intermittent nature of this connection to the Gulf. When the water level, through rain or other inflow, reaches a certain critical height, the lake will "blow out" and release its water into the gulf. At that point, seawater may enter to create an estuary. A boardwalk across the dunes to the beach has native plants, including scrub oaks and spoonflower. MORE DELIBERATE MODE Another way to see the town is by walking the 2.3-mile landscaped trail that is both a sand path and boardwalk. It has four fitness stations and winds past homes, four public pools and common green spaces. Take a rest stop at the Butterfly Park, which includes a guide to the 15 kinds of butterflies found in Rosemary Beach and what they eat. Cabbage whites, monarchs, long-tailed skippers and zebra swallowtails are some of the butterflies flitting around dining on nectar from herbs, honeysuckle fuchsia and purple pincushions. PLACES TO DINE • Wild Olive: It's a market as well as a bakery and deli with lunch and tapas menus. Try the fried green tomato BLT ($7.95). 1-850-231-0065 • Summer Kitchen: Beach casual spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner for the family. Established in 1999, this was the first restaurant opened in Rosemary Beach. The Arnold Palmers (half lemonade, half tea) flow freely here. Owner-chef James Dillon's menu includes pastas, sandwiches, pizzas and salads. Try the black bean and rice roll-up ($6). 1-850-231-6264 • Cowgirl Kitchen: Where beach meets West. It's a little bit of Texas in Rosemary Beach. Where else can you have a Mexican or veggie taco, or a mini-Belgian waffle for breakfast? And the soup of the day? "Whatever mama feels like making" is what the sign says. www.cowgirlkitchen.net • Cafe Thirty-A: If you must drive somewhere for dinner, this is where you should go. Named for the scenic Florida highway, this is a white-tablecloth restaurant with a menu that includes fresh fish from the gulf as well as wood-oven-fired pizzas. www.cafethirtya.com |
Rosemary Beach Article on St Louis Post
Panama City Beach Piers
Date: 7/7/2008Pier into the future2008-07-07 15:11:00 PANAMA CITY BEACH - The old pier's gone, with a new one to come. In between, waves wash and county officials await permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Bay County's M.B. Miller Pier was demolished earlier this year. The 470-foot-long structure, damaged in 2005 by Hurricane Dennis, will be replaced with a pier more than three times that length. But before construction may begin, the county must obtain DEP permits, which is expected to happen by November. "If they need the full 90 days, they'll take it," Assistant County Manger Bob Majka said of the state's permitting process. "If they get done earlier than that, we could see something earlier." The county is awaiting a joint coastal permit, which allows the pier to extend farther into the gulf. Also, a submerged land lease for the additional 1,000 feet must be obtained from the state. "We've got to have the physical footprint in the water," Majka said. Even if permits are issued earlier than expected, Majka said construction of a new pier will not begin until January. The same construction company, Shoreline Foundation Inc., is building the new Panama City Beach pier a few miles down the sand. That project, already in progress, dictates the start of the county's construction. The Panama City Beach Public Work's Department cites the tentative completion date for the city's pier as July 2009. Majka said the county's construction should be well under way by next summer. "We would want to have the upland portion done no later than June because of turtle season," he said. "At that point, we'll be in the water." Majka said the county's target finish is January 2010. The two piers, built with the same designs, will mirror each other. County and beach officials got a deal on the pair. "We saved a bunch of money by the city and the county bidding them out together," Bay County Commissioner Mike Thomas said in April. The two-for-one project was put out to bid last August. Shoreline was the lowest bidder, promising both structures for about $7.6 million each. Because of the hurricane damage, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering the dollar equivalent of the old 470-foot pier, or $1.7 million. The county also is applying for an additional $2.1 million from the federal government in recognition of the pier being built in a more hurricane-durable manner. The new structure will feature breakaway decking. Fishing also should be better 1,500 feet out into the water. Stretching beyond the second sandbar, it should provide access to king mackerel, bonito and redfish. The twin piers will be the longest along Florida's Panhandle. Pensacola Beach's pier, the basis for these structures, is 1,471 feet. In Alabama, the pier gracing Orange Beach edges a bit farther into the gulf at 1,510 feet. |
U.S. 98 to be widened near Hathaway Bridge
U.S. 98 to be widened near Hathaway Bridge
Work set to begin in July, FDOT official says
PANAMA CITY — The Panama City Commission got a welcome surprise this week.
City officials were planning to ask Florida's Department of Transportation for changes to U.S. 98 near the Hathaway Bridge with the goal of easing congestion. City officials found out the department already was planning the work.
"We found that out yesterday," Assistant City Manager Jeff Brown said Tuesday.
Right now, traffic funnels down from three lanes on the bridge to two on U.S. 98 and bottles up at the Moody Avenue and 23rd Street intersections, FDOT spokesman Tommie Speights said. The work, which will begin in July, Speights said, will add a third eastbound lane and a turn lane from the bridge to Moody Avenue.
"The main idea behind that is to improve safety and ease congestion," Speights said.
You can set your watch to the daily congestion, said Karon Conrad, the daytime manager of the No Name Lounge on U.S. 98.
"It gets busy and backed up all the time," Conrad said. But "you can count on it at 3 p.m."
Workers are leaving Naval Support Activity-Panama City at that time, she added.
Speights called the work a temporary solution. Long-term plans still call for a complete flyover from Hathaway Bridge to 23rd Street. The planning phase on the flyover is nearing completion, but the state's five-year budget plan has no money set aside for the work, Speights said.
More than 40 new stores open at Pier Park
PANAMA CITY BEACH – The area’s largest outdoor mall just got a little bigger.
On May 1, 43 new stores and restaurants opened at the Simon Property Group’s Pier Park on U.S. Highway 98.
On Wednesday, Simon held a media tour day to promote the expansion of the shopping center and let business representatives from several stores explain what they will be bringing to the table.
“This is something we should all be proud of,” said Simon Vice-President of Community and Lifestyles Division Paul Ajdaharian. “We want Dothan, Destin, Tallahassee and Jacksonville to come to Pier Park – and we think they will.”
Tootsies’ Orchid Lounge out of Nashville, Tenn. is one of the businesses opening this spring that brings a different flare to the shopping and dining complex.
“We’re like the AA team of country music,” said co-owner Steve Smith.
Tootsies’ is a country bar and restaurant, but also holds a music record label.
Later this month, the label will present their first signed musician, John Stone, at the business’s grand opening in Pier Park.
“We’re also trying to get friends down here,” said Stone. “Bret Michaels, Kid Rock and others, hopefully,”
Pier Park encompasses 93-acres and 900,000-square-feet of open-air shopping, dining and entertainment. The Simon Group plans on expanding the center in the near future, but has yet to release a tentative date with those plans.
Simon President of Community and Lifestyles Division Myles Minton said there will ultimately be 130 retail stores and 30 restaurants on the property and explained that the idea of the beach shopping and dining complex is to create a mindset of where to go in the area.
“What are we going to do now?” he asked. “Hopefully Pier Park will be their answer.”
30A Officially Designated a Florida Scenic Highway
| 30A Officially Designated a Florida Scenic Highway |
| (Walton County -2/25/2008) The vote in Tallahassee was "unanimous" |
| Santa Rosa Beach, Fl – County Road 30A, an 18-mile road which runs parallel to the coastline through a major portion of Walton County, was officially designated a Florida Scenic Highway by the Scenic Highway Advisory Committee Wednesday, February 20 in Tallahassee. This designation includes another 10.5 miles of connector roads which are County Road 83 (Blue Mountain) County Road 283 (Grayton Road) and County Road 395 (Seagrove – Eden Road). The vote by the committee was unanimous. "This designation is the culmination of about 10 years of work started by Commissioner Van Ness Butler who recognized the benefits that would accrue from this,” says District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows. “We are now eligible to apply for grant funding for projects we have identified in the application. Some of these include plans to address storm water management, landscaping, traffic safety, signage, parking, preservation, coastal dune lake protection, and other initiatives that promote the intrinsic resources found on 30A and connector roads. I was glad to see this designation finally come to fruition and appreciate all the work that was done by citizens, elected officials, and county staff over the years." According to the Florida Department of Transportation, designated scenic highways promote a heightened awareness of the state's exceptional resources and unique history through educational and visual experiences. The scenic highway program was developed in response to legislation (Section 335.093, Florida Statutes) "to preserve, maintain, protect and enhance Florida's outstanding cultural, historical, archeological, recreational, natural and scenic resources." It is voluntary and grass-roots based, involving strong local citizen and government support to help meet objectives. The program is perhaps best summarized by its mission statement: The Florida Scenic Highways Program will preserve, enhance and maintain the intrinsic resources of scenic corridors through a sustainable balance of conservation and land use. Through community-based consensus and partnerships, the program will promote economic prosperity and broaden the traveler's overall recreational and educational experience. The Friends of Scenic 30A, formally the corridor advocacy group, will implement the Corridor Management Plan (CMP) applying for grants to accomplish, the CMP, working with partnerships from other citizen organizations, our State Parks, the BCC, the Walton Chamber, the TDC, the Coastal Dune Lake Advisory, the FDOT and government officials to oversee scenic highway beautification The Walton County Board of Commissioners will recognize the volunteers who have been involved with this significant designation project at the March 11 Walton County Commission meeting at the South Walton Courthouse Annex. |