View Full Version : What Part of the Beach Is Yours?
Mermaid
11-02-2005, 11:44 AM
Are you a creature of habit when it comes to vacationing on 30-A? I never thought we were, but maybe we are. :roll: Last night I mentioned to my better half that maybe next summer we could stay near Rosemary Beach when we do the family vacation. It didn't take him two seconds to say NO! SEAGROVE!
And then I thought about it, in the nearly 20 years that we've been to the beach, we've never stayed more east than Eastern Lake, or more west than Seaside. EVER. I have a friend who has a cottage in Old Florida Cottages, and she was talking about all the shops and restaurants in Gulf Place, and I realized that I didn't know any of them! But mention anything over at Seaside, and I could talk 'til the cows come home. That's my territory.
Are we the only ones who stick to the same place on the beach? (And here I was thinking we were adventurous, staying in a different condo or cottage every year....)
Miss Kitty
11-02-2005, 11:46 AM
The part in front of my gulf front home? hee hee hee
jdarg
11-02-2005, 11:52 AM
I was accused of being too rigid in my beach vacation plans. A person in our group DARED to suggest that we check into another beach for next summer. He is now buried in the dunes At Grayton State Park...... :twisted:
gotothebeachmom
11-02-2005, 11:53 AM
The part in front of my gulf front home? hee hee hee
The one with the razor wire and gun tower out front? Tres chic :bow: my little muffin!
iwishiwasthere
11-02-2005, 12:05 PM
Before we found this area we stayed everywhere...Gulf Shores,Perdido Key, Hilton Head, Nags Head, St Augustine, Clearwater. Needless to say I feel totally correct is saying the SoWal area is the BEST! :clap_1: We stay in Seacrest beach but visit other areas as well. We like to check out the area and try different restaurants on 30a. My family feels like this place is home, very comforting when we visit.
Miss Kitty
11-02-2005, 01:10 PM
The one with the razor wire and gun tower out front? Tres chic :bow: my little muffin!
Oui Oui!!
Ocean Lover
11-02-2005, 03:04 PM
The one with the razor wire and gun tower out front? Tres chic :bow: my little muffin!
Oh, I thought that was BR's place. :rofl:
gotothebeachmom
11-02-2005, 03:11 PM
Oh, I thought that was BR's place. :rofl:
:idontno: :roll::roll: :idontno:
Miss Kitty
11-02-2005, 04:10 PM
Oh la la!
Sorry Mermaid...Miss Kitty has been bad...hijacking your nice thread. Try again with maybe...."Where you stay on 30-A?"
gotothebeachmom
11-02-2005, 04:24 PM
Oh la la!
Sorry Mermaid...Miss Kitty has been bad...hijacking your nice thread. Try again with maybe...."Where you stay on 30-A?"
Sorry Mermaid. Miss Kitty made me do it! Maybe, "Where you hangin' on 30-A?"
Miss Kitty
11-02-2005, 04:27 PM
Sorry Mermaid. Miss Kitty made me do it! Maybe, "Where you hangin' on 30-A?"
That's right, blame EVERYTHING on Miss Kitty! Yeah...I guess you should!
Sea Star
11-02-2005, 04:35 PM
:shock: We are not the only ones who do that? We not only stay on the same beach, we stay in the same condo! We have stayed one time at One Seagrove, and one year we rented a house in Summer's Edge, but otherwise we are at Eastern Shores. We like that we can walk right out our door onto the patio, then onto the beach. We can grill out at night and not have to go down the elevator, don't even have to lock our door. We always meet the nicest people there and enjoy their company on the beach in the daytime and on the pato at night. And we always enjoy the lake.
I went to Gulf Place for the first time this year and I wasn't that thrilled. I love the Shops at Grayton and Seaside.
:wub: It's my own little routine.
shakennotstirred
11-02-2005, 05:06 PM
Dune Allen, Blue Mountain, Santa Rosa, Miramar, Seagrove. Although we have stayed at the same place more than once, we move around based on # of people vacationing and gulf front house availability.
We've been staying at the same house on Blue Mountain Road during the same week of the same month for almost 15 years. Typical Ed Walline cinderblock beach cottage with an outside shower. Very old Florida. We love it.
During our weekend excursions other parts of the year, we normally opt for a condo and are not real picky about the area, although after our last trip a few weeks ago, I think we'll avoid the high-rises at Sandestin from now on. Just too crowded.
One thing I have always wanted to do is stay in one of the cottages in Old Grayton. That would be cool. But I always get overruled as my wife insists on staying gulf front.
We've been staying at the same house on Blue Mountain Road during the same week of the same month for almost 15 years. Typical Ed Walline cinderblock beach cottage with an outside shower. Very old Florida. We love it.
During our weekend excursions other parts of the year, we normally opt for a condo and are not real picky about the area, although after our last trip a few weeks ago, I think we'll avoid the high-rises at Sandestin from now on. Just too crowded.
One thing I have always wanted to do is stay in one of the cottages in Old Grayton. That would be cool. But I always get overruled as my wife insists on staying gulf front.
Only a Tuscaloosan would think cinder block is old Florida. Very Panama City Old Florida. :floor:
Donna
11-03-2005, 01:21 AM
Old Grayton was the only place we considered buying because we love its beach and believed that Grayton has preserved its special character best. Also, it is the stuff of my childhood. But before we bought Conch Out, we stayed at Seaside's Honeymoon Cottages several times for the convenience and proximity to the beach. We stayed at Inlet Beach in a relative's condo once, but found it too isolated. Same with Dune Allen. Destin is too congested, so we get on 98 only to-and-from the airport or to buy a new set of Tupperware. When I was growing up, Grayton was the "hot spot." Blue Mountain was a family and church retreat area. Dune Allen was the outback. Seagrove was old Alabama families, some DeFuniak ones. Of course, there was no Seaside or WaterColor or Old Florida Cottages, etc. Ed Walleen State Park and Santa Rosa Beach public access areas were spooky because absolutely no one went there! How things change.
I think a lot of people rent the same place over and over because they like to think of the house as their own place at _______ Beach. We love to rent to people who think that way. They take care of our house as if it was their own and many of them send us holiday cards and photos of their family visits. People just have an unbelievable affinity for the area. :welcome:
Miss Kitty
11-03-2005, 05:28 AM
Thanks Donna... I love hearing about the "other" days! I am so happy you were able to buy a place where so many memories were made...and now you are making new ones!!!
Paula
11-03-2005, 07:13 AM
We tyically go to the beach across the street from the Cottages at Camp Creek at Seacrest (where we stay). It has never been crowded when we are there, and we can often be the only people watching the sunset (or maybe another family or two)... very nice. We also go to Grayton Beach State Park or Grayton Beach a few times a year as well.
Right after the hurricane this summer, we had to find beach accesses and went to several beaches, including Inlet Beach, a beach in Seagrove (forgot its name), and Panama City Beach -- all were very nice and we were just thankful to get to the beach!
jdarg
11-03-2005, 07:38 AM
Donna- did you own the pre-Opal Conch Out? I may be crazy (OK, I am), but I remember a smaller Grayton-cottage kind of Conch Out. I think my brother stayed there on one of their runs down to water ski school.
RiverOtter
11-03-2005, 07:45 AM
Since we own at High Pointe it's Seacrest during the day and Grayton in the evenings. If the kids get bored with Seacrest we go to Grayton 2-3 times during the week.
Miss Kitty
11-03-2005, 07:47 AM
Since we own at High Pointe it's Seacrest during the day and Grayton in the evenings. If the kids get bored with Seacrest we go to Grayton 2-3 times during the day.
Glad to see you are doing your part to conserve GAS!
Only a Tuscaloosan would think cinder block is old Florida. Very Panama City Old Florida. :floor:
Then what is your definition of it, smart guy?
aquaticbiology
11-03-2005, 07:58 AM
Only a Tuscaloosan would think cinder block is old Florida. Very Panama City Old Florida. :floor:
camp helen (avondale mills old retreal) is now a state park near phillips inlet and is the grand old dame of cinder block and rain barrel (ahhh, the memories of the rain barrel! brrrrr!). enjoy!
if you don't have a date palm (you know, the palm trees like what they have in florida....) yet, shame on you. next summer trip, grab a ripe (if they are green, don't bother - should be orange-yellow) date off a tree you like, eat the date (you must eat the date or it won't work!), stick the seed 1/4" down in beach sand with a little potting soil mixed in, and voil'a, you will have you own marvelous florida palm tree - or you could just buy one for 50 bucks if you have more money than brains. I did two this august and they've started coming up - just noticed it this morning (ooooooh..wiggle!)
Mermaid
11-03-2005, 08:08 AM
camp helen (avondale mills old retreal) is now a state park near phillips inlet and is the grand old dame of cinder block and rain barrel (ahhh, the memories of the rain barrel! brrrrr!). enjoy!
if you don't have a date palm (you know, the palm trees like what they have in florida....) yet, shame on you. next summer trip, grab a ripe (if they are green, don't bother - should be orange-yellow) date off a tree you like, eat the date (you must eat the date or it won't work!), stick the seed 1/4" down in beach sand with a little potting soil mixed in, and voil'a, you will have you own marvelous florida palm tree - or you could just buy one for 50 bucks if you have more money than brains. I did two this august and they've started coming up - just noticed it this morning (ooooooh..wiggle!)
AB, are you saying it took about two months for those date palm seeds to germinate? If they grow as slowly as that you'll be long in your grave before you see what you could have bought for 50 bucks! Remember, time is money. :funn:
jdarg
11-03-2005, 08:29 AM
AB, are you saying it took about two months for those date palm seeds to germinate? If they grow as slowly as that you'll be long in your grave before you see what you could have bought for 50 bucks! Remember, time is money. :funn:
And I have spent a lot of time spending money :funn:
aquaticbiology
11-03-2005, 08:29 AM
AB, are you saying it took about two months for those date palm seeds to germinate? If they grow as slowly as that you'll be long in your grave before you see what you could have bought for 50 bucks! Remember, time is money. :funn:
Ahhh, but the one I did 5+ years ago is a WHOPPER - we wrestled in into another monster pot with a even bigger caster thingy with bigger wheels (they gotta come in for the winter - and requires a plant grow light and drip watering system all by itself).
Alas, I have no money these days since I took this new job - but I have plenty of time to be bored off my keester since the fishes pretty much do for themselves! I'm thinking of taking up some hobby over the winter, but I just don't know what it would be. I've done pretty much everything I'm interested in. Something warm would be nice, from the way they're talking about the winter being a rough one this year. I wonder...
Mermaid
11-03-2005, 08:39 AM
Alas, I have no money these days since I took this new job - but I have plenty of time to be bored off my keester since the fishes pretty much do for themselves! I'm thinking of taking up some hobby over the winter, but I just don't know what it would be. I've done pretty much everything I'm interested in. Something warm would be nice, from the way they're talking about the winter being a rough one this year. I wonder...
Start a new post in the Lounge, AB, asking for hobby suggestions! You know you'll get a mouthful of ideas there. :biggrin:
ktschris
11-03-2005, 09:32 AM
We've been staying at the same house in Seagrove for the past four years. My daughter is only 5 -- she thinks the house is ours!! :rolling:
Always asks, when are we going back to our big yellow house! :clap_1:
kathydwells
11-03-2005, 10:25 AM
We have stayed at Seagrove Beach for the past 7 years. At Seagrove Villa's and Motel. (Yes, the same one that is building the Seawall). My sister, son and I stay in the same room every year. We have 6 other families that take up the rest of the bottom floor of the building. We love it there. It is very small and our kids pretty much have the run of the place. I hope it survives!!! It will be so sad for all of us if it doesn't!
peapod1980
11-03-2005, 11:30 AM
Dune Allen, Blue Mountain, Santa Rosa, Miramar, Seagrove. Although we have stayed at the same place more than once, we move around based on # of people vacationing and gulf front house availability.
This is us, too. We tend to shop for a house that suits our needs first, location is secondary. So, we've stayed all up and down 30-A. I have to admit, though, we've logged the most time in Seagrove. And Dune Allen--just as someone else said--was a little too far away from everything for me.
Donna
11-03-2005, 11:49 AM
In response to jdarg...yes, present Conch Out is the house that replaced the old Conch Out after it was washed away during Hurricane Opal. It is considered bad luck to change the name of a house. The old weathered sign from Conch Out #1 still hangs on our house. Conch out #1 was one of the old Butler cottages that was moved from over at Eden, where it was a lumber mill laborer's house for many years. I remember it well at Grayton.
When I was a child, that part of Old Grayton was a series of sand dunes on the south side of the private lane called "Hotz Avenue." In fact, the sand dunes came all the way up to the porches of old Washaway House in those days. The dunes behind what is now The Red Bar and extending all the way down to what is now Gulf Trace were 20 to 30 feet tall and were covered with sea oats. There were small dunes all the way around Butler's Store except for the streetfront. The inlet between the Gulf and Western Lake would open and we would shrimp and crab with a plastic laundry basket (crabs) and Sunbeam Bread wrappers (shrimp) punched full of holes. One night our catch was 152 Blue Atlantic Crabs and over 70 dozen shrimp! We had to invite everyone we knew down for dinner.
Little posses of tanned children wandered around everywhere and would crash at the kid's house where they ended up latest. The strictest parent seemed comfortable with this arrangement. Not all beach houses had telephones, so there was a lot of trust. At the same time, there were also some pretty wild things that one could witness by walking up and down the lanes of Old Grayton on a hot summer night... :eek: So there's my stroll down memory lane!
jdarg
11-03-2005, 12:17 PM
Thanks Donna! I'm glad you remember how everything looked from years past. I'm doing well just to remember the last 10 years!! :biggrin:
jdarg
11-03-2005, 12:21 PM
Even though times (and traffic!) have definitely changed, we love that Grayton is not dissected by a busy road. I feel comfortable with the older kids in our group cruising around on bike or foot by themselves. Even in the dark (with a few rules attached!). They have an independence there that that don't have here at home. And our car stays parked except for a few Publix runs, occasionally Seaside and Watercolor, but those are bikeable.
seagrovelover
11-03-2005, 12:33 PM
We have stayed in Seagrove for the past five years, stayed in the same house in old seagrove up untill last year. We are considering moving our group down to grayton for next summers trip. Does anyone have an opinion on the good vs bad of grayton vs seagrove??? I have never been to the beach at grayton, much less looked for a rental (we really need 3 or 4) what are some good qualities that grayton has to offer? Our children love to ride bikes and wander, is it safe? are the boardwalks to the beach hard to get to? any info would be a great help!!!! thanks to you all :wub:
KISH7374
11-03-2005, 01:01 PM
For the last 6 years we have stayed in houses from Carrillon Beach to Dune Allen beach. The last 2 years we have stayed in Seacrest Beach. Rented from the same owner both years though different houses. My kids(older) like it closer to Panama City for the night life but my wife and I like it because it is more laid back in Seacrest. We are already planning our next trip down in August 06 and getting the group together to figure out how big a house we will need. Donna I will have to get in touch with you after the 1st and see where we are at numbers wise. I thought about Conch Out before but we did not have had the numbers to justify that house. Maybe this year we will get the crowd. I will be in touch. :D :D :D
Donna and others -- Feel free to take us on trips down memory lane anytime something pops into your head. Love the stories.
Mermaid
11-03-2005, 03:45 PM
Donna, I don't think anyone in Seaside knows it's bad luck to change the name of a house! Every time a cottage changes hands, it gets a new name in that town. It can make it hard to track down your favorites if you aren't aware it's been sold. :confused:
Donna
11-03-2005, 08:14 PM
Well, I guess a lot of people are not superstitious. And we always liked the name "Conch Out," which makes me think of Key West. It might have been different if the house had been named "Wuthering Heights" or "Myrtle's Grove" or something similar. When we first looked at that house, it was so NOT what we wanted...too big for us. We laughed and laughed and didn't even go back to see if before returning to CA. But we loved the expansiveness and the location/view and finding a nice Old Grayton property at that time could be challenging. We called and made an offer the next day.
Over the past few years, we have filled that house to the rafters with shared dinners, dancing, swimming, and laughter. We have hosted and renewed family and friends relationships. And yes, we have also had occasions to shed many tears, when the close comfort of lots of family and friends under one roof meant everything. My brother spent the first Christmas following his wife's death there, trying to heal and remembering their first high school date being at Grayton. He took a series of sunset photos that was heartstopping in their beauty (hanging in the great room of Conch Out now). Every time we think of selling (storms, distance, value, etc.), I think of saying "goodbye" to my sunshine yellow walls, the memories, and those Gulf views that just go on forever and think, "Not just yet, I'm not ready."
My goodness, these rainy days make me feel so sentimental! I am looking out the window at a steadily falling rain and fingers of dense fog that fill the crevices of the canyons that march up the mountain behind our house. The harvest is in now and the entire Valley smells like fermenting grapes. The trees and vineyards are all gold and yellow and red and still pumping color. Our olives are ready to harvest. (Do you taste that martini, Smilin' Joe?)
For those of you who are also nostalgic about summer houses, there is a wonderful book in paperback now entitled "The Big House" by George Howe Colt. It is a national bestseller about a century in the life of an American summer home on Cape Cod. Wonderful story! :clap_1: :clap_1:
Paula
11-03-2005, 08:41 PM
What beautiful stories about the beach house and memories, both sweet and sad (and, as we know, memories can be both sweet and sad at the same time). We're just starting to build memories in our cottages, but we've made quite a few in the almost 3 years we've been at the Cottages at Camp Creek. Can't believe we've been through 3 hurricanes already!
CastlesOfSand
11-03-2005, 08:51 PM
Wow Donna, that was beautiful!! Thank you so much for sharing.... all of you! We stay in Seagrove and love it. I do love Grayton though! I love the homes there. I think we will rent in Grayton next and we are planning on bringing our closest friends and their kids! Lots of memories to be made!!
...... I think of saying "goodbye" to my sunshine yellow walls, the memories, and those Gulf views that just go on forever and think, "Not just yet, I'm not ready."
"Conch Out" deserves an owner like you! :wub:
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