Sunday Morning on Okaloosa Island

For two Summers straight, we have been lucky enough to spend a month at the beach! Okaloosa Island is my favorite beach on the East Coast.

If you would like to the get best deal on a wonderful condo, let me suggest VRBO, which stands for Vacation Rentals By Owner! These units are privately owned but managed by management companies and directly rented by owners. They are clean, beautiful and much cheaper that those rented by rental agencies/realtors in the area. We have actually done this three times and have been more than pleased with the result.

If my son doesn't come up with some other plan, we will probably spend Thanksgiving on Okaloosa Island again this year. Ft. Walton Beach has a really nice Thanksgiving Dinner on the Pier each year a couple days before Thanksgiving which is FREE to anyone who wants to come. The take DONATIONS from those who want to/can afford it to help defray the cost to the City. I was so impressed with this because there are so many homeless and hungry people, especially in the warmer states where they go to avoid the freezing weather. It is a kind and charitable thing to do, and Ft. Walton seems to be a kind city.

We love our Sundays on Okaloosa Island. Waking up early, you can watch the dolphins play offshore. They seem to have such joy in living! There are large swarms of tiny fish sometimes splashing up the coast, making quite a racket as they shimmer, jumping and swimming by. After the joy of watching the beautiful wildlife, we like to dress and head for Big City American Bistro. The Sunday Brunch there is Out of This World! The atmosphere is lovely and ecclectic, the servers (especially Casey!) are attentive and professional and the Mimosas are only $7 for all you want!
The cost of $15.95 is really reasonable when you see the huge selection of high quality food available. There is an Omelette station where they make the best omelettes with great ingredients including shrimp, spinach and cheeses. There are fresh salads and soups and fresh sliced roast beef, turkey, and fish. So much to choose from that it is hard to decide, and each bite delicious. For those of you who love dessert, there is a fabulous dessert table, and they always seem to have the most sweet, huge strawberries with chocolate fondue! Cakes, pies, and pastries galore will tempt anyone who tries to resist!

After lunch, if you can still walk (and you probably need to!) go to the City Park on Brooks Street and stroll along the Bay or out on the dock, or, if you really are too full to walk, sit on one of the picnic tables under the huge spreading oaks and watch the boaters go by. It makes for a marvelous day! Sometimes there will even be a band on the bandstand in the center of park. Ft. Walton has more parks than most Southern Cities, and they are all meticulously maintained.

So, take a weekend soon or even a week and head South to Ft. Walton and Okaloosa Island and take in the beauty and peace available there. You won't regret it!!

Why I Am An Okaloosa Girl

For the second summer in a row, I was fortunate enough to spend nearly a month on Okaloosa Island. The Island is in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. It is only a small strip of land stretching along the Gulf Coast of Florida, and the far end of it is actually part of Eglin Air Force Base. But, the end closest to the highway is lined with condominiums and homes. A lot of the condos are older units built before 1980.
Both times we have stayed on the Island in the Summer, and again last Thanksgiving, we stayed in one of these condo units.

To say that Okaloosa is beautiful is an understatement. It is one of the most lovely, peaceful places I have ever been. Unlike Panama City Beach, which is noisy and crowded with tourists on noisy rental scooters, Okaloosa is quaint and quiet. If you want more excitement, cross the Bridge to Destin, Florida and you have got all the tourist areas and shopping you could ever dream of. But on little Okaloosa you have what I love most about the beach. The sand is the color and texture of sugar. The water has so many shades of green and aqua that you can not describe it simply. It isn't called the Emerald Coast for nothing. Then, there are the dolphins who swim up and down the shore every morning, splashing, playing and just enjoying themselves as they hunt for breakfast.

The water is crystal clear and warm. The skies are the bluest of blue and you are frequently greeted by the most incredible sunrises with clouds in shades of white, pink, blue and lavender. Tiny fish swim around your feet if you stand still in the water. At night small children with bright flashlights hunt "ghost crabs" and squeal with delight when they catch a glimpse of one.

On the bay side, children catch dozens of hermit crabs to play with in the sand. You can even buy nets and catch blue crabs to steam for your dinner. And speaking of dinner, The Old Bay Steamer on Santa Rosa Boulevard on Okaloosa Island has some of the best steamed seafood I have ever eaten! It seems like everything you could possible want is available within minutes of this tiny paradise. I can't continue on without mentioning one of our favorite places to eat. The Big City American Bistro has a Sunday Brunch for only $15.95 that is so expansive and delicious that we never miss it! They have $5.95 lunches during the week and their food is always superb! Their wait staff, including our favorite waitress Casey, are attentive, kind and professional.

Driving to the Gulf Coast is easy, but they also have a wonderful Northwest Florida Airport available now too.

If you are looking for a wonderful place to relax in the Summer, Fall, Winter or Spring, I can tell you honestly that you will never find a better location. Prices during the high season average about $225 a night Gulf Front, but in the Fall (and it is incredible there in the Fall) prices go down to about $110 a night for a two bedroom condo on the Gulf Front! Try it. I can promise you you won't be disappointed!