Normal

Dikki Du and the Zydeco Crew kept gumbo lovers hoppin' during the 23rd Annual Sandestin Gumbo Festival. The Mardi Gras atmosphere was filled with the aroma from a variety of gumbo pots.

Another beautiful day in Seaside and another successful and bustling community yard sale full of happy folks finding the bargains of a lifetime.

The semi-annual event is on of the most popular on Scenic 30A in South Walton. You never know what you're going to find but it is surely to be something you can't live without!

Delicate Cutters from Birmingham, Alabama play on a Saturday afternoon at Central Square Records in Seaside, Florida in South Walton. The record shop over Sundog Books has a great atmosphere and intimate setup to enjoy many varied artists throughout the year. http://www.delicate-cutters.com

Suzi Ragsdale and Mike Whitty kickoff the last day of the festival on Sunday morning under the moss-draped oaks of Hibiscus Coffee and guesthouse - the Backyard of Love.

Sam Bush and his band played on a gorgeous winter day of 75 degrees during the 30A Songwriters Festival at Gulf Place. Randall Bramblett brought his saxophone and joined the band on stage for a few tunes.

Sam wore a Stinky's Fish Camp T-shirt and thanked owner jim Richard for keeping him and the boys well fed. The band got started a little late so local favorite Dread Clampitt was unable to join him on stage as planned.

From a misty morning sunrise to a serene golden sunset on Peach Creek Bayou. Mullet leap and Redfish tail, from the kayak Largemouth Bass are hooked. An Osprey (fish eagle) chirps and chases an American Bald Eagle three times his size into the bough of a Longleaf Pine. Pelicans and migrating Mallards dive and feed. Fishermen motor out for a day of trout fishing on the Choctawhatchee (chock-tuh-hatch-ee) Bay.

It was the warm and lazy last day of 2011, and it was a good one, living the dream. Summer never really ended that year.
___

South Walton is almost always filled with shiny, happy people visiting our beautiful beaches. Every early morning each year on January first, the beach behind WaterColor Inn & Resort is crowded with folks who are shinier and happier than the norm, eager to start the New Year with a splash by taking a chilly dip in the Gulf of Mexico.

What better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon than kayak fishing on the calm waters of one of South Walton's hidden gems.

Peach Creek flows north from the wetlands of Point Washington State Forest, on the north side of Seagrove Beach, Florida. It's just a short distance from the Gulf of Mexico and Scenic Highway 30A.

What begins as a trickle, widens to SoWal's largest freshwater creek, opening up to a beautiful bayou flowing into the Intracoastal Waterway and the Choctawhatchee (Chock-tuh-hatch-ee) Bay.

Santa arrives in a one-horse, open sleigh and lights up children's eyes and turns on the massive Christmas tree in the middle of town, as carolers stroll in and around the merchants' open houses.

The next morning is breakfast and photos with Santa, an open-air Holiday market, Christmas trees for sale, and a Bocce Ball tournament on Western Green by the gulf.

The SoWal-sponsored, annual Flutterby Festival is returned to Rosemary Beach, Nov. 12-13, 2011, celebrating the arts and the migration of the Monarch Butterfly in SoWal. Hosted by the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA), the event also featured interactive adventures by the Seaside Repertory Theatre.