Okaloosa Island

Weathering the Storm





We are just back from a week on Okaloosa Island, Florida. http://www.destin-ation.com/okaloosaislandflorida/index.htm . Travel to Florida was it's usual bore with more traffic on Interstate 10 than usual because of the Spring Breakers. Once the Snow Birds ( northern winter renters) go home, we have to attend to our condos. Cleaning carpets, replacing missing items and just checking things out. We were met by a wet and wild Wednesday. The storm that blew in brought 40 mile per hour winds and very agitated Gulf water. The massive waves collided with the sand beaches and reshaped them at it's will. Gulls attempted flight but were ground as the wind pushed them down to their sandy perches. The roar of the wind muffled the gulls' call for relief. A few brave souls ventured on to the beach but were left with little dry cloths or self pride.










































What a Diffrence a Day Makes




Thursday was a day of dreams. The temperature was a mild 72 degrees, the wind had reduced to barely a fat man's breath and the sun was not veiled by even one cloud. By the afternoon I had finished my chores around the condo so I headed to the beach. Okaloosa Island is known for its sugar white sand beaches and fortunately not much damage had been done to them the day before. There can be some very strong rip tides along this beach especially since Hurricane Ivan reshaped the coast line. Several surfers attempted to catch the perfect wave, but most of the beach goers sat on their perfectly aligned beach chairs catching the sun's rays. What is so great about Okaloosa Island is that there is a building height restriction so no condo can build higher than seven stories, unlike Destin and Panama City which build to the heavens. This translates to less people on the beach and real estate keeps its value , even in slow times.

Food for Thought

On the second night we had dinner with friends at an excellent Italian restaurant called Pranzo. http://www.destin-fwb.com/Activities/Restaurants/.

The restaurant is located on Santa Rosa Blvd. to the north of the Brooks Bridge. Most people on the island use this Bridge as the anchor for directions to most any other place on the island. As we entered this classically styled restaurant the aroma of garlic tantalizes your nose. The smell was so thick in the air that I could actually taste it. Our friends are a local developer and a real estate agent who were just back from a sailing around the Baja Peninsula. Small talk of the trials and tribulations of sailing for a month and singing the praises of new grandchildren led to more intense discussions of new development on the Island. Although I can not discuss the specifics, the information has not been made public yet, I am enthusiastic about the new development that will be changing the Island for the better. No new condominium projects will be beginning any time soon. This should be good news to anyone who owns a condo along the Emerald Coast.


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RICK-DA SCALE
Here I will give my humble uneducated opinion of the places I have been. On a scale from 1-10 where 10 is nirvana and 1 is equal to having your right eye stuck with a hot poker while the left eye is forced to watch book reviews on C-Span.





Location____________ Rating_____________ Comment


Okaloosa Island________ 8 _______________ Best time to visit is October



Pronzo Restaurant______ 7_______________ The calamari is the best



Island Beaches_________ 8_______________Sugar white sand