(vanity) Anyone ever been to Ft Walton beach in Florida?

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

Were thinking of going, someone said a place called "Conquestador Suites" was cheap and on the beach and towards a less-noisy end of the beach.

Anyone been to or live in Ft Walton?

[Roscoe]

http://216.157.106.55/traders.html

[wardaddy]

Traffic is horrible in Destin/Ft Walton but the beaches are arguably the prettiest sand and clearest emerald water in the lower 48.

You get over towards the east at St George's or Alligator Point and it's not as pretty but less crowded and a but less pricey.

Go west towards Pensacola to Gulf Shores and it's about the same thing....a hair less pretty and a bit less money.

If money is no object...go to Rosemary Beach around 15-20 miles east of Destin between there and Panama City...ritzy and well kept.

Panama City is great for chasing young girls in thongs but I'm way past that....a bit tacky too...lots of amusement stuff.

I'll probably do Ft Morgan road just west of Gulf Shores...quiet and more economical and I have kin in Fairhope and Mobile....I also have a family of 6 so I usually get a 3 bedroom house on the beach...about 1500/wk.....at Rosemary, it would be 3000-5000.

I keep wanting to go back to Destin but it never fits in with time or budget...it is lovely. I went fishing there with my dad as a boy every year back in the late 60s and early 70s and there was only one 2 story hotel(Holiday Inn).....now it's like Ft Lauderdale.

In my dreams.....St Barts...no kids...and the wife topless in a thong while she can still pull it off.

Damn I'm so housebroken....to think I used to travel the world for a living and now getting the tribe from Nashville to the Gulf or New Orleans or Manhattan or Dallas is a mucho preparation ordeal.

Big families mean compromise kids but it's worth it....still, enjoy the freedom and hedonism while ya can!

We're gonna go down the week of July 5th after stopping in Jackson Miss for the kinfolk tribe thingie and then probably pop into Meyer's real estate at Gulf Shores and see what's the best deal on a last minute opening. I did that 3 years ago and got a 3 bedroom house on Fort Morgan rd for 4 nights at 87/night....less than half price.

My favorite spot on the Gulf is Boca Grande between Sarasota and Fort Meyers...posh and beautiful shell beaches but way pricey...an old money WASP enclave

[WolfsView]

I'm from Ft. Walton, The Conquistdor isn't bad, we used to rent a suite there to party on new years eve. If ypour older and don't want the younger party crowd stay down in san-destin about 45 minutes away. It's more expensive but quit.

[dixiechick2000]

Thank you, wardaddy! I should have known to ping you...you know everything, and you phrase it better than any living Southern writer I know.

Personally, I love the Alabama beaches. We were there year the before last (Orange Beach). My Oregon born and bred son-in-law was so white he glowed!

stuck_in_new_orleans, I used to live there, too. I know exactly how you feel.

[wardaddy]

It's funny how they still call it the redneck riviera...I know multi millionaires here in Nashville who have homes and condos down there on the beach that sell for 400 bucks a sq foot minimum beachfront.

There was a time though when the area was economical....back when there was nothing between:

Panama City and Destin
Ft Walton and Navarre Beach
Foley and Gulf Shores
Gulf Shores and Perdido...hell nobody knew where Perdido was lol
Ft Morgan road was truly desolate with huge dunes....either David or Frederic damaged the dunes hard...and now they have houses the whole way

It's all changed. Mexico Beach and San Blas are fairly remote east of Panama City....but the beaches and water are a bit less pristine.

Oh well...progress..

A friend of mine just came back from Nags Head and said it was bumper to bumper.

One of my closest friends runs a charter a Little Palm in the Keys.....super posh...Robin Leach stuff...1500/night....I can stay on his 51 foot sailboat for free but it's not where I want to be with toddlers for obvious reasons.

[dixiechick2000]

Bless you for that link. I actually teared up.

I'm glad, and thankful, to see that tradition perpetuated.

[piasa]

It's nice. I recommend renting a beach house down by Gulf Shores for more private beachgoing.

A Zydecho tape and boiled crawdads are mandatory with your beer.

For fishing see if the guy who captains the Cutty Shark is still around, and go catch some snapper or amberjack.

[dixiechick2000]

"Nags Head "

North Carolina?

[dixiechick2000]

You know how to live.

[piasa]

Hmm, cancel that, he's probably floating out of a marina much further west than that, not Ft. Walton area. (*sigh*) It's been years since I've been up in the panhandle. Once we live in south Florida we go barefoot all the time - the folks in the panhandle won't let us do anything up there without the formality shoes. ; )

[dixiechick2000]

Where's the best place to go for food, amusement parks, and bars?

When I have a chance to get back there, I'd really like to know where to find the best place to hang out.

[UnChained]

One noteworthy thing no one mentioned is the Ft. Walton Bay's VERY gradual slope. Its is like a huge wading pool at low tide. You can walk hundreds of feet from shore in some areas. It's pretty neat.

[wardaddy]

I rented the Sand Dollar house on Ft Morgan Road right on the beach (15 yards from our tent/umbrella) that summer for a week.....out about mile marker 19 or so.

It was great....we could leave the baby in the sunroom with a cracked window where we could hear him or keep an eye on him.

Now he's 3 and his little bro is 7 months...

A beach house of FT Morgan simply fits my budget and scheduling better....I'm not spending over 2K for 7 nights in the US for a vacation rental...no way.

I look forward to it....lie on the beach and smoke La Gloria Cubanas...and people watch...get hot and jump in the water.

2 summers ago was the shark attack summer remember?

I hate the off shore drilling they have now but I understand why it's there...sadly. Better to go to the Arctic where it doesn't mess with my beach view....although the lights are pretty at night and they do real well about no derrick trash or flotsam.

If Meyers has a good spot at Orange or Perdido...I might end up there....we'll see....they are a bit more crowded.

I like the food there....we go to that Deep Dish Pizza/Oyster Bar joint on stilts in Gulf Shores religiously...they have a band...my wife can drink beer and loosen up and the kids like the atmosphere. Do not drink and drive back out Ft Morgan road late at night...it's a sure DUI...one way in and one way out for 25 miles. I don't drink anyhow other than sipping a nice ale or bordeaux given the chance...drinking makes me sleepy and less frisky....not worth it..lol..I'll stick with the hard stuff...Diet Dr Pepper (something I bet you don't see much where you are now)
The folks who own the big amusement park there used to be my dad's banker in Nashville till they moved down there 20 years ago.

I did my senior year of HS and Fairhope and when we skipped school...often....we either went to the old Pool Hall in Foley where one could drink underage or we went to Pensacola or FloraBama....wow...memory lane. I had some wild times down there...met lots of interesting LEOs...lol

We lived on Mobile Bay next to the Grand Hotel...very quaint.

[wardaddy]

Yes

[Atchafalaya]

One must maintain order in the universe!

[dixiechick2000]

Absolutely!

[wardaddy]

I just know where they are. I can't recall the names.

I'll take notes this time and let you know.

Back in the old days...the best seafood in Destin was the Sand Flea...my dad and I always ate there by the bridge to Ft Walton....I went over and checked it all out 2 summers ago...the place is closed but the bldg is still there....great Pompano.

Between Gulf Shores and Foley off the beaten path at Bon Secur was a great fish house...closed now too.

Ft Walton had a place with aquariums in the walls on the main drag (south side).

Man..all of Florida was like the Coppertone ad back then...pre-Mouse.....Silver Springs and Cypress Gardens were the big draw.

My dad's company did all the water/sewer for Mouseville so I got a big dose of that very early on....walking around the Magic Kingdom while it was under construction in 70 or so.

[dixiechick2000]

Thanks! When I saw the words "bumper to bumper", I thought you must have meant North Carolina.

North Carolina--the bumper to bumper state.

When we lived in Wilmington, the beach was great...you could almost call it "unmolested". Then, in 1990, they opened the Michael Jordan Freeway--I 40. Wow, what a difference a highway makes.

It's been bumper to bumper ever since.

[Atchafalaya]

Me too, I can remember our annual two car, 4 testosterone riddled males/car, 27 cases of Budweiser/car, 2 bags of fritoes/car and you were good to go!! Back in 65-66-67 and Im sure for some years beyond that stretch from Pensacola to Panama City could have compared with the Saharah Desert as far as development. We took the coast route cause we wanted to see the water and figured with the buzz we had on by then we were less likely to get nailed by local gendarmes. Those were the days, if I'm lucky I might have a dream tonight. Don't tell my wife!

[wardaddy]

Yep....basically I-40 from Memphis to Nashville to Knoxville to Asheville to Winston to Raleigh et al is overcrowded and should be 6 lane minimum like most of the rural interstate in GA is now.

Volunteer weekends (no I'm not a fan) between Nashville and Knoxville is literally bumper to bumper...the 185 mile trip can take 4-5 hours. Memphis to Nashville is a bit better.

Now when you take 65 down from Mongomery to Mobile it's like the old days....a few cars per mile max...sort of like 55 between Memphis and Jackson.

I miss two lane thumpytythump concrete hwys and about 80 million less folks...lol

Traveling the country was more personal and intersting then...you got a feel for it.

Nite....done my baby feedings for the nite and it's crash time and mother is coming over for the night around noon so my wife will be nervous naturally...the house must be spotless for the "queen's arrival"

Regards!