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PAT LINDSEY PHOTO
STORY BY BOB LINDSEY

I’ve always thought the beaches of the Florida panhandle from Pensacola to Panama City were the prettiest in the country. With their fine white sand, gentle dunes and emerald waters, it’s the perfect setting for a family vacation, reunion or a romantic getaway.

Destin is in the middle of this Florida oasis and just to the east of the city lies the ultimate Florida resort community. Sandestin is located on 2,400 acres on both sides of U.S. Highway 98. The massive resort incorporates all the attractions of a first-class resort: white sand beaches, a variety of accommodations from the Bayside Inn to Grand Sandestin, plus villas and deluxe condos in a variety of prices ranges, but still within a family budget.

We had the opportunity to visit Sandestin last September when the crowds were down, but the beach and summer activities were still very much in the summer mode. It was the first time in several years that all of four of us (my wife and our two grown children) were able to travel together. We stayed in a two-bedroom condo right in the middle of all the action—that being the Baytown Wharf area, which was a perfect location for our 4-day getaway.

“JANE BANASZEK PHOTO
BAYTOWN WHARF AREA
We had large accommodations with a kitchen, porch, two bathrooms and living/dining room area. The beautiful palm-tree shaded swimming pool was just one level below. Just outside our unit in the streets of Baytown Wharf were shops, as many quality restaurants as you could want, and a little nightlife that varied from piano bars, to a rock club, to a wharf dock where our favorite Sandestin band was performing.

Howling Jack has played at Hammerhead’s for six years with a wide variety of music styles from country, to Cajun, to old-time rock ‘n roll. He takes requests and if you tell him you’re from St. Louis, he’ll play a Chuck Berry song for you. This is a nice place to enjoy some steamed seafood in a bucket with cold drinks or a variety of foods, from sandwiches to full meals.

We had just planned to have some shrimp at Hammerhead’s but Howling Jack kept us entertained for the next three hours. It Goes To Show You Never Can Tell , as in Howling Jack’s version of the Chuck Berry classic, was appropriate. This was on our first night at the resort—and we came back on our last evening to hear Jack’s band again.

The best barbecue in the Wharf area has to be Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q featuring southern slow-cooked hickory-smoked meats with salads and homemade sides. The tender beef brisket with slow-simmered baked beans, cole slaw and sweet tea was my favorite, while Pat liked the turkey and sweet potato fries. Sweet tea or cold beer complements the meal.

For the coldest beer, Beef ‘O Grady’s located at the entrance to Sandestin is the coldest south of Pestalozzi Street. The happy hour 20-ounce at $2.25 a glass goes great with the 25-cent wings special. This is a southern sports bar chain, so you have many other choices for salads, soups and sandwiches, along with ribs, beef, chicken and other dishes.

The Wharf also has two Louisiana restaurants including a version of the famed New Orleans eatery Acme Oyster House. There are a dozen other restaurants on the Wharf from casual like the Village Deli Café and Mango’s Grille to fine dining such as the Marlin Grille, Bistro Bijoux and Osaka Sushi Rocks. For upscale dining on the gulfside beachfront, Finz is the place. For an early or late breakfast, Another Broken Egg serves the best omelets on the Gulf Coast (they have a few other locations in the Florida Panhandle) plus blackberry grits, waffles, pancakes and more.

Although we didn’t eat at Rum Runners, it’s one of those fun places with the dueling piano players belting out classic oldies, sing-along-songs and any Southern university fight-song that’s requested—sort of like Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans. Other clubs with music include Fat Tuesday, the Funky Blues Shack and John Wehmer’s Village Door, a favorite of our grown children.

JANE BANASZEK PHOTO

SUNNY DAYS ON THE BEACH

Of course, the main attraction in these parts is the alluring white-sand beaches of the Gulf Coast and those at Sandestin are exceptional. The gentile breeze and aqua waters await once you settle under your umbrella cabana. There’s a pool right on the beach in case you want a dip in salt-free water. Bring snacks or drinks or you can purchase them on the beachfront. Being land-locked Midwesterners, we spent three of our four days on the irresistible beach carefully dousing the sunscreen so not to get burned.

Yet Sandestin is still so much more than the Wharf and the beach. There are numerous activities for all ages including bike riding (no extra charge), tennis (one hour free daily), a fitness center, a championship golf course and places to explore such as the Jolee Island nature trail leading to Observation Point, or Captain Joe’s tree house for the kids. One hour of free canoes or kayaks are offered to guests.

If shopping is your passion, there is a wide variety at Baytown Wharf and the Market Shops at Sandestin. The newest additions are the shops at Grand Boulevard. There’s also a big outlet mall just ten minutes away in Destin.

While it’s easy to drive around Sandestin (no attraction is more than ten minutes away), the resort offers a free tram that operates throughout the resort until late at night. Our rental car made it easy to maneuver the palm-tree-laden streets, but we did use the tram on two occasions at night.

YEAR-ROUND CELEBRATIONS

February features Valentine’s Day Mixtreme Makeover, a Fat Tuesday Baytown Bash Parade (part of the big Mardi Gras celebration at Sandestin) and the Wednesday Night concert series begins. The Spring months bring St. Patrick’s Day at the Market Shops, Blues on the Beach, an Island Style street party, the Sandestin Wine Festival and ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival.

Starting in May and throughout the summer there’s the Cypress Green Concert series, Friday Nite Flicks, Sunset Cinema, Tupelo Strolls, and holiday weekend celebrations for Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day. Obviously, summer is the biggest family time in Sandestin and early booking is advised. Late summer and fall features some of the best rates at Sandestin.

From the Fall until Christmas there are still plenty of seasonal activities as the weather cools off, but yet it’s rarely cold. The Wednesday night concerts continue and events abound around the holidays from Oktober Fest and Halloween until Holiday Fest in November and other Christmas and holiday festivities.

Sandestin offers various packages including Family, Village Rise & Shine, Romance Package, a Spas Package, Stay & Play Golf and Where the Pros.

We confined most of our activities around the beach, the bike trails and the restaurant and music scene with our family of all adults. Although there weren’t many young families here in September, it’s easy to see that this a great family vacation place. Children’s activities abound in the summer.

Sandestin is part of Intrawest resort chain. For specific information about rates, seasons, accommodations visit the web site: www.sandestin.com, For information call: 850-267-8000.

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