30A's lazy days are gone

[SHELLY]

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30A's lazy days are gone
Scenic route tries to hang on to its identity during growth

SANTA ROSA BEACH ? As a child in the early 1960s, Brenda Rees could walk down the yellow line in the center of Walton County Road 30A and not give a thought to traffic.

Rees, whose father built her family?s first beach house on Eastern Lake in the late 1950s out of the wood from his father?s barn, walked on the yellow line the nearly three miles to a small country market in Seagrove Beach because the black asphalt was too hot on her bare feet.

Cars rarely drove by. Rees, now 54, didn?t have to worry about crowded beaches, either.

?I could go to the beach all day long and would not see another person,? she said.

That was decades before the planned communities of Seaside, WaterColor and Rosemary Beach sprouted along CR 30A in South Walton. Back then, the live oaks and scrub brush along the road was sparsely dotted with one-story concrete Florida cottages splashed in pastel hues.

These days CR 30A isn?t so quiet. Development has obscured much of the view of the Gulf of Mexico with multi-million dollar homes and created traffic congestion along the road.

Residents along CR 30A believe the area has maintained a special character despite development. But some worry that traffic and development could negatively affect the area?s future.................

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/12474

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[Pirate]

You can still head down to Alligator Point or Indian Pass if you want the old days experience.

 

[full time]

I read a recent article from a Minneapolis/St Paul Magazine that called the communities along 30-A the best family vacation spots in the United States. It was a very generous portrayal of the area. The writer raved about the architecture in Rosemary Beach, the friendliness of Watercolor and the topography of Watersound. If I can find it online, I'll post it.

 

[elgordoboy]

You can still head down to Alligator Point or Indian Pass if you want the old days experience.

Alligator Point..is that below Tallahassee? If it is the same place there was a restaraunt called Posey's or something that had amazing spicy sausage links if I am remembering correctly (been 15 years).

 

[GoodWitch58]

Posey's is up the road a ways...near St Marks.

 

[elgordoboy]

Posey's is up the road a ways...near St Marks.

Thanks..am I remembering the sausage correctly? It was before I truly appreciated good food when I last had the links.

 

[Bobby J]

Growth... Its all about perspective.

 

[GoodWitch58]

Thanks..am I remembering the sausage correctly? It was before I truly appreciated good food when I last had the links.

not sure about that, but the oysters and beer are always good.

 

[aggieb]

You can still head down to Alligator Point or Indian Pass if you want the old days experience.

don't tell all you know.

 

[Teresa]

You can still head down to Alligator Point or Indian Pass if you want the old days experience.

don't tell all you know.

aggieb, I was just going to say to pirate: did you have to say that out loud? geeeesh.


yes, 30A has changed so much its just amazing. it has developed beautifully in most ways, but not in all ways. overall, can't complain - we do have some beach preservation areas, height limits, and some really beautiful resort and neighborhood developments. not to mention some really great food joints.

some of the development over the years - well - let's just say poor taste and/or out of character. we learn to try to tolerate and accept because its just part of the deal. done is done. i.e., grayton corners was a real controversey - it could have been a very nice development, but it did not turn out that way for a number of reasons.

the numbers of people on the beach all winter long is an indication of what we're in store for this summer. we did enjoy private beaches a few times. but only a few times.

things seem to kind of stay the same in the old residential bay areas though. thank goodness for this blessing.