Page 106 - Travel Guide to Florida 2020

NORTHWEST FLORIDA

ENTERTAINMENT
If you’re talkin’ Northwest Florida cookin’,
you’re talkin’ fresh seafood. One of the best
places to find it is in the town of Eastpoint,
across the bay from Apalachicola and
St. George Island. Eastpoint is lined with rustic
seafood houses, serving freshly harvested
Apalachicola Bay oysters just hauled in by the
weathered skiffs outside. And the oysters
come with an extra dose of friendliness as
many of these restaurants are now into the
fourth generation of family ownership. BALLET PENSACOLA • VISIT PENSACOLA
Panama City offers a variety of nightlife
options, among them the multi-venue harbor lights and lapping waters. supposedly, the site of Spanish buried treasure.
musical jam called “Music Matters.” The In Pensacola, nightlife often revolves The Washington County town of Chipley
Corner Pocket is a non-smoking pool hall around performing arts companies like the has its fair share of interesting historical
with the city’s largest selection of craft beer Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Pensacola buildings in the South Third Street Historic
and is an owner-operated Cicerone establish- Opera, Pensacola Ballet and the Pensacola District. And you can take an extraordinary
ment. The Place Downtown, in the historic Little Theatre, the oldest continuously look at early life here at the Washington
district of Panama City, features trivia nights operating community theater in the County Historical Museum.
and weekly dances with live bands. southeastern U.S. The Seville Quarter is a South Walton has 16 beach neighbor-
Neighboring Panama City Beach is a flip- huge venue offering seven rooms of hoods that make for a beautiful drive along
flops town during the day, however, when nighttime entertainment, with DJs, pool the coast. You’ll drive along Scenic 30A
the sun goes down its partying side comes tables, dance club, restaurants, live music through a variety of distinct neighborhood
out. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is a branch of and dueling pianos. And downtown’s Palafox styles—so distinct, in fact, that you’ll know
Nashville’s world-famous honky-tonk with Street is an exciting strip lined with restau- when you’re going from one town into
live country music, nightly. You can also rants, bars and clubs. another. The area’s upscale aura is evidenced
hear live music at Pineapple Willie’s. And by its many artists and galleries, funky local
keep your throat moist because, in this town, ROAD TRIPS boutiques, and farm-to-table dining philoso-
there’s a good chance you’ll be using it for The town of Mexico Beach boasts some of the phy. This route also offers numerous
karaoke at night. best side trips in Northwest Florida. The Dead opportunities to kayak on coastal dune lakes,
In the town of Bonifay, you can find good Lakes State Recreation Area, 23 miles away, play golf at a PGA-quality course, and bike
food and sports at Sam’s Place, and pool offers perhaps the best freshwater fishing in along the 18-mile Timpoochee Trail.
tables and camaraderie at La Cue Billiards. the state, along with unusual scenery due to For something truly unique, check out the
The picturesque seaside town of Destin the stumps and dead tree trunks sticking out first Underwater Museum of Art (UMA) in the
may bring back memories of that famous of the water. Another “natural” day trip from U.S. off Grayton Beach State Park, where a
‘50s song, Harbor Lights. HarborWalk Village Mexico Beach is St. Vincent National Wildlife collection of seven underwater sculptures
and the Destin Harbor are the most romantic Refuge, accessible only by water. Here, you’ll were installed in the summer of 2018 as artifi-
strolling spots in town, with great shopping see an incredible variety of wildlife, among cial reefs to provide anchor points for marine
and cool boutiques, galleries, family restau- them many species of birds, Sambar deer and life to inhabit. This ecotourism attraction
rants and attractions, bars and clubs, pub the endangered red wolf. A good starting point was named one of TIME magazine’s “World’s
crawls, live music, and dancing amid those is Indian Pass, an historic trading post and, 100 Greatest Places" and 12 more sculptures
are in the works for a second installation.
The Chautauqua Vineyards & Winery is a
INTERNATIONAL nice day trip from the Emerald Coast. You can
tour the winery and learn the ABCs of grape-
GATEWAYS growing, pruning, harvesting, crushing and
bottling. You’ll be able to taste some of
Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport: iflybeaches.com
the wines that have earned Chautauqua over
Pensacola International Airport: flypensacola.com
140 awards, from dry wines and southern
favorites to sweet muscadine and blueberry.

104 2020 TRAVEL GUIDE TO FLORIDA