Navarre Beach, Florida

I just came back from vacationing in
Navarre, Florida. It is about an 8 hour drive from Anderson, South Carolina. The drive is all on the freeway until the last hour where you drive through some small towns in Alabama. There were miles of cotton fields.

Navarre Beach has beautiful white sand and the water is bright blue. The city just completed rebuilding the beach and the dune walkways last year because it was swept away from Hurricane Dennis in 2005. They added 200 feet of new sand to the beach. There were surfers there the day we went to the beach. The waves were huge due to the tropical storm that was heading toward shore. The tropical storm did not worry me as I have lived in Florida before for many years. It was actually nice to hear the rain all night long. I am sure the people who live there get nervous whenever a storm arrives as they have been hit quite a few times from hurricanes.

Further down the beach there are rows and rows of beautiful homes of all colors that have just been rebuilt or are in the process. Most of this part of the beach is vacant until the homes are completed. Once completed it would be a really nice place to retire.

East River Smokehouse had really good food and live music at night. TC's Front Porch has the best burgers and the place reminds you of the beach even though it is in town. It is set up like a deck with all sides open so you can enjoy the outdoors. The place that really gives you that tropical feel is Juana's Beach Bar which is located on the inter-coastal side. It is a tiki hut with the sides open, straw-style roof, and sand as the floor. They have volleyball outdoors and a wonderful view of the water. There is a restaurant next door called Sailor’s Grill which has an open deck.

There is something for the entire family to enjoy. You can relax on the beach, canoe on a river, stroll along a nature trail, or visit the Zoo or Butterfly House. Navarre is located in between Destin and Pensacola. It is a nice drive to both places to go shopping. The best part of my vacation was visiting family at my sisters’ homes who both live in Navarre.