SoWal Scene - South Walton County, Florida Blog

Breaking South Walton News - Stranded Mother Whale and Baby on Beach at Beachfront Condos in Seagrove

Just in from JD Johnson of Beach to Bayou Property Inspection - a stranded whale was discovered this morning by a member of the South Walton Turtle Watch who was making their daily early morning walk looking for sea turtle nests.  The whale is located in front of Beachfront condos in Lakewood neighborhood in Seagrove Beach.

It appears this is the mother, and there is a stranded calf further west on the beach.  Volunteers were keeping the whale wet, at the instruction of Fish and Wildlife, and awaiting their arrival, as well as that of a representative from Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach.   Stay tuned for more information.

UPDATE...................................
source: Pauline Sutcliffe-Walton Sun | July 5, 2008

Mother whale and calf beach themselves after shark attack
Beach walkers at Lakewood beach entrance found two pygmy sperm whales, a female and her calf, beached Friday morning. Here's a personal accounty of the drama from Seacrest resident Pauline Sutcliffe.

"Mom whale and young calf were picked up by Gulf World shortly after I took these photos and it was established the calf was about a year old.  MORE...

SoWal Scene Readers have Spoken - The Best Burger in SoWal is ...

The 1/2 lb. all-chuck burger at Seagrove Village Market Café! 

Congratulations owners George and Ann Hartley and the entire Seagrove Market staff!   I will be presenting them with a framed "Best of SoWal Scene" certificate!

From their menu:

BURGERS
Served with Fries ~ 1/2 lb. Ground Chuck     

Hamburger $5.99
w/ Cheese $6.49
Double Cheeseburger $7.49

I also know they have a killer Grouper Boy which I wrote about HERE.

The Seagrove Village Market Café is open for lunch and dinner - call for times and days of operation at 850.231.5736.  They are located at 3004 South Highway 395 in Seagrove Beach [map].

I will be adding a bunch of new polls so be sure to visit the Best of SoWal page.  It is a great way for you to show your support for your favorite local businesses.  All winners are awarded with a Best of SoWal Scene certificate and given a free link on my links page! 

Thanks for your participation!

Seagrove Village Market

In Chicago, you have the Italian Beef.  In Philadelphia, the Philly Cheesesteak.  Louisville, the Hot Brown,  New Orleans, the Muffuletta.

Many regions around the US have their own claim-to-fame, signature sandwich.  I think it's high time SoWal be officially awarded it's own distinctive sandwich and I vote that sandwich be ...the Grouper Po'Boy.

I grew up in Milwaukee where my experience with fish - as something you eat - was not a very positive one.  I'll sum it up in two words - pickled herring.  Beyond that, Friday Fish Fry was, and still is, a weekly Milwaukee tradition but the fish comes fried - doesn't everything taste good fried?

It wasn't until I went to culinary school on the outskirts of D.C. when I was 22 that I was exposed to, and began eating, fresh, delectable FISH - the kind-that-doesn't-smell-to-high-heavens or have-to-be-fried-to-enjoy type of fish.  I had missed out in my childhood for sure.

Ripped from the Headlines : Feb 4

NatureWalk only one part of Olson holdings for sale
February 01, 2008 Joyce Owen | Walton Sun Online

It’s official, NatureWalk at Seagrove is for sale.

Not as in one lot at a time as part of the NatureWalk community, but the entire project has been put on the market.

On Jan. 26, a sign in front of the Seagrove Villas motel, was replaced with a for sale sign.

On Monday, the sign was removed, but the property had not sold. Instead, H2O Properties Realtor Hunter Roquemore, the listing agent, said there was indecision about how the sign at that location looked, but after discussions with the owner, the original sign was going back up.

“We have that property (listed) for $21 million,” Roquemore said.

Addy Gala open to the public this year

Café Thirty-A to Host 16th Annual Emerald Coast Advertising Federation ADDY® Gala Saturday, February 9
Caring and Sharing of South Walton and the Boys and Girls Clubs to be recipients of net proceeds.

This year Café Thirty-A will host the 2008 Emerald Coast Advertising Federation ADDY® Gala on Saturday, February 9, 2008 from 6-9 p.m.   “This venue is a big change as in the past we have typically held the event at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and the Sandestin Hilton Golf and Beach Resort,” said Will Mayberry, President of Emerald Coast Advertising Federation.  “We have also added a silent auction to the event this year in an effort to raise money for two local charities – the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast and Caring and Sharing of South Walton.” 

Seagrove Villas and Motel Back on the Market?

Is it true?  Seagrove Villas and Motel is back on the market (see related stories below)?

Seagrove Villas and Motel has been around since the '50s and is one of the last remnants of "Old Seagrove" -  reason enough for most locals to excuse it's dated and kitschy appearance.  The developers of NatureWalk at Seagrove, located just north of WaterColor Crossings on Hwy 395, had purchased the property for tear down a while back and were going to shuttle homeowners from NatureWalk - which is about 1-1/2 miles away - to a new beach club to be built on the property.  This raised all sorts of questions from a few dozen local residents about congestion on an already congested roadway during our tourist season.

I am surprised to hear that the property is now for sale!  I never thought the plan to shuttle people to the beach club was very logical in the first place and maybe, with the market slow down and lackluster sales in the development, they finally realized that it wasn't a great financial investment for them?  Who knows.  (January 29 - update at bottom of this post)

Flip-Flops Grill in Seagrove Beach

I hit the newly opened Flip-Flops Grill in Seagrove (4281 E Co Hwy 30-A | 850.231-0022) for lunch with my friend, Tera Cross, on Monday.  There is a lot of chatter around South Walton about this place and it has immediately become a local's favorite. In addition to lunch which is served from 11am - 2pm, they are also open for breakfast at 7am.  They are closed on Sundays.

Burgers, hot dogs, fried shrimp, chicken tenders, corn dogs, fries (regular and cheese), onion rings...it's classic greasy spoon fare.  What makes it a home run is the passion the husband/wife team, Shea Guillory and Rebecca Mayeux, put into the food.  The burgers aren't frozen patties from Cisco but are hand made and seasoned with a special house blend.  The onion rings and fries are hand cut and home made.  You can tell there was thought put into the selection of the perfect bun for the burger and hot dog as both hold up beautifully under the heft of such toppings as chili, guacamole, "magic" mayo, gorgonzola cheese and all the traditional fixins.