Beach Town/Resort

Destin, Florida
Destin-FWB.com
[850] 651-7131 or 1-800-322-3319
Destin, along with neighboring Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island, makes up the Emerald Coast. The area's 24-mile-long ribbon of sparkling, snow-white beaches; sea oats; and buffer dunes remind me of a lifetime of summer vacations. And I simply can't think of anywhere I'd rather be. Our family stayed on Miramar Beach at a little condominium complex called Huntington by the Sea ([850] 650-6978 or 1-866-573-7678). It was small, but it was ours.

We played Hearts when we had baked in the sun too much and chased sand crabs when evening fell. These days, I catch grouper, snapper, and amberjack on lucky excursions with my uncle, whose boat, Blue Water, docks alongside the charter guides in Destin Harbor. This coastal town is known as the "World's Luckiest Fishing Village," and the best catches end up on plates at such area mainstay restaurants as The Back Porch and Beach Walk Crystal Beach.

For weddings, reunions, holidays―pretty much any occasion―we pack our bags to smell the salt and hear the laughing gulls. Such a special strip of land, from the East Pass to Topsail Hill Preserve, warrants regular visits. I feel alive there―like I did as a kid―rolling down the car's windows on the Destin Bridge to let the air pour in. It's a rite of passage. Going from mainland to that wonderful coast, it's my land of summers, no matter what the time of year.
--Taylor Bruce

2. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
MyrtleBeachInfo.com
[843] 626-7444 or 1-800-356-3016

3. Hilton Head, South Carolina
HiltonHeadIsland.org
[843] 785-3673 or 1-800-523-3373
 

(left) Destin, Florida: Look to the Panhandle of The Sunshine State for the best beach town―complete with its trademark white sand.

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