#7a and 7b St. Mary's Catholic Church and Rectory
by grandmaR
#7a The St. Mary's Catholic Church was built at 9 First Street S.E. in 1915 on land donated by John Thomas Brooks. The walking tour brochure says that the church currently on this site was built in 1941. It was used until 1972 when a new church was constructed on Robinwood Drive. The building is currently under renouvation.
The walking tour brochure says that the old St. Mary's Rectory build in 1937 was moved to 128 Shell Avenue when the new rectory was built in 1953. But the brochure says that the building was a wood frame residence, and the building at 128 Shell Avenue that is marked as location #7 of the tour is made of brick.
The new (1953) rectory is behind the church and has a cross over the door - see photo.
grayton beach
by doug48
when in the fort walton-destin area a very nice side trip is to grayton beach state park. this beautiful beach is considered on the best beaches in the state of florida. grayton beach state park offers swimming, fishing, canoeing, nature trails, and camping. also when in the area be sure to see the water color resort and the town of seaside. for more information about this beautiful section of northwest florida see my grayton beach pages.
from fort walton beach take US 98 east about 20 miles to CR 30A then about 5 miles to the park.
Not Hamburgers
by grandmaR about Chick-fil-A
In 1946, Truett Cathy opened the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, a suburb of Atlanta. The first Chick-fil-A was opened in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall in 1967. Chick-fil-A expanded in GA and SC until in 2000 they had more than $1 billion system-wide sales. By 2003, Chick-fil-A had expanded to the Western US (UT, AZ and CA). They are always closed on Sunday.
We wanted to have lunch after we drove over the Butler bridge, and Bob said he had never been to Chick-Fil-A, so we stopped there. I had been to Chick-Fil-A previously.
I suppose technically this particular restaurant is in Destin, but there are two in Fort Walton Beach proper. This one had a playland for the kids with it - outdoors. The other two are:
Santa Rosa Mall - Unit #265
300 Mary Esther Cut-Off
Mary Esther, FL 32569
850/244-1722
Beal Parkway FSU - Unit #1447
743 Beal Parkway, NW
Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32547
850/315-2697
While we were eating in the restaurant, a man came around and gave us cards which said he was a deaf mute and asked for $1 for 'better communication'. I gave the card back to him without the $1. I've never been approached by a panhandler actually inside a restaurant before. Chick-fil-A has mostly chicken sandwiches, nuggets and strips. They also have wraps and salads. No hamburger. They have fries or you can substitute a fresh fruit cup for an additional 55 cents. A picture of a fruit cup from my previous visit is photo #4, and carrot salad from a previous visit is #5.
Classics * Chick-fil-A® Chicken Sandwich * Chick-fil-A® Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich * Chick-fil-A® Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich * Chick-fil-A® Chicken Salad Sandwich * Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips® (4 or 6-count) * Chick-fil-A® Nuggets (4-6 in Kid's Meal or 8-12 pack)
Desserts * Icedream® Cup * Icedream® Cone * Chick-fil-A® Cheesecake * Chick-fil-A® Lemon Pie *
For lunch, Bob had chicken nuggets and I had a chicken strip salad (pictured) for a total lunchtime bill of $9.95
Indian Temple Mound Museum
by grandmaR
On our last day, we went to the Indian Mound Museum, which is a Fort Walton Beach city museum ($2 each for old people - currently the price we would have had to pay was $4.50 each plus tax). In addition to the actual museum the Indian mound itself dating to 800 A.D. is a National Historic Landmark.
The museum had lots of interactive exhibits for children, and I tried my hand at weaving with reeds. The interpretative exhibits depicted 12,000 years of Native American occupation during the four prehistoric cultural time periods - the Paleo, Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian. There is also a fine collection of Fort Walton Period ceramics. Exhibits also include artifacts from the European Explorers, local pirates, Civil War soldiers and early settlers.
Monday - Saturday 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday Closed
Admission for the Indian Temple Mound Museum is included in the general admission for the City of Fort Walton Beach Heritage Park & Cultural Center.
Adults (18years +) $5.00 + Tax
Seniors (55years +) $4.50 + Tax
Military W/ID $4.50 + Tax
Children (4-17years) $3.00 + Tax
Children (3yrs. and under) Free
~ Ft. Walton Beach & Okaloosa Island, Florida ~
by noidiotsplease
Ft. Walton Beach and neighboring unincorporated Okaloosa Island make up one of a handful of Panhandle destination areas offering a variety of hotels along a pristine strand of white, sandy Gulf Coast beaches. I visited the area a couple of times when I was a kid as the last stop before retuning from cross country car trips to Colorado.
Fort Walton Beach is the mainland population center while Okaloosa Island is a segment of barrier island across Choctawhatchee Bay. The area offers ample Gulfside accommodations despite being less built up and relatively low-rise when compared with Pensacola Beach, Panama City Beach, and nearby Destin. All together, the beaches of Florida's Panhandle rank among some of the best in the state for their stunningly white sand and emerald green water. The biggest downside to these beaches is their relative remoteness. The area is not convenient to any of Florida's exciting peninsular cities and attractions. Of course, recent years have shown that the Panhandle area also seems more prone to hurricanes than are beaches elsewhere.
While in Ft. Walton Beach we stayed at the Ramada Plaza Beach Resort on the Gulf of Mexico. Of all the hotels at which I have stayed, this one has the best pool. The "Grotto Pool" features a swim-up Tiki bar area accessible through two waterfalls and encased by a man-made cave. The resort also has a second large pool as well. It is not a "luxury" level resort, but boasts numerous recreational offerings.
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seaside
east beach
St. Mary's Catholic Church 1941
Saw Palmetto Informational Sign Along Trail
