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Florida Panhandle

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The Florida Panhandle is in Florida.

Contents

[edit] Regions

  • Emerald Coast - The Emerald Coast, also called the Miracle Strip, and more informally known as the Redneck Riviera, includes Bay, Okaloosa and Walton counties. The Pensacola area (Escambia and Santa Rosa counties) is also often included in this area.
  • Forgotten Coast - This region is comprised of Franklin, Gulf, Jefferson, and Wakulla counties, some of the most rural of Florida's coastal counties.
  • West Florida - This is the only part of an east coast state to be in the Central time zone and consists of the ten counties west of the Apalachicola River (Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, and Washington}. This region was once part of the Spanish and British colonies of West Florida (which included parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana as far west as the Mississippi). Its capital was Pensacola.
  • Middle Florida - This is the region of North Florida between the Apalachicola and Suwannee Rivers. It was once the core of antebellum Florida's slave-based cotton plantation economy. Only the western half of the Middle Florida region is actually in the Panhandle. It includes the six easternmost counties of the Panhandle (Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla) as well as some counties in the western part of the North Florida region.

[edit] Cities

[edit] Other destinations

[edit] Understand

The Florida Panhandle has hung onto its Southern culture better than probably any other region in Florida, so expect traditional Southern hospitality and more conservative values.

An exception to this general trend is Tallahassee, which, while retaining a great deal of that Southern charm, also contains pockets of the progressive, creative atmosphere typical of college towns.

[edit] Get in

Interstate 10 and its scenic byways slice across the Panhandle parallel to, but several miles inland from, the coast. I-10 follows the route of the older Highway 90. Closer to the coast, Highway 98 is the most important route. Like much of the US a car is really a requirement to see this area. There is local bus service in most cities, and biking is popular both for getting around town or for longer tours of the coast.

[edit] Get around

[edit] See

  • Marianna is home to Florida Caverns State Park.
  • Torreya State Park in Liberty County.
  • Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Wakulla County.
  • Saint George Island State Park in Franklin County.
  • Wakulla Springs south of Tallahassee.

[edit] Do

[edit] Spectator Sports

Tallahassee is home to the Seminoles of Florida State University, and college football is a religion for many Panhandle residents, with Saturdays in the fall being the holy day. Pensacola is home to the semi-professional ice hockey team, the Pensacola Ice Pilots.

[edit] Festivals/Holidays

Major holidays in Pensacola include Mardi Gras and the Fiesta of Five Flags. Celebrations of note in Pensacola are the Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival, the Seafood Festival, the Bushwhacker Festival, the Bill Fishing Tournament, and the Gay and Lesbian Memorial Day Festival. Fort Walton Beach is known for the Billy Bowlegs Festival, and Panama City for Spring Break. Niceville is know for its Mullet Festival.

[edit] Eat

In the Panama City and Panama City Beach area there are many great places for local fare. The most recognized restaurant is Captain Anderson's on Thomas Drive in Panama City Beach. It's located on the lagoon and get there early to see the fishing fleet arrive and unload the day's catch.

Other restaurants of note include Pompano's on Front Beach Road, Saltwater Grill on Middle Beach (Hutchison Road) and Canopies. Canopies is a "fine dining" establishment overlooking St. Andrew's Bay in Panama City.

[edit] Drink

The Panhandle is home to two of Florida's four dry counties, where the sale of alcohol is prohibited (Washington and Liberty). However, alcohol of any variety can be found in abundance in the college town of Tallahassee and the Spring Break destination of Panama City Beach.

[edit] Stay safe

[edit] Get out

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