Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City Beach April 16-19

Attention jazz lovers: the 2009 Resort Quest Seabreeze Jazz Festival will be held at the Pier Park Amphitheater in Panama City Beach, April 16-19! The line-up of performers includes Nick Colionne, Boney James, Wayman Tisdale, Will Downing, Warren Hill and many, many more. Don't miss this great event that is being held at the beautiful new Pier Park, which is about 6-7 miles East of Rosemary Beach. In addition to the jazz festival, Pier Park offers shopping, fine and casual dining, night clubs and a movie theater. For further information about the Seabreeze Jazz Festival, go to www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=30962

In honor of this event, I am offering a special discounted rental rate for the week of April 12-19: $1500.00 plus 11% FL tax. Please mention that you read this on the Emerald Views blog to receive the discount. Gather together several of your best friends and prepare for a fabulous week of sun, sand, surf, seafood and smooth jazz.

Seacrest Beach Resort

This lifeguard chair marks the entrance to the Seacrest Beach resort on Scenic Highway 30-A. My family and I chose to buy a vacation home in Seacrest Beach, not only because the area is gorgeous, but because the community offers everything we want in a vacation spot. Once we get to Emerald Views we park our car and leave it in the driveway, because shopping, recreation, fine and casual dining, galleries, spas, and entertainment are all within walking distance. We love to walk along the quiet streets and pedestrian paths that run through Seacrest Beach and the next door communities of Alys Beach and Rosemary Beach. It is a short stroll to the lagoon-style pool or to the beach, but if we don't feel like walking or have a lot of stuff to carry, we can always hitch a ride on the neighborhood tram. If we are feeling energetic, we might rent bicycles and ride along the 30-A biking/hiking path to the communities of Seaside or Watercolor. My sister and I love to get up early in the morning, walk over to Wild Olives for coffee and scrumptious pastries, then sit and enjoy our breakfast while admiring the Gulf of Mexico. If we are lucky we may see dolphins or a turtle. One morning we saw thousands and thousands of shore birds floating just offshore. Every few minutes they would all take to the air as one and then settle back onto the water a few hundred yards away. The birds' white plumage contrasted against the clear blue-green water was just stunning. The chocolate croissants weren't bad, either. ;) THAT is my idea of a great start to the day.

Last Minute Special

Good morning all! For those of you with flexible travel plans, we have a special offer: A last minute discount with rental rate of $1200.00 plus 11% FL tax for the week beginning March 28 with departure on morning of April 4. The reservation must be confirmed no later than March 26 to take advantage of this offer. See you at the beach......

Welcome to Emerald Views!

Hello, I'm Sandy, and I am your host for this blog about my favorite vacation spot, Seacrest Beach, Florida. The blog is named for the vacation house that I have there, Emerald Views. This vacation house fulfills a dream that my husband and I and my sister and her husband shared: to own a little bit of paradise. When we purchased the home last year it was with the intent to eventually live in Seacrest Beach several months of the year, but for now we will be content with visiting a couple of times a year and renting it several weeks of the year.

The content of this blog will be news and information about Seacrest Beach and the Scenic Highway 30-A area and musings about vacations and beaches in general. In addition, I will post rental specials and discounts for blog readers. Emerald Views is in the Seacrest Beach Resort, which is between Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach , in S. Walton County. This is an incredibly lovely stretch of beaches and communities in the panhandle of Florida. For more information about the area visit www.30a.com. To see more pictures of Emerald Views and check out rental information go to http://www.vrbo.com/37284.