Paradise found

Alys Beach

By: Gloria Houghland

Published On: September 09, 2010

I am one of those—a person who simply lives to travel. Visual learning through new experiences, including but not limited to fresh scenery, interesting people, abundant wildlife, unexplored historical sites and art of every genre, drive my desire to g-g-g-o-o-o. My friends often remark that I only have to be told where to be when and I’m there. Yet, I do actually have a few preferences and one general overall rule: I like to visit refreshingly cool places in the summer and toasty locales in the winter. You’ll rarely find me on a ski slope in December when I can be on a pristine, palm tree-populated beach with billowing clouds and sunny skies overhead, instead. Likewise, I’ve never understood the notion of traveling to scorching hot, sweat-inducing, humidity laden territory in July because, well, one could just as easily remain in Middle Tennessee, if that’s the experience one was seeking.

When our Florida panhandle-based friends called earlier this summer and said, “Come visit with us,” I actually hesitated for a few moments, knowing that accepting the invitation would, indeed, break my top travel dictate. However, since the invite did come from long-time friends and former Nashvillians, who had picked up one summer day several years ago and transferred themselves and their lives to sun-drenched, alluring Alys Beach, I agreed. I’ve always envied and admired just those kinds of adventure seekers. Why wouldn’t one want to live in the precise place which inspires a year of scrimping and saving in order to afford an annual visit? So, of course, I said “yes,” even though I was secretly reluctant. I longed to see my pals and was mightily curious to see the effects of the recent and devastating Big Oil Spill. Luckily, Southwest Airlines cinched the decision-making process with its newly added one-hour, non-stop flight down to Panama City. Throwing all caution to the wind, I tossed my highest-level sunscreen, my sauciest swim wear and my chicest shades in a bag and, without further trepidation, flew merrily off to the Sunshine State.

Friend and outstanding photographer (as well as trip initiator), Sheila Goode, shooting a fashion expo at Caliza Pool in Alys Beach with daughter, Hayley Green, was quite keen for me to see the “ever–so-elegant” beachfront paradise with which she had fallen so deeply in love. And, while I cherish my recollections of girlhood visits to Panama City and the Gulf of Mexico, I would never have characterized it as elegant. Captain Anderson’s Seafood Restaurant was the closest thing to upscale to be found there in the days of my youth. And fashionable? Could Sheila possibly be referring to the ubiquitous Alvin’s Island Department Stores perched on every street corner? Admittedly, I was intrigued to learn more about this reinvented, now posh Panama City/Hwy 30A destination.

Goode, widely known for her magnificent family, wedding and beach memory images, had assembled a gaggle of gorgeous, creative and savvy local gals to assist with the week-long shoot. Team Alys Fashion included: Jill Van Otten and Jessica Mansfield, make-up artists and stylists extraordinaire (make-up at the beach?), Stephanie Nichols, hip, upbeat clothing designer, and Allison Craft, renowned jewelry designer known particularly for her interpretation of pearls strung with leather. Paige Schnell with Tracery Interiors and Architect Marieanne Khoury-Vogt were also on Team Alys, as the people responsible for incorporating the community’s clean, simple design look into Sheila’s unfolding vision for the shoot. Marieanne and husband, Eric Vogt, were the town’s architects and became its first full-time residents, when they implemented Miami-based Andres Duany’s (the creator of Seaside and Rosemary Beach) master plan for this ultimate, urban utopia. This last bastion of Gulf-front, Scenic Highway 30A parcels was as stylishly sophisticated as New York’s Hamptons, as historically quaint as any European village and as modernly contemporary in its energy efficient design and use of environmentally friendly materials as any current development in America.

Acquired in 1978 by the Stephens family of Birmingham, Alabama and their privately held international EBSCO Industries, Alys Beach was appropriately named after the family’s matriarch, Alys. Fast forward to 2004: the 158-acre community with more than 1500 feet of absolutely pure, Domino sugar-hued white sand beach situated along the glittering emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico with 20 just-completed homes, was offered to the public as the final gem in 30A’s string of vacation paradise jewels. Eventually, Alys Beach will incorporate some 600 courtyard, villa and compound homes. Beauty is its mantra while its “wow” factor stems from its refined architecture and lush landscaping. T he butteries and evenly spaced Medjool date palms leave no doubt that one has officially arrived in Alys Beach. The white-washed buildings with white, ridged tile rooftops, limestone walkways, plazas and piazettas, pleasant parks and open spaces take full advantage of the breathtaking Gulf views, while carefully providing plentiful sight corridors to the water from its environmental preserve. Inspired by Bermuda, Antigua and Guatemala, its eclectic elements combine to create a one-of-a-kind Gulf-front enclave. Home construction, which is all masonry, carries the significant designation of “fortified,” meaning that resistance to hurricane-force winds has been dramatically improved. Alys Beach, which is expected to be certified as the first “fortified” community of its kind on the planet, is a place both smart and beautiful, not to mention an ideal location for any photo shoot.

But, I wondered, how fortified can a place actually be when the worst oil spill in U.S. history has oozed its glutinous by-product along these formerly pristine shores? Just broaching the subject literally brings tears to the eyes of these dedicated locals.“Last week, we had some tar balls,” sighed Alys Beach Sales VP, Tom Dodson. “This week, we have none.” Indeed, the beaches were immaculate, the water, an irresistible shade of turquoise blue with dolphins playing, fish jumping and even a loggerhead turtle waddling onto the beach to lay her 50 eggs. It truly seemed as if there was nothing wrong at all. But then, I saw it. A speck of oil, the size of a silver dime, on the side of my bare foot. And, in that brief second of recognition, I clearly understood my friends’ fears and accompanying tears. They were terrified of losing the exceptional life they had come to adore. But, as Dodson pointed out, “We don’t know what this will bring, but we are being proactive. It will end eventually, the clean-up will be complete and we’ll still have this beach, the Caliza Pool with its rooftop terrace and alfresco restaurant, the legendary Tom Fazio-designed Camp Creek Golf Course, neighborhood gourmet restaurants and upscale shops.” Sometimes, it is all about the destination. Regardless of how long it takes for Alys Beach and the rest of the Gulf to recover from this incredibly invasive incident, I can say, without reservation, that I simply cannot wait to make a return visit, and, in fact, I’ll even come in the summer—with joy and not an iota of hesitation.