Local dining in Northwest Florida constantly shifts among entrepreneurs in the area. Old places get remodeled, some shops go out of business, and new joints pop up. Up-scale dining combined with local production sets the scene for new economy. Currently serving at the Shrimp Boat restaurant in historic St. Andrews helps with the other side of the food industry, service. Many tables order fresh Apalachicola oysters while others eat seafood right out the gulf. In the morning I work in the gardens, in the evening I wait. It's a form of farm-to-table, however disconnected as it still may be.
While attending college and living at a house with six other guys, wild days and nights started to wind down and new patterns began to emerge. Here shows some tomatoes and peppers in the front yard that helped spark a new love affair, hobby, and lifestyle. Compost piles, waterfalls, and transplants came out of disorderly young adults playing in the city.
This tag was sprayed on the driveway at the same house as a warning to all who crossed this border. How does one disorder disorganization?
This logo for BeachForest Harmoney was done by a local graphic designer
(www.gdillustration.blogspot.com). Community banks are a great way to
develop real wealth and keep productivity from leaving. BeachForest
Harmoney continues to dedicate energy to balancing the natural
environment with human infrastructure design through pattern recognition
and creative entrepreneurial solutions.
Ron Paul's advice to young people was not to go into politics, but create businesses that directly compete with the federal government. Here Ron Paul shake hands at a book signing at the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama.
Some people are raised on the Emerald Coast and then leave, some people grow up in other places and then move here, some people never leave the state, and then others travel and return. All these environments help shape the art & culture in our area. Exporting our musics and business to foreign regions while importing their lifestyles and media back to our homeland serves both parties, in both directions. The video above was created from an individual (Luke Bessey) who has moved out of the region, yet makes his work still accessible via the Net.
The local artist above (Ryan Ivy) serves as an example of travel and return. Surf travelers of the region make their way around the world. Since the surf consistency lacks in the area, many pay to live and experience places where the waves are first class.
The Web allows people to connect for the first time, disconnect for the last time, or reconnect a time again. Cultures thrive when the trading of information is done correctly. The artist above has dedicated an entire blog to his creations. (www.charlesvincentisspeechless.blogspot.com)
When dreams and work are put together, ideas can become tangible. With technology becoming more accessible and cheaper, things that were only once possible in Hollywood can now be done at home. Above displays an example of local music and art from Nothing Short of Pure.
After meeting one of the authors at a locally developing eco-hostel, I was excited to read this book. With St. Joe Company in so much control of our land, their influence on our lives is enormous. Green Empire isn't an entertaining read, but a reference of both sides of the story. Tediously I flipped through the highly informative pages. The authors deserve a lot of recognition for their extensive research, which I imagine will be appreciated more and more as time goes on.
Bruce Means (above) of the Coastal Plains Institute gave a speech in Tallahassee over a year ago on the regional biodiversity update. This naturalist serves as an example to all in the area. In attendance, I seemed to be at the same conclusion as he was. Our infrastructure and reckless new construction constantly depletes valuable ecosystems. We can do better
In Costa Rica it fires in the water and on the beach. A Central American flair to the Gulf Coast is heavily welcomed. The beauty of its lush landscape and simplicity of architecture could be and should be emulated. With the most centenarians in the world, its no wonder the people live so long!
Panama, I've been told, is like Costa Rica in the 1970's. Still very raw and untouched overall, this isthmus attracts many U.S. citizens. For a month this country showed me fantastic hospitality as well as many smiling faces. For a third of the living price as the United States this destination remains alluring.
Chicama, Peru (shown above) boasts the longest wave in the world. This picture might be five percent of the total wave. With a forty-five minute walk back to the peak, two wave sessions were usual. On this wave your legs will fail, not your arms. Wow! Stay healthy and get in the water any way possible.
Chicama and Peru as a whole are extremely impoverished. This ginormous solar wind turbine powered almost an entire town; it seems like it would work awesome in Northwest Florida.
