Jeff has started us up by discussing three of the panhandle’s natural wonders.

Although I take exception to his determination that the Emerald Coast, and the world’s most beautiful beaches are bound to the east by Sandestin. Point of fact, Panama City’s ABC affiliate, WMBB TV is so named because of the acronym World’s Most Beautiful Beaches. If you can’t trust the call letters for a TV station, what can you trust?

By bringing together both the natural and built environments, the wonder that is the Panhandle is readily apparent, so, without further ado…

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My first selection for a Panhandle wonder has to do with the natural environment. Far north in the Panhandle, near the Alabama border just east of US-331 is Lakewood, FL. Britton Hill in Lakewood FL is the state’s highest point.

Now, every state has a “highest point,” right? Sure, but what makes Lakewood, FL important is that at 345 feet, it is the lowest high point of any state in the United States. However, Florida’s flatness doesn’t seem as intense as somewhere like Kansas or Nebraska, because of the heavy forest. This feature makes canopy walks quite popular, and they are all over Florida’s state parks.

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My second candidate for a Panhandle Wonder is the best representative for the built environment in the Panhandle, Seaside Florida

If you’ve seen Jim Carrey’s “The Truman Show,” then you already have an idea of what Seaside is like.  The movie was filmed there, and they did not require much in the way of extra construction (my father is in an industry that supplies construction in the area).

Seaside is a prime example of “New Urbanism,” where long term civic planning occurs from day one.  This planning at Seaside is extensive.  It directly controls the micromanagement of the houses themselves, with significant firm rules on how houses look, how they are oriented on the lot, and—perhaps most importantly—how well they stand up to severe weather.  At the same time, they also macro-manage the entire community by establishing charter schools for their own use (instead of shipping kids off site to South Walton or Freeport), and the regulation of public spaces.