“YOLO Board is headquartered in Florida and we are very passionate about protecting the Florida ecosystem as it is the inspiration for what we do and what we represent as a company,” said Jeff Archer, co-founder of YOLO Board. “The interior of the state offers one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet. We are honored to help the Florida Wildlife Corridor spread awareness of this campaign and look forward to footage of the crew paddling YOLO Boards during their journey.”

The expedition crew is composed of a team of explorers including photographer Carlton Ward Jr, cinematographer Elam Stoltzfus, bear biologist Joe Guthrie and conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmitt. The team will document the corridor through photography, video streams, radio reports, daily updates on social media and digital networks, and a host of activities for reporters, landowners, celebrities, conservationists, politicians and other guests. Stoltzfus will document the expedition to produce a film about the journey and the Florida Wildlife Corridor. ent the corridor through photography, video streams, radio reports, daily updates on social media and digital networks, and a host of activities for reporters, landowners, celebrities, conservationists, politicians and other guests. Award-winning cinematographer Elam Stoltzfus will document the expedition to produce a film about the journey and the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Using YOLO Boards for paddling phases of the expedition offers explorers the ability to document their surroundings from a unique perspective, standing upright on top of the water. “Pushing across the Everglades in the stand up position allows me to see above the sawgrass and across the landscape, reminding me of what it may have been like to be an old-time Gladesmen in an Everglades skiff,” explains team photographer Carlton Ward. “As a photographer, the elevated perspective the YOLO board provides is especially useful for capturing landscapes and wildlife.”

“We believe the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition will be instrumental in raising public awareness of the need to protect Florida’s natural resources and landscape and hopefully to inspire similar movements across the country,” adds Archer. “This is truly a You Only Live Once experience for the crew members.”

The Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition is slated to conclude on April 22nd. To learn more and follow the journey in real time, please visit www.FloridaWildlifeCorridor.com.

“Allison’s new 30A creations are truly exquisite,” said 30A.com’s Mike Ragsdale. “We couldn’t be more excited to have our 30A brand associated with her remarkable talents.”

Each unique, hand-crafted 30A medallion is a mix of silver, brass, copper and crystals, suspended on a rolled and conditioned Greek Leather necklace, with a hand-drilled freshwater pearl. Each necklace is valued at $200, and a random winner will be chosen on March 15, 2012.

“People really love 30A — both the place and the simple logo design,” said Allison Craft, who is currently preparing to open her new retail location in The Shops of Grayton. “I think these necklaces really capture the textures, elements, creativity and charm of 30A.”

Click here to enter the free contest.

ABOUT ALLISON CRAFT DESIGNS

Recently named the 2012 South Walton Artist of the Year by the South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC), Allison Craft is preparing to open a new Allison Craft Designs retail location in The Shops of Grayton in Grayton Beach, Florida. For more information about Allison Craft Designs, please visit www.allisoncraftdesigns.com or call 850-200-2847.

ABOUT 30A

“30A.com is the go-to destination for anyone living in or traveling to the 30A communities, including Seaside, Rosemary Beach and WaterColor,” said Emerald Coast magazine. The company’s growing network includes 30A.com (The #1 Guide to Florida’s Scenic Highway 30A), SouthWalton.com (The #1 Guide to South Walton, Florida), 30A iPhone and 30A Android (Walton County’s #1 Mobile Guides), 30Arentals.com, Grayton.com and 30A Facebook, with over 79,000 fans. Florida Travel+Life magazine says that it’s ”a sense of communal pride that inspires locals and wannabes to emblazon their cars with circular Gulf-blue ’30A’ stickers,” and the company has already given away over 240,000 of its famous stickers to fans worldwide, with 100% of all local donations going to support Walton County’s Alaqua Animal Refuge. The company’s “Life Shines (The 30A Song)” by Bryan Kennedy is available on iTunes, and the song’s video has been viewed over 100,000 times on YouTube. Official 30A® products are sold in 25 retail locations. Featured in Forbes and Entrepreneur magazine, 30A.com’s “local guide” business model, TownWizard, has spread to 150 markets worldwide.

“Ten percent of all profits from our new ‘Life Shines Dog’ t-shirts will be donated to Alaqua this year,” said 30A.com’s Mike Ragsdale. “They’re going to be a big seller.”

Last year, the company partnered with Alaqua to set-up donation boxes wherever the company’s famous 30A stickers are distributed. That partnership raised over $14,000 for Alaqua in its first 12 months alone. The stickers are sponsored by Dune Allen Realty Vacation Rentals, and are given away locally for free.

“A sense of communal pride inspires locals and wannabes to emblazon their cars with circular Gulf-blue ’30A’ stickers,” wrote Florida Travel+Life in their new February issue, and to-date, the company has given away over 240,000 decals. Nearly 80,000 fans strong, 30A.com’s Facebook page is one of Florida’s largest online communities.

“2011 was a trial-run for 30A merchandise, and the test was an overwhelming success,” said Ragsdale. “This year, we’re tightening up our ‘brand story’, refining our color palette, rolling out a new online store, and possibly even testing retail sales in a few feeder markets. The demand for official 30A-brand gear has just been amazing.”

Other products in 30A’s 2012 line-up include a new “life shines” cap design and t-shirts designs created especially for children.

In addition to 30A.com and SouthWalton.com, Ragsdale said that the company plans to launch a new website in the second quarter of this year, although details have not yet been released. “All I can say is that life certainly shined on us in 2011, and that 2012 is already shaping up to be another extraordinary year.”

ABOUT 30A

“30A.com is the go-to destination for anyone living in or traveling to the 30A communities, including Seaside, Rosemary Beach and WaterColor,” said Emerald Coast magazine. The company’s growing network includes 30A.com (The #1 Guide to Florida’s Scenic Highway 30A), SouthWalton.com (The #1 Guide to South Walton, Florida), 30A iPhone and 30A Android (Walton County’s #1 Mobile Guides), 30Arentals.com, Grayton.com and 30A Facebook, with over 79,000 fans. Florida Travel+Life magazine says that it’s ”a sense of communal pride that inspires locals and wannabes to emblazon their cars with circular Gulf-blue ’30A’ stickers,” and the company has already given away over 240,000 of its famous stickers to fans worldwide, with 100% of all donations going to support Walton County’s Alaqua Animal Refuge. The company’s “Life Shines (The 30A Song)” by Bryan Kennedy is available on iTunes, and the song’s video has been viewed over 100,000 times on YouTube. Official 30A® products are sold in 25 retail locations. Featured in Forbes and Entrepreneur magazine, 30A.com’s “local guide” business model, TownWizard, has spread to 150 markets worldwide.

The accolade appears in the March 2012 issue and places Sandestin alongside iconic venues and major championship hosts, including Pebble Beach and Pinehurst. Sandestin received the Silver Medal distinction.

“GOLF Magazine is one of the game’s foremost authorities and we are proud to receive this honor,” said Rick Hileman, director of resort golf. “The award is a testament to our staff’s hard work and dedication to providing pristine conditions, meticulous service and a wide-array of accommodations.”

Burnt Pine Golf Club is a private Rees Jones-design at which resort guests receive access via select tee times. Raven Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones II, has hosted PGA Champions Tour events. Baytowne Golf Club has five sets of tees, including a junior tee box, and is frequently cited as an ideal family or day of arrival course. The Links Course is the original Sandestin layout, and a longtime favorite of guests and locals.

Resort guests have easy access to The Village of Baytowne Wharf, an assortment of casual and fine-dining restaurants, nightlife and boutique shopping. Beach access, a marina, fitness facilities and numerous organized activities are also available on-site.

Established in 1988, GOLF Magazine’s Premier Golf Resorts is the oldest rating of the game’s finest properties. Readers vote on the biennial awards, although the magazine’s editors receive the final say.

And hey, that’s precisely the way we like it…

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Not that you need to go anywhere, of course, as Seagrove is home to a wonderfully diverse assortment of restaurants, shops and other local businesses, all of which just a short stroll or bike ride away. Most homes in Seagrove are either tucked away beneath stately oak trees or overlook the Gulf of Mexico.

Seagrove Village Market Cafe is a true South Walton institution, serving “Deep Fried Love” since 1949. Over the decades, this ultra-casual café and store has been featured in Travel & Leisure, Southern Living, Coastal Living and countless other publications. In fact, Seagrove Village Market Café’s Grouper Sandwich was once named one of the “100 Things You Must Eat Before You Die” by Garden & Gun magazine. Next door, with its South Beachy landmark-style facade and a high-profile crossroads locale, the new Seagrove V restaurant promises to one-day become Seagrove’s official “town center.”

Down 30A to the east, the award-winning Café Thirty-A is a consistent crowd pleaser and it’s open 7 days a week. The atmosphere is casual and yet sophisticated. No matter how much your appetite begs for mercy, the banana beignets are a must.

Just a little further to the east, you’ll cross Eastern Lake and Deer Lake, two of South Walton’s rare coastal dune lakes. Deer Lake State Park consists of 1,920 acres and eleven distinct natural habitats. The main boardwalk spans stunning and pristine dunes before opening onto a less-traveled section of secluded Gulf beaches. Deer Lake State Park boasts a variety of rare plants including spoon flowers, golden asters and the Gulf coast lupine, among others. The nearby Eastern Lake system features a “Bike / Hike Trail” with 3.5, 6 and 10-mile trail loops.

By day, kids fearlessly ascend rock walls, pilot remote control boats and whiz across the sky tethered to zip lines. But as the sun dips behind the yachts in the beautiful marina, live music begins to permeate these gas lamp-lit streets. When the kids are finally tucked away for the night, adults relish in Baytowne’s many mostly New Orleans-inspired restaurants and nightclubs.

ACME Oyster House is always bustling with activity, and it’s certainly a great spot to people-watch, as hundreds of pedestrians parade through this intersection. After dinner, the dueling piano players across the street at Rum Runners keep the crowds laughing (and drinking). But it’s Graffiti and The Funky Blues Shack that offers the best of both worlds, and it’s also Baytowne’s most authentic local experience (the original Graffiti still operates further west in Destin). Fun and funky folk art (all for sale) is littered across the walls here, where great rhythm and blues talents storm the stage almost every night.

Basically, you start with the iconic white walls of an entire town, Alys Beach. Okay, so it’s an entire town-in-progress, but it’s an entire town nonetheless. You then invite digital and video artists from around the globe to submit extraordinary, surreal, algorithmic, kaleidoscopic, and moving works of art.

Then, you wait for dark.

The result is a stunning larger-than-life explosion of colors and compelling visuals, projected 2 and 3 stories tall onto the white homes and businesses of an entire community.

“Our town literally becomes the world’s largest blank canvas,” said Kelli Arnold, Alys Beach’s Events Coordinator.

Each year’s festival attracts digital artists, filmmakers, musicians, interactive designers, photographers, VJs, producers, celebrities, agency executives and fans of art, technology and architecture. Thousands of dollars in cash prizes are awarded to artists, with digital submissions being received from as far away as Israel, Austria, Canada, Germany, London, India, France, Italy and China.

The jaw-dropping evening culminates in a truly collision of sight and sound at Caliza, which is also host to the Noche de los Muertos Halloween costume party every October.

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Each year, the weather can be wonderfully warm or cheerfully chilly, but one thing is consistent: The scenic early morning dash across South Walton’s majestic coastal dune lakes brings fitness fans back from around the globe, year after year.

After the race is over, exhausted medal-toting runners are treated to a free live concert in Seaside’s amphitheater, slow-cooked barbecue, hand-blown glass trophies for category winners and Vera Bradley handbags (Vera Bradley is the tradition’s Presenting Sponsor).

The night before the race, the Seaside school hosts a special spaghetti dinner and silent auction. All proceeds from the dinner and race benefit our local school, which was Northwest Florida’s first charter school and is dependent on fundraisers like this to continue operating.

The 30A Network (which includes 30A.com and SouthWalton.com, among other sites) is a very proud sponsor of Seaside Neighborhood School and Seaside’s 5K and Half-Marathon event.

For information about this year’s race, be sure to visit www.SNSrun.com, and check out the weekend schedule here.

Just a few miles north of Seaside and Seagrove, you can experience the dreamy romance of a bygone era at Eden Gardens State Park. This 161-acre park is a wonderland of ancient moss-draped oaks, punctuated by gorgeous views of Choctawhatchee Bay and Tucker Bayou. With March typically being the peak blooming season, camellias and azaleas still offer dazzling displays from October through May. Eden Gardens is also home to tended rose gardens, a butterfly garden and a reflection pond filled with lilies and Koi.

Be sure to treat yourself to a tour of the Wesley House here, home to the second largest collection of Louis XVI furniture in the United States. Offered Thursday-Monday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. ($4 for adults, $2 for children), this historical tour provides a showing of these rare antiques and an education on what South Walton was like in the pioneer days. (Be sure to ask about the cottages that were transported to Grayton Beach and then create your own self-guided tour as you walk through Grayton in search of them.)

Eden is a truly magical place for a picnic, or a wedding, if one is so inclined. You’ll see why.