Destin bills itself as the World's Luckiest Fishing Village. Every October there's a monthlong fishing rodeo. Just beyond Fort Walton Beach, take the 50-cent toll bridge to Navarre Beach. Here you'll see tangible evidence of Opal's 18-foot storm surge. The eye of the storm came ashore in Navarre.
Reconstruction is fast and furious.
New stilt townhouses rise next to piles of concrete rubble that seem to be sinking into the sand. Those wondering about the force of a hurricane can still find wrecked buildings to ogle. Where the stilt houses of Navarre Beach end, the Gulf Islands National Seashore begins. Pensacola residents consider this untouched, 7-mile stretch of sand their beach because it lies just east of the city limits. A few years ago, gay activists declared Gulf Islands National Seashore to be the new Key West and staged a Memorial Day beach-in.