People always have been drawn to beach life, and we mean always. Artifacts dating back to 10,000 B.C. have been found along Ft. Walton Beach, a testament to this community's claim of having one of the country's most beautiful beaches. But you don't have to take the town's word for it - Southern Living magazine readers have rated the area's "Emerald Coast" as the No. 1 beach in the South five years running.

It's easy to see why. The area averages more than 340 days of sunshine each year, while the waters of the Gulf of Mexico hover around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.