Since the early 20th century, the 250-mile plus belt known as the Florida Panhandle has taken a back seat to the Pan itself, watching its well endowed eastern appendage rise to exalted glory and fame as the world’s top vacation destination while itself struggling to keep the Alabama riff raff at bay. In recent years, Florida’s northern redheaded step cities have shown way more than tits and ass, hoping to draw some attention to the state’s forgotten region. Thankfully, modern globetrotters have developed an affinity towards off-the-beaten path travel; and with this paradigm, former quiet, under the radar places like Panama City Beach, Destin, and Pensacola have suddenly become a bit “cooler” and have even found a place on the GLBT radar.

While certain parts of the Panhandle are indeed classified as the “Scary South” – an unsettling panorama of pro-life and KFC all-you-can-eat buffet ads, young Klansmen in training, and government projects harboring Antoine Dodson style “Bed Intruders” – the coastline is filled with exquisite homes, sleepy fishing villages, oyster shacks, and funky beach towns. The centerpiece of this region, Panama City Beach, engenders all these facets, merging the best of Florida’s gulf coast in one small town.

Unlike Fort Lauderdale and Cancun, which have vehemently rejected their former Spring Break personas, Panama City Beach gleefully embraces its reputation for extracurricular fun in the sun. The beach proudly presents its fair share of cheesy mega-clubs serving fish bowl sized drinks, but it also boasts a few upscale options and even a local gay bar, Splash Bar, which happily welcomes bi-curious drifters willing to blame late night events on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol! For those beyond the age of spring break style shenanigans, Panama City Beach is also a place to bring the fam, especially with its wealth of affordable short and longterm beach apartment rentals. Though the First Family chose to go the more traditional hotel route with the Bay Point Marriott Golf Resort & Spa (www.marriott.com/PanamaCityBeach, 850.236.6000) while vacationing here in August 2010, most visitors will find the centrally located Sterling Breeze Resort (www.sterlingbreeze.com, 850.238.8200) the ideal crash pad for their Gulf Coast sunny sojourn. Towering over prime beachfront, each apartment at Sterling provides spectacular views of the Gulf’s rising tides and velvety sands. Apartments are available in one, two, or three bedrooms, but even the smallest units of 1040 square feet comfortably sleep more than four, thanks to a spacious living room and super neat bunk beds built into the hallway wall (in addition to the Master Bedroom, of course).

Just down the street from Sterling Breeze Resort, Pier Park (850.236.9974) is undeniably the talk of the town. The 1 million plus square foot shopping and restaurant experience has stymied the need to drive hours to Tampa to buy the latest Hollister fashions, get a fourth piercing at Claire’s, sip a Starbucks triple shot, 3 pumps of hazlenut, skinny Iced Latte or indulge in a triple scoop at the ice cream sanctuary, Kilwin’s. While Pier Park has locals and regional visitors psyched, more seasoned travelers will likely bypass the commercial center and dive directly into Panama City Beach’s main attractions – dazzling nature and scrumptious seafood!

People travel far and wide from Hawaii to the Caribbean for the ever-popular ‘swim with dolphins’ experience not realizing that Panama City Beach offers a superlative, eco-friendly alternative. Sadly, the greater public often turns a blind eye to the brutal means employed to create these ‘swim with the dolphin’ attractions (google “The Cove” to find out). Thankfully, more ethical options and outfitters do indeed exist, like the Panhandle’s Island Time Sailing (www.islandtimesailing.com, 850.234.7377), which facilitates an organic and rewarding experience in the dolphin’s natural habitat. Island Time Sailing utilizes a spacious catamaran to cruise around Shell Island, a pristine, undeveloped island, which lies between the Gulf of Mexico and St. Andrews Bay, and to then snorkel in the surrounding waters among the large concentration of Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. In most instances, your snorkeling excursion here brings you face-to-face with resident pods of graceful, curious, and charismatic dolphins.

Once you’ve met them, you might be wondering why the dolphins are so fricken happy around Panama City Beach? Well part of it surely has to do with the fact that the fish and seafood is damn delicious along the Gulf coast. And for this very reason, most of the restaurants specialize in both lavish and simple ways to showcase regional fruits of the sea. The succulent ‘Filet of Scamp Imperial with fresh lump blue crab meat’ (prepared with lemon butter, olive oil, scallions and parsley) steals the show at family-run Capt. Anderson’s Restaurant (www.captanderson.com , 850.234.2225). Sweet and juicy ‘Fried Apalachicola oysters,’ ‘Smoked Tuna Dip’, ‘Peel n’ Eat Shrimp,’ and the fabulous raw bar headline the menu at the iconic Boatyard (www.boatyardclub.com , 850.249.9273), accessible by both land and sea along the beach’s bustling dockside. And let us not forget the city’s ultimate dining experience – Firefly (www.fireflypcb.com, 850.249.3359). Firefly combines a seductive ambience, top-notch cuisine, impeccable presentation, and the robust flavors captured in its 1800-degree broiler to produce an all out gastronomic extravaganza. Specialties like the ‘Sautéed Gulf Grouper with shallots, fresh corn, grape tomatoes, sherry cream, and jumbo lump crab sauce’ are likely to induce a ‘When Harry Met Sally’ food orgasm, giving you another great reason to return to Panama City Beach time and time again!