Retreat Blog

Samhain was originally one of the traditional Celtic 'cross-quarter' celebrations; a time when the veil between the spiritual and the earthly realms could be lifted. Once it was a floating festival, anchored in the sea of seasons to this time of year, but with the actual date dependent on heavenly variation. Now, it is a fixed festival, tied to October 31 and known as Halloween.

A recent report from Morgan Quinto Press shows 3 Florida cities ranking in the top fifty
low crime cities....

10. Coral Springs

25. Port St. Lucie

50. Boca Raton

DUELING SCIENTISTS

5 foot diamond back rattlesnake spotted in the retreat. So watch out.

A Big section of Adaigo dune ( covers seawall) washed away. I think some of their sand ended up on our beach.

Starbucks at Watercolor is getting good reviews so far. This. Corp. store is larger than the store in Grayton.

The former pizza hut at the outlet stores will be a Starbucks with a drive through.

First the Subway shop near Grayton opens and now Starbucks (Rosemary beach location opens soon) and pretty soon we will have more and more "chain store" outlets dotted up and down 30A. The story used to be that "they don't allow those chain stores down on 30A"

And we all love our Publix near Watercolor.........

Starting in Destin, South of the Bay Bridges and heading over to the east end of South Walton County we find that rounded to the nearest hundred we have 8,000 properties listed for sale.

The Top 3 Categories:

Condos ---------------- 2838

Residential Lots ------ 2429

Single Family houses - 2309

Many of us were surprised to see the jump in crime rates in our area....

Possibilities include a slower local economy, fallout from hurricane Katrina, and reported gang activity.
And there are more properties today than 3 years ago and more people are spending time here a greater part of the year.

The big increase in aggravated assault and burglary followed by motor vehicle theft is worrisome.

Common sense tells us that crime makes a gated neighborhood like the Retreat look like a safer choice. The patrols by security make it an even better choice.

Exclusivity becomes icing on the cake.

Hmmmmm The winds of fate have deposited this sign on our beach...
what does it say?

DUNE DOCTORS LLC.......

These are the guys who plant all those green things on the dunes so the wind and waves don't
cause as much damage..... Like down at Aly's Beach where we intend to do a photo comparision
between their Beach and the Retreat beach.

Alys Beach want's to protect the Values of the property at Aly's Beach while at the same time enhancing the appearance of the beach which makes being on the beach much more enjoyable.

Watercolor just had a vote at their annual meeting to nullify the Special Assessment $$$ they were going to collect from the owners and use for ProTektoTubes IF they got approval (permit). Since they Could not get a DEP permit They had to vote to undo the Assessment vote since their was a vote to assess.

So at WaterColor :
1. They voted to assess and Watercolor (St. Joe) voted with the majority after the owners voted.
2. They would not ask for that assessment money unless and until they got approval to install tubes
3. They did not get that approval
4. They voted to undo the assessment

At the Retreat:

1. The assessment was sent demanding money from owners before (not contingent) on any permit or approval.
2. Owners who did not pay assessments had liens placed on their property
3. The board did not get approval or permits
4. The board then attempted to proceed without a permit and was stopped by the county
5. According to the board as of July 5, 2006 they have spent $339,589.20 of owners assessment money*
6. The board has not offered to refund assessment money to owners (if they have I would like to see it)
7. I have not heard if a vote to undo this assessment is under discussion for the November 4 owners meeting.


Which of the above scenarios do you think is most likely to create a lawsuit?

* these minutes (JULY 5, 2005?) were just posted to the Retreat website . There is mention of a approved invoice for added expense : ECAM Additional Services Jim Restor moved to approve the submitted invoice for additional services with regard to the lawsuit and dune remediation, Blake Morris seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Does not give any amount $$$$ though.

And we don't know how much may have been added to this amount from July 5th to October 19th 2006 either.

This strip of hip between those two cities of Panama City and Pensacola which have become known as REDNECK STRONGHOLDS.

How to market this Destin and 30A phenom?????

New Urbanism,,,,, Yeah . What's that? they say...

New york Times on Watercolor "Cracker Chic"

Destin ... the mother of all lucky fishing villages?

It's all about the beach...... a days drive

You came here on vacation when you grew up...so there.

Are we exclusive enough yet ? Wanted: more Spas and Coffee shops......

Starbucks costs more on 30A.....


It would help if more of you traded up to a Lambo or Ferrari.......

Destin Commons DOES have Valet parking,,,, And super long Hummer Limos....

A relaxing escape from your favorite Metro fix.....The ATL, Nashvegas, B'Ham....


No Latin community, No Jewish Community... No Cubans, Are you sure you own property in Florida ?

We all have our "stupid moments" even Americans.

But we need to understand what those folks in the desert have understood for a long time.

Which goes like this: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".

Lately I have seen otherwise intelligent people make this mistake in their dealings with others
because they don't understand this principle.

Let us remember, Saddam was our "friend" when he was fighting Iran "our enemy"
with our (US) help.

The enemy of your enemy is your friend. You don't have to love them.


Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

1. Money to build a Seawalls or Geotubes $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
*May include added costs due to legal Challenges.

2. Money for Legal fees to Keep Walls and or Tubes in place if DEP tells you to remove them $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
OR
Money to Remove Seawalls and/or Geotubes $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
*fighting DEP and then Losing and Then removing can greatly increase costs.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

3. Money to maintain legally permitted and installed walls or tubes (rebuilding damage, patching tubes, replacing sand on tubes etc. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

4. Above does not include potential fines and/or penalties imposed by Govt. Agencies.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Or ton of walls?

Walton Sun: October 14, 2006
Article: Page A4 "Deadline likely to pass without resolution on seawall encroachment"

Walton County Commissioner Cindy Meadows: "Armoring devices protect homes not dunes".

Sea Turtle Survival League's Gary Appleson says that Geotubes have been documented to emerge from under the sand and barricade nesting areas from endangered turtles.

Walton County Attorney David Hallman suggested that the homeowners seek DEP permission
for a deadline extension.
However DEP requires proof of land ownership.
These seawalls are on Public Property.
Which is why the Homeowners are talking to the County.
DEE DEE DEE DEE , DEE DEE DEE DEE, You are now entering the....................

When you need to pick up some Halloween candy in a hurry.
And remember......... It only looks like I'm going fast.

Check these two search engine results for "Sahara sands and hurricanes" So these sands may or may not have much to do with Atlantic Hurricanes...... I am forming my own theory that High Taxes are the root cause of Hurricanes.... Results 1 - 10 of about 454,000 for sahara sands and hurricanes. (0.35 seconds) Hurricanes in Africa - The Formation and Growth of Atlantic ... Hurricanes start in the Sahara Desert. This exciting tutorial takes you through ... There are great swirling winds over the Sahara carrying sands over the ...weather.about.com/od/hurricane1/a/saharahurricane.htm - 25k - Cached - Similar pages World Press Institute: Renown hurricane forecasters link North ... The researchers said their work proved that the Sahara desert did not cause hurricanes. “Sahara sands contain little dust,” they explained. ...www.worldpressinstitute.org/bode3.htm - 12k - Cached - Similar pages

Well well well.....
here we are going into the second year at the retreat blog as the Holiday season draws near.
It is our fervent wish that each and every one of you get what you truly deserve.
Your neighbor,

Shawn

Clean Crisp Coastal Charms
Remember your mantras
And do no harm

Fire up your spirit
In the warm October sun
And shun all bores

Prepare the hearth
For Autumn 's brace
And give thanks

For you have been given
Times golden pass
To walk this path again

A Golden Pass © Coptright 2006 Shawn O'Neal all Rights reserved.

As Kurt Vonnegut said, make love while you can. It's good for you.

If you don't stand for something you will lie for anything
-Shawn O'Neal

All those walls trying to keep the SEA out..... at sea.

Some folks nearby are having trouble because they did not have permits to put those seawalls up.
So they may have to Take them down. At there expense.

Sounds like a drama that played out in our neighborhood which was caught up in the frenzy
created by the storms of late 04 and 05.

I have not received any thanks from the board for steering us away from the kind of trouble that these neighbors up the beach are now having to deal with.
It's one thing to take this risk with your own money.
Just don't ask me to help you.

Meanwhile, the "experts" have been all wrong about this season.
You are not hearing much about why they think they are so wrong.

Today William Grey, a big Hurricane Honcho said we will not have another major hurricane this season. I would not believe that either. They want to be right about something this year.
So far el Nino is the only explanation they have been able to come up with for such a mild Atlantic storm season.

Super Luxury Home tour

Here is Donald Trump's Place "Maison de L' Amitie" in Palm Beach, Fl. Asking $125 Million
Maison de L' Amitie

Tommy Hilfiger's Place in Lake Tahoe "Tranquility" Asking $100 Million

Tranquility


Saudi Prince Bandar's Place in Aspen "Hala Ranch" Asking $135 Million

Hala Ranch