I remember the first time driving down Highway 98 toward the Beaches of South Walton on a dark evening in 1992, and thinking to myself that I might just fall off the face of the Earth. After waking the next morning to the sugar sand beaches and emerald waters of Blue Mountain Beach, I knew I had found my new home.

I was born and raised in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. After graduation I spent a year traveling the United States and Europe....