Posted on 7/3/2020
How much do you miss the beach? Everyone has their tipping point. Maybe it was all those grey cloudy days in Northern Virginia, too many curvy mountain roads in Birmingham, or one too many cold mountain mornings in Nashville? You're missing this tranquil shoreline, and nothing can warm your heart and maybe even make you feel like there's sand in your toes like a fresh out of the dryer beach t-shirt.
We know this. That's why we've compiled this special list of must-haves, if you will. 30A & Destin T-Shirts just sort of say – "I could be somewhere better right now, but I'm stuck here with you" to everyone in the room, in the airport, or the local high school football game. Nothing incites envy in the eyes of your sister-in-law or boss' husband like a beach t-shirt, and, they go with every style. Equally well-paired with a blazer and flip-flops as they are for that 3 am Walmart run in slippers and pajamas, these five shirts firmly establish where you notch your belt.
The 30A T-Shirt
Not to be underestimated, we have our first offering. More than a shirt, more than a sticker, more than a road, it's 30A. If you've been on I-10, I-75, I-85, maybe you're more an I-95 girl or an I-65 type, you may have an idea. Never mind, you are sure to have seen one of these little blue circles stuck to the back of the G Wagon in front of you – this is essentially the t-shirt version of that. It simultaneously says hotdogs and trust funds. Pro-tip wear one on the beach for extra credit. 30A is a brand made after a road where people come to the beach and wear t-shirts, so yeah, it doesn't get better than this. Or does it?
Read more: 30A on Good Morning America
The Seaside T-Shirt
Why is 30A, 30A, and for that matter, why is South Walton, South Walton? The answer is hidden in plain sight in an often misunderstood little town called Seaside. Don't Google it. You need to park your car and walk it. You need to pay $18 for a cheese sandwich from a trailer and be perfectly ok with it – after the first bite kind of drips grease in your Rolex's inner workings. This tiny, 80-acre town built in 1982 (the same year as Ocean Reef Resorts, coincidence?) is responsible for so many memories and house payments. You can't take it with you, but you can be buried in a shirt with seven, double-spaced, fancy Times Romanesque letters on it. This dear reader is a shirt with generational wealth to burn. One that defies explanation and is worth more after you buy it than before it is yours. If you can only afford one shirt from the beach this year, this should probably be it.
The YOLO T-Shirt
Um, Yolo! or "You Only Live Once" started out as a local paddleboard company. But it means way more than that. It's also a battle cry for 20 somethings with a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and a managerial position at the local Best Buy. Recently also branching out into electric bikes, Yolo is a lifestyle brand, and its apparel line is a fat part of that. A Yolo shirt says, "I'm rich, athletic, and I like to get wet and a little dirty." As such, it is the only shirt in the group that we recommend, for best results, not washing - just keep it for a year or until the next time you come to the beach. The shirt should not only say you aren't afraid to die, but it should also smell like you may already have.
The Red Bar T-Shirt
This next place is a real 30A hot spot, very hot, last year it was 2012 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes, the original Red Bar burned down in 2019, no one was hurt, but sadly many great t-shirts were lost that day. If you could turn your ex-wife into a t-shirt, she would probably look a lot like this. The Red Bar is intrinsically tied to what Grayton Beach is today and, to a greater extent, what South Walton is as a whole. Much in the same way as the structure itself has been perfectly rebuilt, their classic T's have been reprinted. There is even a "Let's Rebuild" version for cool people who want to help but can't read. A portion of the profits from the sale of these special shirts goes into the printing of more shirts for the future—no word yet as to their flammability. One thing is for certain you can't say, "I like to "party" on the beach" faster than simply slipping on one of these shirts and popping a cold one.
Read more: What Happened to The Red Bar
The Destin Fishing Rodeo T-Shirt
We close on the Destin Fishing Rodeo "Dress like a local" T-Shirt solely for it's all-encompassing "cool" factor. No shirt has more colors on it; the Red Bar shirt isn't even a close second, and the Yolo shirt, at one single color, isn't even in the game. A rainbow of fruity colors belays the blood-stain resistant nature of this fun-time shirt. If you like to fish (and who within a 1200 mile radius of Destin doesn't?), you are going to fall in love with this shirt. Just don't fall too far as these babies have an expiration date. The Rodeo is in its 73rd year, old enough to collect retirement. It's important to remember that the Fishing Rodeo shirt you bought today, as much as it may smell like fish, and as cool as it may seem, will be completely obsolete on October 1st next year when the new styles are released.
That concludes this message from the style police desk. Stay classy, and above all, keep that beach vibe alive. When you're ready to bring your T-Shirts to the beach, look no further than Ocean Reef Resorts. Just as there are many styles of T-Shirts, there are many styles of 30A & Destin vacation rentals, our knowledgeable staff can help you find on that fits just right!