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Hello all,

Greetings from San Francisco! I’m busy checking out a couple of new hotels, exploring their newest park, Presidio Tunnel Tops, and working on a feature about a Gilded Age mansion with a scandalous twist. Lots coming out of Cali, but our lead feature this week comes from the opposite corner of the country–Florida.

Our latest installment for our series on underrated destinations, It’s Still a Big World, Jessica Poitevien takes us to the modern New Urbanism towns of South Walton, Florida. Built from the 1990s through today, these picturesque seaside wonders are the opposite of what you’d expect to find in Florida. And, despite having some of the state’s best beaches, you’ll find plenty of space.

No doubt many of you have been reading with despair all the stories about the drought out West. In a dispatch from his road trip to Lake Powell, Dale Maharidge recounts how a journey he imagined would be paradise turned into the apocalypse.

While it’s unlikely many of you ever considered becoming a vinegar snob, after reading Erin Zaleski on tasting the “Hermes of vinegar” you just might. And Winston Ross shares his journey into a life where nearly everything he owns is for rent on the various travel platforms. 

Enjoy!

–William O’Connor, Travel Editor

This Very Un-Florida Spot Has Some of Florida’s Best Beaches

All of South Walton’s towns are worth visiting. Most people come for the beaches, which are arguably some of the best in the entire state and yet are hardly ever crowded.

My Western Road Trip Turned Into the Apocalypse

I expected to witness the impact of climate change on my trip, but it’s accelerating.

I Tried the ‘Hermes of Vinegar’ and I’ll Never Go Back

The vinegar brewing process may be less sexy than wine making (and harder on the lungs), but even the culinarily challenged will savor the resulting products.

What if Everything You Owned Was for Rent?

How the sharing economy forces me to travel the West, from dregs to chic.

“A self-described ‘disabled Native Hawaiian veteran’ said residents were improperly blocked from accessing Hulopoe Beach Park via car last month, in an area on Lanai controlled by software billionaire Larry Ellison.” 

— Noah Kirsch reports on the latest skirmish in Hawaii between the mega-rich and locals.

The Boulders, Beaver, Utah (Vrbo): While the crowds tend to descend on places like Park City, Aspen, and Beaver Creek, keep the spirit of distancing alive by heading somewhere a little off the beaten path. Somewhere like Beaver, Utah.

For those who enjoy outdoor adventures, there is no lack of activities to keep you occupied. In the winter, there is sledding, snowboarding, skiing, cross country skiing, and snowmobiling; in the summer, your crazy crew has the option to fish, hike, kayak, mountain bike, or do a little rock climbing.

The weather may be crazy, the world may be unpredictable, but one thing will always stay the same—there is nothing better than a sunset on vacation. Except, maybe, a sunset on vacation with the most delicious cocktail of your life in hand. Cheers!

Book Your Stay: The Boulders, Beaver, Utah: $720/night via Vrbo

Don’t miss previous OMG, I Want to Rent This House posts, which spotlight the most spectacular and unique homes that you can actually stay in.  Check out the full archives. 

Travel to the World's Most Captivating New Memorials

Created as spaces where we can all stop and ponder some important event or person, memorials are some of the most visited and photographed places on Earth. Some, like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. or the Taj Mahal in Agra, are iconic and known by nearly everybody. Countless others from throughout the centuries, however, have been forgotten or overlooked. The latest selection for our Just Booked series (on gorgeous coffee table books) In Memory of: Designing Contemporary Memorials, seeks to catalogue and examine more than 60 memorials from around the world built in the last half-century.

The book was created by Spencer Bailey, himself the subject of a memorial in Sioux City after surviving the 1989 United Airlines Flight 232 crash. Flipping through the book (published by Phaidon), it's hard not to wonder which of these feats of design, engineering, and creativity will remain famous and which will fade to obscurity. Some, like the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C. are already famous.

Don’t miss our other selections for our series on gorgeous travel-related coffee table books, Just Booked.

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