Covering 724 square miles between Interstate 10 and Choctawhatchee Bay, Eglin Air Force Base is home to the Air Force Armament Museum (100 Museum Dr.; 850- 882-4062), which contains restored aircraft spanning four wars as well as missiles and other military hardware. Three-hour tours are available.

In rural Valparaiso, the Heritage Museum (115 Westview Ave.; 850-678-2615) gives a lively glimpse into early Florida's farming and turpentine industries. In Fort Walton Beach, the Camp Walton Schoolhouse Museum (107 First St.; 850-833-9596) is located in the town's original one-room schoolhouse, in use from 1912-1936. Valparaiso is home to the Boathouse Restaurant (126 John Simms Pkwy.; 850-678-8839), where diners can sit on the deck and watch planes from Eglin fly past. Red beans and rice are a specialty. South of the base in Fort Walton Beach is Staff's Seafood Restaurant (24 S.W. Miracle Strip Pkwy.; 850-243-3482) with a seafood skillet that has been drawing crowds since the early 1900s.

About nine miles west of Crestview in northwest Okaloosa County, the Baker Block Museum (1307B Georgia Ave., Baker; 850-537-5714) captures the early life of the area. Crestview, a Florida Main Street Community known for its pecans and blueberries, has added vintage street lighting and landscaping to its Historic Downtown Main Street (850-689-3722). The town has celebrated the original Old Spanish Trail Festival each April since 1955.

Back on U.S. Hwy. 90, DeFuniak Springs boasts of its post-Civil War years as home of the Florida Chautauqua movement. Originally a church-related movement in upstate New York, Chautauqua spread to more than 150 sites nationwide as a show of arts and music, educational and recreational programs. The former Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood (Live Oak Ave.; 850-892-3191) is now the Walton County Chamber of Commerce.

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