What working man (or woman) can’t visualize Kenny Chesney’s words when he sings: “I've been up to my neck, working six days a week…” They come from his song “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” on his 2002 album of the same name that won the country singer two Academy of Country Music Awards, including Male Artist of the Year.
“No shoes, no shirt, no problems. Blues what blues, hey, I forgot 'em. The sun and the sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom…”
Maybe Kenny had something. Randy Wild certainly thought so. He and his wife, Tiffany, and their partners Jason and Jennifer Abernathy named their rental home in Navarre Beach, Florida—“No Shoes Beach House”—after the song.
Trip Advisor describes Navarre as a “piece of old Florida” tucked away in a corner of the northwestern tip of the state, “far from crowded theme parks and packed beaches…offering solitude and simplicity for sun seekers, families, outdoor adventurers, nature lovers and water sports enthusiasts.”
Originally created to protect the mainland from hurricanes, the barrier island in Florida’s Panhandle is known as “Florida’s Most Relaxing Place.” It was precisely that type of environment that the Wilds and Abernathys were hoping to create in 2021 when they built what has now been dubbed the island’s largest rental home.
Randy said it was a beach house management consultant that gave him and Jason—both contractors from Lake St. Louis—the idea of what to build in Navarre Beach. “He said the island was missing houses big enough to handle large groups. So that’s what we built,” Randy said.
Now “No Shoes” is not only the largest rental home in Navarre but was ranked the number one rental on the island in 2022 by AirDNA.
The enormous 9-bedroom, 9-1/2-bathroom beach vacation home—which boasts its own Facebook fan page—features a massive great room opening to a large kitchen with a dining room table and a bar that each seat 12 people. There’s a game room, a private heated pool, an elevator, close beach access, golf cart rentals, an outdoor ping pong table, two viewing towers and parking for 14 vehicles.
It’s touted as a perfect destination for corporate retreats, family reunions and weddings. But Randy said it’s the calm and family-oriented atmosphere that makes the house in Navarre unique. “There is very little nightlife,” Randy said. “There are only four restaurants and one gas station.”
Randy noted that although Jaws II was filmed in Navarre, and the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier is a record-holding 1,545 feet long—the longest of its kind in Florida, “Navarre is geared toward family and keeping people together,” Randy said.
He said there is something special about sharing a vacation home with family and friends, and there is a world of difference between staying in separate rooms in a hotel and “waking up and gathering in the same living room.”
“’No Shoes’ is a place for generations—parents, kids, grandparents, everyone—to go to together. There are tons of things to do there, or there’s nothing to do there. It’s the elderly person in a wheelchair to the great-great-grandchild in the pool.”
Randy and Jason also opened “Blue Chair Beach House” in February, again adopting Kenny Chesney’s words in naming the brand-new waterfront, designer home in Navarre with a private pool that sleeps 18. “There's a blue rocking chair sitting in the sand. Weathered by the storms and well-oiled hands. It sways back and forth with the help of the winds. Seems to always be there, like an old trusted friend…”
The Wilds and the Abernathys have also purchased two additional lots on Navarre and are currently seeking out mountain and ski destinations for more family-friendly vacation homes.
For more information, look for their homes on VRBO.com and FloridaGulfCoastGetaway.com
“No shoes, no shirt, no problems. Blues what blues, hey, I forgot 'em. The sun and the sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom…”