Miles of empty beach and billions of sea shells await a lone beachcomber at St. George Island State Park near Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle, Feb. 5, 2007. The nine-mile (14-kilometer) stretch of Florida sugar-white sand in an unspoiled natural setting alongside the Gulf of Mexico is the nation's best beach for 2023, according to the annual ranking released Thursday, May 18, 2023, by the university professor known as “Dr. Beach.” (AP Photo/William Kronholm, File)