Mariana

A coastal county where beachside resort towns blend into fishing villages, and the local economy runs on tourism, seafood, and whatever washes ashore.

Mariana County stretches along Leonida's coast like a sun-bleached postcard that's been left in a mailbox too long — beautiful from a distance, slightly rough around the edges up close. The county is a patchwork of beach resort towns that range from upscale to utterly unhinged, separated by stretches of undeveloped coastline where sea turtles nest and the occasional bale of something interesting floats in with the tide. The northern end is home to old-money waterfront communities with yacht clubs and golf courses, while the southern end gets progressively wilder, culminating in fishing villages where the boats go out before dawn and the bars fill up before noon. Mariana's economy is a three-legged stool of tourism, commercial fishing, and real estate speculation, with an unofficial fourth leg that nobody talks about at county commission meetings. During hurricane season, the whole place takes on a gambling-against-nature energy that's oddly exhilarating.