I was reading a post on Burnsland.com, a blog I believe I found once while looking of Disney photos, and got inspired to post here in any event, despite Blog Hop days or what have you. Even if no one is really reading and/or blogs are a dying art, I think it’s good for me to pop in and entertain an idea. I have perhaps forgotten how therapeutic writing can be.

The above photo may not seem like too much but it means a lot to me. For months, maybe even years now, my friends and I have ruminated on getting a beach house with our families. For the past I don’t know how many years, we have had a family beach DAY in May or early June. We plan it and everyone meets at about 10 AM at St. George Island beach. Sometimes it’s a shorter trip and sometimes we stay late, leaving the beach and going to one of the island restaurants before driving home. But this year, after a lunch outing the three of us had, we bit the bullet. Courtney was turning 40 and bemoaning that because of Covid, none of the party plans had really taken hold. And as we sat there at El Jalisco, we wondered, well, why not now? Why not look up VRBO homes on the island? Tiffanie gets rentals often so she dialed up some options and within maybe half an hour, we’d booked this blue-roofed beauty.

The very last weekend in August, our three families, along with her mom and dad and her brother, his wife, and daughter all met up and stayed for two and a half days. It was an amazing time. Sure, it rained Saturday but Friday was gorgeous. And the comradery shared by all was comfortable. We all chipped in for family dinners and they worked out really well. If you look at the bottom of the photo, you’ll see our friend, Kenny, and my son and Courtney’s youngest looking out on the Gulf. The second night, while some people played in the pool and others sat playing card games, Kenny and I had a nice conversation in the dark on that very deck. I’ve known the Andersons for probably 13 or 14 years and I didn’t know very much about where Kenny’s family is from. It was nice to talk to him; we’re both quieter people so sometimes the raucous game play is overwhelming. But that was the nice part of being there for that long: you could steal away if you wanted to and time was no object.

Seeing as how with Covid, we aren’t traveling a whole lot, it was really nice to have this weekend. Sure, it was a little nerve-wracking but we were cautious, to an extent. We spent a lot of time outside. Plus, numbers here aren’t bad. Plus, this whole thing is waning in severity too. I’m glad it all went ok and we will always have these memories. I love the beach and summertime. As Fall takes over, even here in North Florida where it stays warmer longer, I will cherish the memories of that trip: night crabbing, Kan Jam by the pool, taco bar, birthday celebrations for Courtney and Elliot who turned 13 on the same day. I’m really thankful for this group of friends and if nothing else, I have to say that this virus brought us closer together.