ULTIMATE VACATION

No, I haven’t died, I just thought I had -- and gone to heaven. I have just returned from spending three and ½ weeks in Cape San Blas, Florida and I feel like I have landed back on Planet Earth with a dull THUD. The planning of the getaway began this way:

Brenda: "Mom, what would you think about spending Thanksgiving at the beach?"

Me: "Sounds good to me. I’ll look up some places online."

So I went to the trusty internet and looked at the place we stayed last summer and found that renting the townhouse in the off season for one month cost just $200 more than renting it for a week! So the wheels began turning.

BJ and her husband agreed to go with me for 2 weeks and then drive my car back. Then three days later Brenda and her children would be down. Then the genius would be there the day before Thanksgiving and I would ride back with him. It was all arranged and off I went on November 1.

Cape San Blas, an 8 mile long peninsula sticking out into the Gulf, is a favorite vacation spot for us for several reasons: 1) it is undiscovered (so don’t tell anyone!), 2) it has no high rises, either condos or hotels, and 3) the sunrises (over the bay behind us) and sunsets (over the Gulf in front of us) are spectacular. There are also very few people here at this time of year and even in the summer it is not crowded. I could walk on the beach with Rufus (the only beach I know of on the panhandle that allows dogs) and not see a single soul. Or I might meet one or two people out walking their dogs as well.

Our town house was RIGHT on the beach; by that I mean that we would walk down the steps from our house and step onto the beach that is most of the time about twenty yards wide. One time during a storm the water came right to the steps, but that only happened once. The building itself is built on a concrete and steel wall so it seems pretty safe. But when you first step onto the deck or screened in porch, depending on which floor you are on, all you see is water. You have to walk to the edge to see the sand. I’ve never stayed that close to the water in all the years I’ve been going to Florida. It’s an awesome feeling, like being on a boat.

Of course, there are some drawbacks. There are only two small convenience stores on the cape and only one very small restaurant with extremely slow service. The nearest town, Port St. Joe, is ten miles away. It is a quaint little town with interesting shops and one or two good places to eat. Apalachacola is 25 miles away and there are also some charming little stores and excellent restaurants there.

The biggest downside for us is the distance. It takes about 2 -3 hours longer to reach the cape than it does Destin, Perdido Key, Gulf Shores, or Fort Morgan, all places we have stayed. But that is one negative aspect I can overlook. In fact, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages for me.

This was the third time in a year I have been to this part of Florida and I hope I can go again soon. Isn’t this what retirement is all about? Going where you want to go when? So I’m starting to save for the next one now. Maybe next time I can find a place with high speed internet. Or maybe not.