Life is so busy with work, kids, and home projects, sometimes you feel like it would be nice just to get away. I know every couple of years my family and I pack up and go somewhere on a nice relaxing vacation.
I can tell, stress level wise my family is in need of just such a vacation. I am not sure of the destination, or dates, or times, but it’s definitely time to start the planning.
Our last Stress Breaker vacation was to a place called Amelia Island, an Island just off the coast of Jacksonville Florida.
The condo which we stayed in has a gigantic pool shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head, very cool… Just beyond the pool were stairs leading down to the fairway of the golf course which surrounded the entire complex, and beyond the golf course was the Atlantic Ocean, it was an amazing site.
We stayed in a condo on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island; I can’t remember how much it cost, around 2k for the week.
So far on my list of vacations this one ranks up there as number one.
I thoughtfully refer to this place, now and forever as “My Happy Place”.
Many of our days were spent out in the pool, a couple of times out in the ocean but for the most part we hung around the pool allot. The ocean on the Atlantic side is chilly and the beach area is very “Shelley” millions of seashells varying in size. It looks really cool, but when your trying to get out of the ocean, your feet slip on the shells and you cannot get any traction, this means the next wave that hits you, it rolls you under, and drags you back out into the Atlantic. When I say drags you, I meanit drags you across the shell lined bottom, and back out into the sea. After a few (20min) of me laughing because of the frustration of trying to get back on the beach, I finally made it, then I noticed all of the small cuts (similar to a paper cuts) I had received from the shells. That incident cured me of swimming in that area of the Atlantic.
This area is well known for its fishing industry, and especially their shrimp. When we were there, it just happened to be their annual Shrimp Festival. The festival begins when all of the Shrimp boats come in from the last day of fishing, then the entire town explodes into a type of Block party atmosphere, it was really amazing to see. We had a great time that night walking the town, and being a part of the festival.
One day we decided to go down to the docks and purchase some fresh fish and shrimp. A short drive down the main street and we were there. We went into a warehouse/butcher shop down by the fishing docks, and were setup with all the fish and shrimp we could ever eat. It was funny, while we were down there I noticed how many cats were around, there was a ton of them because the fishermen feed the scraps to the cats, not a bad place to live if you’re a cat.
My favorite thing was the solitude that you felt in the mornings, sitting on the balcony drinking coffee and reading the paper and watching the whales and the dolphins play in the surf. It truly was a sweet vacation. I look forward to going back there one day, Back to “My Happy Place”, Amelia Island, Florida ………..
A little pricey. I know, but well worth it.
Jim
