-Posted by Isaac

That's not Lake Erie.

Dude.

White sands, green waters and a gentle sea breeze.

All to ourselves.

This week we found our castles in the sky.

Sort of.

800 miles south, through the land of cotton,

to the warm, sun-kissed Gulf shores of Grayton Beach State Park.

It was Jayne's idea.

She planned everything, booked our stay, and did all of the packing. Was she tired of my incessant holiday complaining? Most likely.

A refreshing five day break from the Joy Joy Joy. 

Alas, you can never totally sever yourself from Christmas. 

Or your Christmas guilt.

Down there, they had truckloads of it. Tis the season.

All in all, it was a much needed therapeutic trip. For the entire family, but especially for me. A break from the worrying over bees and the winter bitching. What did this Scrooge do to deserve such a thoughtful wife? Not enough, I can tell you. I think I just got lucky. Thankfully we share the same tastes- isolation and simplicity.

Only one afternoon was spent doing the tourist thing. It was in nearby Destin- big plastic gorillas, mini golf, go-carts, bumper boats, arcades, slurpees, fights and tears, and overpriced greasy food. The things we do for our children...

For the most part the entire trip consisted of simple joys- sand, water, waves and peanut butter sandwiches. Endless soft trails through the pines, mile after gorgeous mile of empty beach.

Where was everybody? Back in Destin, maybe? Singing carols? Hanging greens? Toasting the holidays?

Who knows? Who cares. All I know is, we had the place to ourselves. It was relaxing. Our little cabin was a three minute walk to the beach, and there wasn't a single moment I felt obligated to spread my Christmas cheer. There was simply no one around.

No one and no worries- even if you happened to forget your swimsuit back at the cabin.

No worries.