Just a Warning

Vacation is about to begin. Let's hope I don't cry too much over leaving Jack tomorrow, that we all make it in one piece and I maintain my new not uptight exterior. Oh, and that I remember to capture all of those funny moments, and faces and places with the lens of my camera.

I leave my favorite passages from Anne Morrow Lindbergh's "A Gift from the Sea", a book she wrote while living on the islands I'm visiting.

The Beach is not the place to work; to read, or write or think. I should have remembered that from other years. Too warm, too damp, too soft, for any real mental discipline or sharp flights of spirit. One never learns. Hopefully, one carries down the straw bag, lumpy with books, clean paper, long over-due unanswered letters, freshly sharpened pencils, lists, and good intentions. The books remain unread, the pencils break their points, and the pads rest smooth and unblemished as the cloudless sky. No reading, no writing, no thoughts even--at least not at first....

....The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach--waiting for a gift from the sea.

Like Christmas Morning

I get crazy joy from getting vacation guides in the mail. I ordered these last week, kudos to GA and SC for getting them here so soon! haha

The Taylorsville-Savannah-Sanibel Express

Typically on a trip to Sanibel we take the Shepherdsville-Nashville-Chattanooga-Atlanta-Florida route to get to our destination. This is of course is the preferred route by the famous search engines like Mapquest, Yahoo, or Google.

This year I really want to try something different, even if we are going to the same place. I’ve spent the last few hours researching various routes and stopping points for the first day of the trip. So far the plan I’m liking the most involves driving 10 hours into Savannah, Georgia to stay the night there. Major points of interest include Eastern Kentucky; Knoxville, TN; Asheville, NC; Columbia, SC; and ends in Savannah.

I’m most excited at this prospect because it will allow me to see Asheville, NC which is a dream destination of mine, as well as drive the length of South Carolina. Those are two states I’ve never visited and I’ll at least get to say I’ve been in them before after this trip! I also think this way might be incredibly more scenic, given the driving through the mountains thing.

The second leg of getting there involves going through Candace’s grandparent’s “hood”; Jacksonville, Florida. Before that I’ve found a small town called Hero, FL that offers a 22 minute straight shot off of the interstate to Amelia Island, FL. This excursion would add an hour into our day but would allow for us to see and touch the real Atlantic Ocean (as opposed to the Gulf of Mexico). I’m not entirely sure this part will be feasible in terms of time yet, but I’d love to do it. I’m thinking if not on the way down, we could on the way home.

Once we get to the island I’ve been thinking of all the things I want to do there that I haven’t before. Some of these include:

*Taking a sunset or dolphin cruise.
*Actually purchase a fishing license for myself and throw in a line.
*Visit the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum.
*Go to the beach on Captiva.
*Shell at Lighthouse Beach.
*Visit Blind Pass.
*Visit the Sanibel Marina.
*Take Dad fishing in the bay by the causeway.

I’ve still not booked the place we will be staying at but I’ll probably do this sometime around the first week of March. Once I make the final decision, which is proving to be way more involved and difficult than I once thought. It would seem when you make the decision to take 2 dogs instead of 1 the search grows infinitely more complex. And while some would say we should just leave them here and board them with Jack, it’s easier said than done once you look into their pitiful sad eyes. And besides, the $90 pet fee for the week is actually saving us money versus boarding costs.

My new front runner is a place called Signal Inn. It’s not got the views that some of the others have, but it’s smaller complex with only 18 units, all of which are built on stilts with parking underneath. It has an awesome pool, gazebo, raquetball court and despite the lack of view is actually a much closer walk to the beach on a quieter stretch than the other choices.

But remember with me, what I may be leaning towards today might be completely off the list tomorrow. The important thing I have to remember is that as long as the condo is updated, modern and gorgeous and the walk isn’t a mile to the beach it won’t matter because it’s sure to be amazing.

Now, excuse me while I go continue chanting this to myself over and over.