A couple of weeks ago, I went on Adult Spring Break. So as not to discriminate, today I am off to Kids Spring Break. It's OK ... I'm 55 going on 17. Plus we are heading to another beach! Sarah will wear a bikini as will thousands of others walking up and down Daytona Beach.
To this day I still get a sense of excitement as we cross the St. Mary's River bridge and spy the "Florida" sign. Growing up, it was the most exotic destination that my family could afford. We didn't go every year but when we did it was certainly special. Come to think of it ... it is where I first cultivated my appreciation of bikinis.
Growing up with Tybee Island, Hilton Head and Daytona Beach as playgrounds, it is easy to see the development of my life's goal of being a Beach Bum. Salt water runs through my veins. My hair is sun streaked. I have a permanent tan. The only shoes worth having are flip-flops. Sitting outside is better than sitting inside. Ceiling fans are a requirement of housing. Windows should always be open. Sea breezes are the best breezes. The aroma of sun tan lotion is intoxicating. Beer is best served in a koozie. Wine needs ice.
We're heading down to stay at a place where I stayed as a kid. It has a great pool beside the beach and a balcony for me to sit on. There's a kitchen and restaurants if we decide to eat out. There's a coffee shop that I will frequent in the mornings as I read the Daytona Beach Journal while the girls sleep. Then it's outside living until dark. Then there's looking for sand crabs at night.
John McDonald, creator of the famous (and required reading for any Beach Bum) Travis McGee novels, once wondered why condos built beside the ocean were often hermetically sealed. "Silence by the sea," is how he described it. He never understood it and I don't either.
I need sand in my toes.
I'm cool with sand in my house.
Sand is a lifestyle commitment on my part. It is far superior to dirt.
I got my Bob Marley, Jimmy Buffett, Beach Boys, Spearhead and Jim Morris tunes loaded up on the my I-Pod. I want to watch the kids play while I hold hands with Sarah. I want to reflect on the Crab trap of life.
There's something about living at the beach and vacationing at other beaches that is perfectly logical to me. The highest and best mountains are all underwater anyway! And there's no bikinis in the mountains!
Now if I can just my pop-up cooler, it's time to go.
Pale invaders and tanned crusaders are worshiping the sun
on the corner of walk and Don't walk somewhere on U.S.
I'm back to living Floridays
Blue Skies and ultra-violet rays
Looking for better days
I believe that I've found them.
