For obvious reasons, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a capital “V” Vacation. The kind that involves airplanes, passports and feeble WiFi. All things considered, I know I’ve been very fortunate to have been able to take lowercase “v” vacations — a Baycation last summer (https://sabrecalypso.wordpress.com/2020/07/14/baycation-for-real-this-time/), and a road trip to Amelia Island last year.
This year, we had a loose plan to once again take a Baycation. But before we knew it, we were looking at a July week, which from experience tends not to be the optimal time for Chesapeake cruising. Nevertheless, we persisted, and planned to sail away from St. Michaels (Maryland) after Annapolis Yacht Club’s annual newcomer’s cruise. As our vacation week approached, the weather forecast looked less promising (hot! even at night!), and reports from the field (sea?) indicated an overabundance of jellyfish. Between not being able to sleep due to the heat (we only have AC when connected to shore power — i.e. at a marina, which we prefer to avoid on vacation), and not being able to swim (the highlight of a Baycation), we made Plan B, albeit not without second-guessing ourselves the entire run-up to departure.
We proceeded to sail to St. Mike’s, where we docked at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum with about 50 other AYC boats. Arrival day was hot and steamy, and out doubts about pursuing Plan B were squashed when our AC stopped because a giant nettle snotball clogged the AC’s water intake and required manual cleaning.
Despite St. Michaels harbor being plagued with jellyfish, the following day (Saturday) was miraculously breezy and pleasant despite it being July. I spent a few hours shopping on Talbot Street. I often joke that I tend to buy clothes for the lifestyle I wish I had (resort, beach) as opposed to the one I actually have (work, though casual, and some travel), and this was no exception.
We had work to do afterward. As part of welcoming newcomers, we had a group activity of creating a centerpiece for our table. As an icebreaker, one of the permitted themes of our centerpieces was to reflect a passion of the people at the table — ours was beach bars. Our theme was reflected in sand, miniature wooden bars, tiny drink bottles, umbrellas, soggy dollars, little shot glasses, etc.
After having too much fun in furthering the cause of getting to know the newcomers on Saturday night, we slogged home in weather that had returned to July form, but the pod of dolphins we spied frolicking in the Miles River made my day.
As for Plan B … well, it wasn’t easy to arrange. As pandemic restrictions have eased, the demand for vacations (especially when Vacations aren’t as available) let me scrambling to find a last-minute beach rental within a day’s drive of home. At the last minute, I scored a cute cottage on VRBO 2 lots from the beach on St. Simons Island. I’d never been there before, but the island is located on that Spanish-mossy, lowcountry stretch of coast that I love between Wilmington, NC and Amelia Island.
If we drove without stops, we could make it to St. Simons in around 9 hours by car, so we drove. As I’ve written before, Rick and I actually enjoy road trips. We load up with red candy (Twizzlers, swedish fish), crank up the tunes, solve the problems of the world, and make wise observations of the world of I-95.
“It’s a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning” quoth that great sage, Jimmy Buffett. Above is Exhibit A in support of that proposition!
For a last-minute rental — for which I had minimal expectations — we got lucky. It was lovingly restored and fresh, with original wide-plank pine floors, beadboard walls, and crisp beachy colors — updated with a well-stocked modern kitchen and baths, and complete with outdoor showers. Best of all, we could see the ocean between houses from our screened porch, with only a short walk to get to the small beach area near the “village” of St. Simons.
Our ambitions for this week were non-existent. We had thoughts of exploration, and one day we actually did make a trip to Jekyll Island. But sand gravity played its part and we never got out of the car, instead driving back to the beach.
The hardest choices we faced every day were where to have dinner. I’d made some reservations before arriving — and was glad to have done so. The best meal we enjoyed was at Halyards — where the shrimp and grits were expectedly wonderful (with shrimp harvested just offshore hours earlier) and we were introduced to a hyper-local (and delicious) fish called triple tail.
Rick had to handle several business calls, so I took the opportunity to explore other beaches (rather than strangle him (or his co-workers) for not giving vacation the respect it deserves). My favorite was the one at Gould’s Inlet, a small inlet that connects the Atlantic to the marshes. It’s the kind of beach that I love: ever-changing, with sandbars and endlessly mutating contours, and not too many people. We returned here a second day.
Ultimately, we spent most of our time close to “home.” Once I learned that there were no restrictions on the type of liquid refreshment we could bring to the beach (only that the container had to be plastic or glass), all I needed was a Yeti full of chilled rose and a good book. Rick and I spent hours each day bobbing in the surf until our fingers became pruny; then we’d get out of the water, dry off, and go back in again.
Any doubts about having chosen Plan B blew away with the sand. Despite being hundreds of miles south of Chesapeake Bay, we enjoyed better weather in Georgia.
Here’s hoping the next trip is a Vacation.
Calypso's Odyssey 
There is a Lions Den on I-10 in Southern Louisiana. After passing the abundance of signs for years (Decades?), my best friend and I stopped in one time. It had all the charm of a convenience store filled with sex toys and videos in the middle of nowhere. Super….