Life became very tough for a lot of people around the world in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic changed almost everything about our daily lives. Compared to many, we were very lucky to be minimally displaced by the virus, but its timing delayed many trips which we had been saving and preparing for. In September 2020, we had both arranged for a two week block of time off from work in order to (hopefully) leave the country for another long getaway. This obviously became impossible, so we were left with a large chunk of time off from work and no idea how to spend it. After some brainstorming, Emily mentioned that she had always wanted to take the dogs to the beach, so we decided to plan a trip around bringing our pups to the beach!
Port St. Joe, Florida was a great compromise for a pandemic vacation. We were able to drive, thus avoiding high-risk airports and allowing our favorite beagles to join along. The town is small and a bit sleepy, so crowds were never an issue. The rental house was affordable and located within steps of a private, natural beach in a secluded community of beach houses. And Florida offered the warm weather and relaxation that was more than needed after a long summer of remaining diligent about social isolation.
There isn’t a lot of day-by-day recap to do with this vacation, as it was largely spent relaxing. We divided the drive into two days, stopping in Huntsville, AL for an overnight break from driving. Our first couple of days were not ideal as we were plagued by biting flies brought down from the woods from the Northward wind. This made visiting the beach impossible, so we spend a decent amount of time by the pool. We did have better luck at Cape San Blas and enjoyed driving the Subaru up on the beach and setting up our beach tent. The dogs were largely less than enthusiastic about the beach. Porter seemed to enjoy swimming but Polo wanted nothing to do with the water, the sand, or the heat. He even bolted away on one occasion, making his way back towards the rental house when he decided he had had enough!
Midway through the trip we were joined by Daniel and Debbie, two of our great friends from back home. The four of us had a great time catching up, hitting the beach, and enjoying good food and drinks. The highlight of our trip was hunting for blue craps on the beach and cooking them up in a low country boil. Delicious and so much fun! We had both a dinner and brunch at The View on Old 98, a newly opened restaurant within our rental home community that had spectacular food, drinks, and great waterfront views. I cannot brag enough about how much this restaurant surprised and impressed each of us!
After Daniel and Debbie’s departure, Hurricane Sandy promptly arrived and wrecked havoc on the majority of the remainder of our trip. Thank goodness for Netflix and our cuddly dogs! We spent one evening in an interior closet and several days trying to determine our exit strategy, as much of the Florida panhandle was severely flooded. Ultimately, we were able to drive back home without much trouble, stopping this time in the Memphis area overnight.
Overall, this trip gave us what we needed, a chance to get away for the first time in many months. We were able to stay responsible with regards to social distancing by enjoying empty beaches and quiet restaurants in town. And even though our dogs hated the beach, we spent days scratching the numerous fly bites we had received, and a hurricane tried to swallow us up and spit us out, we enjoyed our time together, away from the chaos of work and the monotony of daily life.
