remote.....vacation destination

    Remote:  a thing you have to have these days to watch t.v.
                   a place FAR FAR away from anything that makes life fun, easy, and entertaining

   Recently,  Mr. G and I headed out to our favorite place for vacation for a few days of R & R.  While there, we took a side trip to a destination we had researched (a little) heard about (from several) and had very much wanted to visit and take the whole gang with us (kids and grandkids) to see some sea turtle eggs, and have fun on a beach without the crowds.

  It was rather adventurous with our maps, water bottles, snacks, sunglasses, flip flops and a tank full of gas.  Off we go.  and go.  and go.  and go some more.  This place was REALLY remote.  Much farther than it looked on the map.  Much more REMOTE than I had pictured.

  My brother-in-law kindly told me the previous day when he learned we were vacationing there with our family this summer, that it was very remote.  VERY REMOTE.  "I don't know if you will like it.  There's nothing there to do, " he said.


  "Well, sounds kinda nice to me!  No traffic, not red lights, no noise.  Just the sound of the ocean waves and the kids playing.  I can't wait!"  I replied.


  "Did you know that place is know for sharks?"  he very bluntly said.


  "Sharks? as in big teeth and 'du du du du, du du du du' " I said making the shark two note melody from "Jaws".

   "Yes, those kinds.  In fact, some really big ones.  Did you know the water was rough and it gets deep really quick there?"  he added.


  "No, no one mentioned that....."  I was slowly beginning to wilt.  Maybe this place wasn't so grand for a family of creature comfort folks.


  But, on we went, headed to see this beautiful beach, sea turtles, and lots of ocean life.  Now the meaning of 'ocean life' was coming into view.


   After one and a half hours of driving away from civilization, we came upon our vacation destination.  Not much there.  Two gas stations.  Bait shop.  Another bait shop.  A gas station, bait shop and convenient store all in one.  Not a restaurant in site.  No McD's no BK, not even a Whataburger! Not a hint of a Bonefish Grill, Olive Garden, or any wonderful seafood place.


   I didn't even see a hotel or motel......  Humm.....

   I DID see a sign, 'Bear crossing'  with a big bear, and a small bear on it.  Sharks, now bears.  Deep in the recesses of my mind, I recalled the talk of alligators in the swampy places of Florida, as well as those slithery, slinky things, I won't name.  Sharks, bears, alligators, and s.....

  As we approached this 'most beautiful beach in Florida' the narrowness of the island is very apparent. One side of the road was the bay, the other side, large large rocks, and on the other side of those rocks the ocean loomed  higher than the top of the car.  My stomach lurched.  I was almost to the point of hyperventilating.  But, I put my happy face on, and looked at the map.


   "We must be close, very close, watch those road signs."  I said, trying to sound brave.


   We drove a little farther, and found the house we had looked at online.  It was a bit worn looking--sand lot, with lots of sea grass, weeds, bugs, and other such things I tried hard not to think about.  Some of the railings were off of the three story deck.  Humm... with a one year old, that is a huge red flag.  I walked up the steps to search out the 'beautiful view of the bay and the ocean',  as stated on the info about the house.  I could catch a glimpse of the ocean and lots of the bay.  Not too bad.  But, I am still wondering what we will do with four kids, no pool, and no ice cream shop in site.  (Where's Walmart, for Pete's sake?)

   We walked down to the beach, which was absolutely beautiful.  Quiet.  No one around.  It would be a wonderful beach to lay on, watch the kiddies, and read a book~if I wasn't panicking over worrying that the kids would be swept away on the current to Cuba.  Or eaten by a shark.  Or chased by a big sea turtle.  Or bitten by a s..... Or, or, or, hunted by an alligator.

   We hopped back in the car and headed back to civilization-that long, long, long road with nothing on it.  Mr. G. and I talked, discussed, bantered, argued a little, sighed a lot, and finally decided we would rather vacation where there were lots of places to eat, more than enough places to entertain four little ones, and where we saw NO SIGNS of bears, alligators, or other creepy wildlife, or sharks swimming near the shore.  We needed the assurance that those red, yellow or green warning flags would go up each day to warn us of any thing we needed to know about the things going on in the ocean.

lots of fun and things to do!

cousin fun

   I must add, that when I returned home,  I was flipping channels on t.v.  I happened upon a show on one of the nature channels about wild boars in FL that were eating the sea turtle eggs.  The locals were hunting them down to save the turtles.


   WILD BOARS.  I never saw that sign.  They were probably hiding behind the bears.