GOING EAST-SOUTHEAST

Bathing suits? Check.
Shorts and T-shirts? Check.
Bikes and bikey paraphernalia? Check.
Sunblock? Check.
Panama hat? Check.
Booze? Check.
Business suit? Naw.
Everyday concerns? Hell, naw!

Most every year in June or July, we head to the beach.

Since moving back to Atlanta in the late 1990’s, that beach has been Destin, on Florida’s gulf coast. With their crystalline, sugary white sands and beautiful blue-green water, the beaches in and around Destin have made for many wonderful vacations...

...and yet, a couple of years ago, we decided to take a break. We had been to the Emerald Coast (AKA the Redneck Riviera) many times, and, along with our friends, had developed a whole laundry list of Vacationey Traditions: places to eat, things to do, all of which were on the Must List every year. Unfortunately, that’s a good way to get in a rut. Go to the same destination, do the same things - hell, you might as well own a time share!

So it was that we did not go to the Gulf last year. No beach vacation at all. It turned out to have been a serendipitous decision given the BP oil disaster, although that did not seem to have affected our usual haunts. It might even have cut down on the crowds and traffic a tad.

This year, in the interest of Rut-Avoidance, we’ll head in a different direction. Instead of south-southwest, we’ll be going east-southeast - to Hilton Head, South Carolina.

In lieu of golf clubs, we’ll schlep our bikes... an activity for which Hilton Head is well-equipped, and one which we can enjoy with the Missuses.

And did I mention Adult Beverages? I’m quite sure I did.

Blogging will be light to nonexistent for the next week. But you don’t give a shit about that, do you? You’re on Facebook, playing Farmville, checking out your notifications, and clicking on those spam links. Have fun! I’m pretty sure we will, too.