Last fall we planned a group trip to the beach with friends. One of our group makes an effort to visit an ocean at least once a year (I do a similar thing with the desert.) So we all went in together and rented a beach house on Dauphin Island.
There were 18 of us for this trip – a family of 3, a family of 4, a family of 5, a family of 3 plus 1 and 2 singles. That friend who needed to get to the ocean every year passed away in April. So she wasn’t there in person with us for the trip. But she was very much there in our minds. Her husband and boys came – the older boy and husband are working on building a new normal for the family, the younger boy is just 2 so he’s basically along for the ride at this point. I’m so glad we were still able to go as a group.
Tropical Storm Alberto was headed right for the island but ended up missing us (since we’re all from the Midwest and weren’t sure what to expect several of us parked our cars in an inland portion of the island instead of our driveway that was less than a soccer field from the ocean).
The week was filled with friends, sand, board games, shells and the ocean. As with all travels, I’m glad we went. I needed to see new things and feel different breezes and visit new places. And now I’m glad to be home!
