Every year my family flies down to my grandparents’ house in Florida. When they passed it became our little vacation spot. It’s in a quaint town on the Gulf of Mexico and near a big city. There’s a lot of towns like this in Florida, but this one is special to me. I’ve been going there for years. The beaches are fairly quiet and the downtown section is nice. It’s a quintessential Florida town and there’s a lot to do nearby. There’s almost no spring-breakers or rowdy vacation-goers.
I don’t tell people where it is and I don’t promote it as a place to vacation. My family never invites our extended family down, and my brother and I never invite our friends. It’s our little corner of the world to find some peace and quiet.
I like golfing without the prospect of there being a lot of people. I can ride my bike to an acai bowl shop or to get an iced coffee. Beach fares are cheap, there’s always parking, and they’re never crowded. There’s rarely any traffic. The downtown areas are bustling with people, but you can always get a table at any restaurant. It’s the perfect place to relax and escape the real world for a bit.
I don’t want to share my family’s vacation spot. I know the chances of people actually going are slim, but I don’t want to ruin what I have. Recently, people have been vacationing there more and more because it’s a cheaper alternative to some of the bigger name towns and its proximity to a lot of hotspot cities. I don’t want the peaceful ambience of my town to be ruined. I don’t want to run into college kids bar hopping through the downtown area or taking over the beaches.
I understand that you can’t gatekeep a whole town or prevent people from going wherever they want. I just want to prolong my quiet life in my quaint beach town as long as possible.