I'm sitting in Chan's Wine Bar in Watercolor, FL, sipping a glass of a Henri Boillot white burgundy, Sleeping Joe beside me, on the last afternoon of our vacation.
As proof that the last day of vacation is always the best, Jude just texted me from the beach to tell me that J.P. is playing touch football with Creighton (a local boy he met this morning) and a couple of other boys. Sadly, endless summer it is not.
As per usual, below are some of my enduring memories from Santa Rosa Beach 2014, in no particular order.
- Watching DVD's about John Ward and Condredge Holloway with J.P during lunch, encouraged as he inched ever so slightly toward being a Tennessee fan. I'm not giving up hope yet.
- On the beach one glorious evening, reenacting with J.P. a scene from the Condredge Holloway DVD where he leaves Neyland Stadium (then Shields-Watkins Field) for the hospital in the 1st quarter to have his injured shoulder x-rayed, then miraculously returns in the 3rd quarter. As he enters the stadium and runs all the way around the field to get to the Tennessee sideline, the crowd erupts in a full throated roar.
- Dusting off the "person are you ready?" routine with Joe, for the first time in 3-4 years, as Joe jumped off the side of the swimming pool into my arms. It was funny 3-4 years ago, when J.P. would say it before he jumped into the pool and into my arms and it was just as funny when Joe said it.
- Hanging out with Sleeping Joe at Grayt Coffeehouse and talking to barista Rick Burch. To quote my friend, Hal Humphreys, "be more than just another customer." I love Grayton Beach, by the way.
- Playing football with J.P. (wearing his neon green swim goggles and looking like John Jefferson from the "Air Coryell" days with the San Diego Chargers) in the ocean, laughing as he squealed with delight every time he or I dove into the water to catch the football. Yes, it's the little things.
- Telling J.P., "I'm Mean Joe Green," as I ran toward him in the ocean, his eyes growing ever wider as I approached him, then sacking him as he clutched the football to his chest. This, of course, led to 30 minutes of taking turns being Mean Joe Green and sacking the other in the ocean. Laughter, lots of uproarious laughter, the whole time.
- Discovering a 5-mile trail run on the Longleaf Pine Greenway Trail a half mile from our house in Old Florida Village. Seeing a bounding deer right in front of me the first day I ran the trail was pretty damn cool.
- Seeing our friend, Jed, at Blue Mountain Beach Creamery and learning from him that the business is going great. He looks so different from when we met him 5-6 years ago on our first trip to Santa Rosa Beach, after his family had just opened up the ice cream shop and he was trying to figure out how to run it. In short, he's grown up.
- Drinking a couple of beers at The Great Southern in Seaside, FL, with Sleeping Joe riding shotgun next to me at the outside bar. The Great Southern might be my favorite bar on 30A.
- Playing UNO (and losing, repeatedly) with Jude and J.P. Playing Battleship (and winning, repeatedly) with Jude and J.P. Sadly, J.P. has picked up the worst parts of Jude's and my competitive spirit - he hates to lose (Jude) and he is a poor winner (me).
- Dana McLendon's Youtube clip.
- Early morning swims with J.P. at the pool, after my morning run, always one of my favorite parts of our vacation to Santa Rosa Beach.
- Making friends with Kyle, Gabby and their kids (from Tupelo by way of Thomas Street Coffee) and playing with them at the pool in the mornings. As Jude, J.P. and Joe made the rounds before we left Saturday morning, J.P. got a little teary eyed when he realized they already had left for Mississippi.
- Watching J.P. befriend Creighton at the beach on Friday, the last day of our vacation, then laughing as they caught dozens of jellyfish together and put them in buckets of ocean water and sand.
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