Why 10 Years of Beach Visits Revealed These 5 Surprising Life Truths

What beach?

For the past decade, as retirees, my husband, Joe, and I have spent the month of February in Florida. The first year, we explored the state and decided we would return to Cape San Blas, which is found on the “forgotten coast” of the Florida Panhandle.

Over the next five years, I wrote a blog post listing lessons learned from a month at the beach. See the list at the end of this post for links to each one. Then in 2023, we explored other parts of Florida but still returned to the Cape for 2 weeks. That year, and the next 2, I took a break from writing lesson posts.

This year, it seemed like it was time to reflect once again, not only on our most recent month, but all previous Februarys in Florida as well.

Where exactly is Cape San Blas?

The Cape is another name for the St. Joseph Peninsula. Look for Port St. Joe, Florida on a map. You will find it near where the panhandle curves south along the Gulf Coast. From there, the peninsula sticks out into the Gulf and forms St. Joseph Bay.

One side of the Cape faces west (for beautiful sunsets), and the other side faces the bay (for gorgeous sunrises). Half of the Cape is taken up by the St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, with miles of natural habitat for birds and other animals.

The Cape is known for uncrowded, dog-friendly, white, sandy beaches and a laid-back feel. We rent a house right on the beach that is large enough to welcome family and friends to visit throughout the month. We have rented 7 different houses for various lengths of time, a couple for only a week, and one for 4 straight years.

What 5 truths about life have we learned after 10 years of visiting the beach?

Each year on the Cape reinforces previous lessons and reveals new ones. Here are my top 5 life lessons from a decade of visits to the Cape:

Waves win every time.

The photo above shows the surf lapping at the steps at the end of our walkway to the beach. Just a year ago, the beach was twice as wide and about 5 feet higher. Now, stumps stick out, exposing what is left of dead trees from eons ago. A storm during this year’s visit eroded even more sand, and we needed to have 3 steps added to our stairway to get to and from the beach.

Restoration plans are in place to bring sand in to reinforce the south end of the Cape later this month. How long will it last? Not long enough. After all, waves win every time.

Relationships thrive in a relaxed setting.

A highlight of our time on the Cape each year is hosting family and friends throughout the month. The first week, we hosted 8 long-time friends. The second week, my sister and her husband and their family friends, with 3 young children, visited. The third week was for our daughter’s family and their close family friends, with 2 teenage daughters. The final week was another set of 6 life-long friends.

It didn’t matter whether the weather was warm and sunny or chilly and overcast; everyone had a fabulous time. We fixed meals together, played games, took walks and bike rides, swam in the pool, sat on the beach, went shopping, watched the Olympics, and so much more.

We talked, we laughed, we shared joys and concerns, and caught up with each other’s lives. Even with a few work calls and some homework, the pace at the beach helps us relax, and everyone was able to de-stress. Friendships and family bonds grew stronger. It’s true: Relationships thrive in a relaxed setting.

The faithful can be found everywhere – seek and find.

Whenever possible, we seek out a local church to visit while traveling. When at the Cape, we attend the Port St. Joe Methodist Church. The first year we attended, services were held in a beautiful sanctuary and on a veranda overlooking the bay. After Hurricane Michael devastated the coast in October 2018, services have been held in the Great Hall, the only remaining part of their building. Rebuilding is in their future, but hasn’t started yet.

Over the past decade, the PSJ church has had 2 senior pastors who are equally great storytellers and engaging speakers. The music is uplifting, and the congregation is welcoming. We always look forward to worshiping there. It has been a great reminder that God’s faithful can be found everywhere; we just need to seek, find, and join in fully.

Savor familiar flavors and experience new ones.

Food at the beach includes the cooking we do by taking turns throughout each week, as well as eating out. Many guests have menus that we look forward to each year, like Erma’s chicken salad and Jeff’s shrimp and grits. A new treat this year was Kris’s homemade pizza.

We also look forward to trips to Apalachicola to eat fresh grouper and oysters at The Station. More recently, we have enjoyed fresh fish at Hunt’s on the Bay. Another favorite is going to Sister’s Bistro in downtown Port St. Joe. We ate there three times this year. Our last visit included complementary desserts that the chef wanted us to taste in order to give him feedback. The key lime cheesecake was amazing!

Honorable mention goes to the Piggly Wiggly bakery for their amazing cookies – especially Coconut Pecan. They were on our mind when we stopped as soon as we arrived in Port St. Joe to pick up groceries before heading out to the Cape. Making a beeline to the bakery after entering the store, I was hugely disappointed to see the cookie counter empty.

Not giving up, I inquired if more were being made. Yes, they should be ready soon. After picking up groceries, I returned to the bakery, and they were still not ready. Finding out they were being packaged, I thanked the baker and shared with her that we had driven 2 whole days to get these cookies. That made her day.

Wherever your travels take you, savor familiar flavors and experience new ones.

Seeing the sunset never grows old.

A highlight of every day on the beach is stopping whatever we’re doing to watch the sunset. We keep track of how many days we can see it set, meaning there is not complete cloud cover. Most years, that adds up to an average of 4-5 times a week. This year was exceptional. We saw 23 sunsets in 28 days.

However, we did not see a “green flash” this year. If you’ve never heard of the green flash, check out this post from 2019. It’s real. Most years, we’ve seen one at least once.

Something a decade of watching sunsets over the Gulf has taught me is that every sunset is unique, every sunset is beautiful, and seeing the sunset never grows old.

What life lessons have you found to be true?

What do you learn when you take a break from your routine, whether it be a vacation, time off from work, or something else?

Take time to reflect. Life is full of lessons.

If you’re interested in previous lessons from the beach, check out these posts…

Previous Lessons from the Beach:

• Lessons from a month on the beach.        

• Lessons from a month on the beach - Year 2.        

• Lessons from a month on the beach - Year 3.         

• No bad weather, only bad gear.         

• 5 Lessons from 5 years at the beach.         

“Dance with the waves, move with the sea. Let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.” ~ Christy Ann Martine

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