Our journey, Chapter 21: Okay, I can take a hint

If we listen, God has a way of pointing us in the direction He wants us to head.

While we were in St. Kitts in late May, I had some minor pain that I shouldn’t have had. No big deal, but I promised Natalie I would check it out when we returned. Doc suggested I have some tests. Still waiting for the results. Again, no biggie, but as with the cut on Natalie’s leg while we were on St. John, having reliable access to healthcare is kinda’ important. So, Natalie once more suggested we take a look at Florida just to see what might be there.

We did our searches for Florida homes in areas we thought might be interesting, but with our calendar pretty jammed, finding a time to see them in person was a challenge. I had booked tickets for a Chris Stapleton concert in early June for Natalie’s birthday. She is crazy about him…I mean his music…I think. Should I worry?

Then , a couple of days after the concert, we were supposed to head to Orlando with family to have what Natalie calls “cousin camp”. The kids love it and Natalie is truly in her element when she is surrounded by all our grandchildren and the noise level reaches that of a jet taking off.

All of that meant we wouldn’t be able to look at beach communities until the end of June or later.

That was before I received a message telling me the concert had been postponed until July because the band’s staging had been damaged in an accident. Suddenly, we had a hole in our calendar. Coincidence or a nudge from the Big Guy?

We booked a trip to the Florida panhandle to explore 30A between Rosemary and Grayton beaches. This wasn’t our first time there, but was our first time as potential home buyers.

A couple of homes looked promising, so I reached out to a realtor for one of them. Nina (with a long I) suggested we meet her at her office to get a better understanding of what we wanted. We explained that we were thinking of renting for two or three months to make sure we really wanted to live in northern Florida, even if it is only part-time. We also told her that while we love the vibe of Rosemary Beach, the crowds are too much for us. Besides, many of the homes in that part of Florida have been purchased as investments and are used as weekly rentals during spring and summer. We want a neighborhood where we would have real neighbors.

Nina is really good. She showed us a couple of things before zeroing in on Watersound. As soon as we entered the neighborhood, we were transported to a quiet, pristine New England beach community with miles and miles of nature trails. We could hear the surf, but could not see it because of the beautiful dunes that separate the homes from the Gulf and its incredibly wide white sand beach.

We toured several homes that were for sale to get a better feel for the area and were wowed. Nevertheless, we told her we wanted to explore other areas along 30A. However, nothing else we saw compared to what Nina had shown us and we kept returning to Watersound. It is idyllic.

Of course, we dutifully sat down to make a list of pros and cons. Northern Florida certainly isn’t a Caribbean island. That in itself presents plusses and minuses - come full circle to access to healthcare and reasonably priced crackers. (That will make sense to you if you’ve read our earlier chapters.)

It gets pretty chilly in northern Florida during winter months. So, hot tub, an outdoor fireplace and sweaters for strolling on the beach would be a must. Having something in the islands for several weeks in winter would also be important. The Ritz Club on St Thomas could answer that want. They sell three-week interval ownership packages, with two of the weeks back-to-back in winter and one in the summer. Perhaps a couple consecutive packages would be an answer if we could find them.

With much of our immediate family in the Atlanta area, 30A would only be around a five-hour drive for those who wanted to visit. In my fantasy, I’m thinking a small place in the Atlanta burbs for us, as well, to use part time. Of course, the math would have to work. As always, Natalie does a pretty good job of not letting me lose sight of reality. But Columbus wouldn’t have sailed across the ocean and risked falling off the edge of earth if he didn’t dream, right?

We don’t want to jump too quickly. A short rental would give us a much better perspective. If we’ve learned anything over these past twelve months, it is the importance of taking things at an appropriate pace. Still, there’s that possibility we were sent to meet Nina and discover Watersound through divine intervention.

Nina continues to look, but there isn’t anything for rent in that community at this time. We’ll see. God’s watch runs a bit differently than mine. I can wait and I can take a hint.