Spring Break: St. George Island, FL

I just got home from our spring break trip to St. George Island.  No matter how beautiful and relaxing and necessary a vacation is, I so love the feeling of returning home, which hits me as soon as I see the skyline from the airplane window.  Even in cloudy and misty New York, within minutes I was in boxer shorts and eating the sushi that was delivered to my apartment (spicy tuna topped with spicy tuna ... whattt) and I'm going to continue this chilling out for a little longer before I begin unpacking and cleaning everything and fully hammering down what I'm teaching tomorrow morning.

I mean, I have a general idea.  Be real, people.

Allow me to use this procrastination break to share a little bit about this island with you.

St. George is a really special place, in general, and to us, in particular.  We've been visiting the island since the beginning of our relationship, and we're getting married there this summer.




I haven't explored too much of Florida, but I'm going to go ahead and declare this island my favorite part of the state.  You get some wonky Florida-ness (absurd heat, vicious flesh-eating mosquitoes, extreme Southern-ness that I always forget about) but this place can be so lovely and idyllic that it's kind of perfect.

I almost don't want to tell you about it because you'll tell your friends and they'll tell their friends and eventually everyone will ruin it together.  These are my fears!






























But seriously.  It's not unlike an earthly, Southern, backwoods paradise.

Here are eight fun facts:

1.  The entire island is 28 miles long and less than a mile wide.  It is divided into three sections:  the protected state park, the public town/beach which has a handful of businesses in it, and an exclusive/fancypants gated community.  We stay in the public part.

2.  When you cross the bridge from the mainland, you might notice pelicans hovering over your car.  They look like actual dinosaurs, but they're harmless and funny when they dive.

3.  There are zero stoplights on the island. Most people ride bikes or drive golf carts there.

5.  Apparently the Gulf of Mexico is where all the dolphins hang out.  You'll see them go by almost every day.  They are a species that devotes over 90% of life to playtime, so I support them.



6.  There are a zillion types of birds on the island, in all of the colors and aviary hairdos.

7.  There's an interesting economic mixture on the island.  You have some jillion-dollar homes, and you also have bars with corrugated metal roofs and dirt floors.  You have some of the most exclusive and expensive properties on the Gulf of Mexico, in one of the poorest counties in the state.

8.  It is not foolish to plan your day around oyster happy hour.  It is a deal not to be missed, especially since the oysters are from rightoverthere.


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On the sunniest and brightest day of this trip, we took the boat out to Little St. George, which is a separate island just a wee swim away from our island.




You know, in case the bustling metropolis of regular St. George becomes too overwhelming.





Little St. George is uninhabited, covered in shells, and where all the cool pelicans hang out.

We took walks, collected shells, and enjoyed a picnic.  There was a perfect breeze, which made my sunburn a nice little surprise for later.































Hanging out on a deserted island looks like this, mostly:






I took all of these photos on my iPhone, and I did zero editing.  That blue is real.

We talked about our love for this little corner of the country, and how we feel like we belong to it a little bit.  We talked about wanting our own family someday, and maybe we want to include coming to St. George, or somewhere, as part of our family traditions.  It's funny how we become attached to places and make them part of our stories.  I like that.

It's back to work tomorrow, but we're so excited to go back to the Forgotten Coast (as the locals really do call it) this summer and share this magical little place with our friends and family.  Is it too soon for a countdown?