Earlier this month, I had the chance to pack up the kids for one last trip to the beach. St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island are two of my very favorite places to visit. Great food, beautiful setting, wonderful beaches, and family keep us coming back. (PS-I’m on Instagram if you ever want to follow along and see pics of what I’m up to!)

Bringing my laptop along  makes any trip a working trip, and I love that. I love that I can keep up with my writing and editing schedule and still get some downtime with my kids. Running in the waves, swimming at Neptune Park, afternoon treats at Fuse Frozen Yogurt, and walks on the beach are very welcome breaks during my workday.

The funny thing is that my parents moved to south coastal Georgia a year after I married (and they realized I was never leaving the Midwest) but my kids think I grew up on the island. My first visit to the Golden Isles was in the early nineties, staying at a family friend’s beach house. We spent the week lugging boogie boards over our heads as we trekked to East Beach. The next trip, a few years later, was more of the same.

And then I didn’t visit again for nearly two decades.

On my second visit back, I announced my pregnancy with my first born and have been making regular trips down south with both kids ever since. St. Simons, in the early days with newborns, was almost a symbol of hope to me. I knew once I made it down to my parents’ house, I’d be able to get a break from constant newborn care. I’d get a chance to sleep and to think. And in one of these moments, I started chasing after a dream (writing) that I’d put on the back burner.

I didn’t spend my childhood on St. Simons Island, but over the last seven years I have done a lot of growing up on the island.