My family has typically gone to Walt Disney World whenever we take a Summer vacation, but the last couple of years we’ve opted to go someplace else. I absolutely love Disney, but it is very expensive, and vacationing at Disney can be more hectic than normal daily life. These last couple of years we decided to still go South, but not quite as far.
Last year my wife convinced me to go to Chattanooga Tennessee instead of Walt Disney World. I was pleasantly surprised. We did all of the touristy things like Ruby Falls, the Incline Railway, and the Tennessee State Aquarium. We found a great coffee place that we went to sometimes more than once per day. We took the “ChattaBOOga” ghost tour, which was fun and very educational. We even befriended a cat that was seemingly adopted by the condominium community where we were staying. It was really nice!
This year we decided to go to Hilton Head Island South Carolina. My wife used to go there with her family when she was younger and had a lot of fond memories. It had been decades since she was there, so we weren’t sure what to expect, but that is part of the fun. We stayed in a nice condo about 5 minutes from the beach. We found a lot of great places to eat, and of course cafes, too many to list… We took a boat ride to see dolphins. The kids made candles at a cool little shop inside one of the resort areas. I don’t really golf, but I could have easily played a round at a different place every day for a week. We all had a great time.
There’s a trope about life moving more slowly in the Southern part of the US, and I do think there is some truth to that. I think you can recreate a little bit of that feeling anywhere if you allow yourself to slow down and truly be where you are.