AT HOME WITH KAYLA PRICE 9/23: Chillaxing

Author’s Note:  I wrote the following before Ian hit Florida.  I hope the residents of beautiful North Captive Island are safe, and I am sending them my well wishes.

Chillaxing.  Verb.  American colloquialism for chilling and relaxing at the same time.

Several years ago, while on vacation with Mike and the boys, Jonathan told us he was chillaxing.  This might have been the first time I had heard this word. We were celebrating his 16th birthday in Hawaii, which was where he had been born.

I think I now fully understand the meaning.  We arrived to “island time” two weeks ago.  The next morning, Mike’s and my Garmin showed we have 100% recharged…which is not the case at home.

At the moment I wrote most of this post, I was sitting in a lovely little alcove in the upstairs master at The Pearl on North Captiva Island.  The room was cool.  The light was filtering in from all directions.  The desk and chair were comfortable and probably ergonomically correct.  The view out the window was of palm and mango treetops with white sandy beaches and an inviting ocean beyond.  This was a writer’s paradise.  I felt like I could have been Ernest Hemingway, without the scotch and soda and 5 o’clock shadow!

The only thing we had planned for our week away were meals.  Since the island doesn’t have a grocery store, we needed to make sure we had ordered enough food to see us through the time we were there.  The island does have four restaurants, which augmented our meals.

An upside to our stay was that we had little to no internet access and our cellphones weren’t working.  Though this may have caused some stress, it was probably a blessing in disguise.  How can a person decompress if what is causing the compression follows them on vacation?

With my pale skin and lack of swimming abilities, I have never been much of a beach bunny, but I have learned to enjoy the beauty and peacefulness of island life.  I now long for quiet time on the beach with the only sound being the lashing of the waves and the occasional sounds of seagulls.

Last week I wrote this article while on the beach of North Captiva Island, Florida.  My husband and I flew home on Saturday.  How quickly things can change.  We are pretty sure the places we have stayed on that island are no longer there.  While waiting for the boat to take us back to the mainland, we met the sweetest woman (in her late 70s) who said she was going to stay on the island.  I so hope she changed her mind.