By: Stephanie Reynolds
Hello, my amazing and fabulous neighbors and friends! I hope this finds you well and enjoying the last few moments of summer.
I am SO excited! This Tourism Professional is about to be a Professional Tourist! (Okay, not really professional, and I’m only going to be gone a few days, but the play on words was too good to resist). I am taking myself and my sweet daughters to the beach!
I know a lot of folk go to the beach, but we really don’t. I have only been to the beach twice since we moved here almost 14 years ago, which is really a shame. It isn’t that I don’t like the beach. I am not a total beach baby, but I do love watching the sky and the water, especially if there are storms coming in.
It’s more like we rarely vacation at all. We have a farm and animals and work, so vacations become staycations which become “How far down the Everlasting Pez Dispenser of Chores can we get through before I go back to work?” There are always things to fix, plant, prune, clean, build, shovel, tear out, and put in.
But for some reason, the Lord gave me this huge drive to take my fabulous daughter and amazing daughter-in-love to the beach. I am the “stay home and don’t spend money” introvert, but this decision just felt right on so many levels. Life is short, sometimes tough, and sometimes you need to just take a breath, you know?
So, I have been having so much fun with the planning! Let me ask you, isn’t planning the best part of the trip? Days (or, in my case, weeks) of dreaming and buying and planning and packing…I absolutely love it! I poured over condo descriptions until I found the perfect one. I watched a few YouTube videos and bought a bunch of stuff (more on that later). I did take a small break in planning just so I have something to do in September to keep the excitement going with the ladies, and now I am ready to go “full beach excitement build-up mode”!
Now, y’all have heard me say I am not the best hostess on the planet. Or in the state. Or on my street. Or in my house. But the one thing I have going for me is a strong, inherited, Louisiana tradition of lagniappe—“a little something extra.” Lagniappe (pronounced “LAN yap”) is the most delightful act of adding in more than someone expects. For example, a business might surprise you with a free car wash coupon if you buy a car from them. Or a bakery might throw in an extra cookie. It’s one of my favorite things because it is a surprise, it is generally small, but it makes such a huge difference in someone’s day.
Yes, what I lack in actual cooking or cleaning skills, I try to make up for in “WOW!” via little special touches and gifts. My mother taught me this trick with things like having real goldfish swimming in the flower vases on the table and giving us little “am/pm” presents on car trip travel days. She was an expert in making car trips fun, EXCEPT she always brought Tootsie Rolls and Starbursts for snacks instead of real chocolate. I get it now that I am an adult–kids are messy–but chocolate-flavored rubber nubbins wasn’t my fave candy as a kid.
Anyway, I am making lagniappe the whole theme of the trip: “Where can I sprinkle a little happy in this moment? What might we need that we didn’t think of, and how can I make them cute and fun instead of just tossing whatever in a box? How can I treat my girls and myself?”
Just going to the beach is going to be wonderful. But if I can make it more special for my sweet girls with extra fun and surprising touches, how much more wonderful it can be!
Next article I will list all the things I was able to do. If you have any ideas for me, though, please reach out to me; I would love to hear how you would make our trip “a little something extra.” Have you dolled up your car for a trip? Any beachy gift bag/basket/box recommendations? Let me know!
Quick note about Tourism happenings:
The Airshow at Pryor field is coming up September 12-13. Come see me at the booth!
The Cemetery Stroll will be in October, reach out if you want to be a character.
Storytelling Festival is coming soon, as is Fiddlers! Head to our Facebook page for updates and announcements.
By: Stephanie Reynolds, Athens-Limestone Tourism Association
