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Travel writer visits Navarre Beach - Read her story about her family's stress-busting weekend

Quinn and daddy collecting shells

Elly and Quinn on Navarre Beach

Elly soaking up the sun

Months of chilly weather, one flu bug after another, working long hours, dealing with holiday guests, schedule uproar, and the death of a cat. My family needed a break.

And there is no better way to forget your troubles than to bury them in a sand castle.

Taking an extended vacation when time and budget are tight is next to impossible. And in times like these, a day trip sometimes just isn’t enough to do the job. So we planned a long weekend, packed up the girls, Quinn, 3, and Elly, 13, and my mom, and headed for Navarre Beach.

When I was a kid, we used to make an annual trek to visit family in Mobile, Ala. The highlight of those two-week trips from was always the day trip to the white sands and crystal waters of Navarre Beach, which was as close to heaven as a girl on reprieve from Wisconsin winter could imagine.

This trip, far from eight cousins crammed in a van, was a weekend stay at a Sugar Beach condo with gorgeous views of the gulf from two balconies, four bedrooms, three baths, and easy access to the beach via a short boardwalk. As soon as we walked in, we flung open the balcony doors and let the salt air sweep through the place as we explored. While I had banned video games from the trip (because we were supposed to be having family time), we were excited to find TVs and DVD players in every bedroom (because you can only really take so much family time).

That first night, we couldn’t drag ourselves away from the beach to go eat, so we hopped over the bridge to the grocery store and cooked dinner in while we watched the sun set on the gulf.

On Saturday, Elly and I headed out to do some souvenir shopping and spend a little mother-and-tween daughter time together. At the Sea Shell Factory, we loaded up with souvenirs for everyone – dolphin bracelets, sand shovels, wind chimes, glass figurines, googly-eyed creatures made of shells. And the entire haul cost just over $9. Far from the slick, airbrushed chains that have taken over more developed beaches, the Navarre souvenir shops we visited were very “old Florida,” with unexpected treasures at every turn that captured the laid-back, authentic spirit of our stay.

Saturday night, we went to Cocodrie’s on the beach for dinner. Michael and I thought we would start by splitting a original Cajun seafood platter, but couldn’t finish the enormous portions between the two of us and ended up taking home a box. The girls each had a giant plate of shoestring French fries and split a loaf of sourdough bread with cinnamon butter. Cocodrie’s was packed with families and big groups of diners, and two birthday cakes were delivered to adjacent tables. For locals and tourists alike, this was the place to be for a special occasion.

That night, after the girls were tucked in their beds, each watching their own movie, my husband and I headed down to the beach for a late night walk. The full moon and the white beach made it as bright as day. Even at midnight, we cast shadows on the sand. When it got too chilly surfside for our sweaters, we went up to the master bedroom balcony and sat out in lounge chairs with a blanket, listening to the waves, chatting and snoozing, until we finally went inside and went to bed at about 2 a.m.

Sunday was the day we tracked a metric ton of sand into the condo. Warm and sunny weather made winter seem a million miles away. Frankly, I am always reluctant to go to the beach for a full family day because there is so much planning and packing involved - drinks, dry clothes, towels, sunscreen, and where are you going to go to the bathroom? But when you are staying gulf front and everything you need is 100 steps away, it is pure joy. We parked the chairs and umbrella on the beach and went in and out all day long.

Sandcastles and tunnels were built, waves were chased, seashells were gathered, sweatshirts were shed and we soaked up the sun. My mom and I talked the afternoon away under the umbrella, drinking diet Cokes and munching chocolate, while Michael swung the girls in and out of the surf.

At day’s end we had bags and bags of beautiful shells, sunburned ears and a strange, unfamiliar feeling which we eventually identified as “relaxed.”

We headed home early Monday morning feeling renewed and ready to jump into another week. There were spots we saw on the way out that we wished we had visited – such as Souvenir City and Shark Museum – so we are already planning a day trip back to visit those places and the Navarre Butterfly House when it reopens this spring.

Our lives right now are stressful and exhausting. Just thinking about packing up, trying to fly - or even worse, drive - to some busy theme park gave me a headache. But Navarre is like somewhere far away, but right next door. A weekend getaway, even for a family of four plus grandma, was very manageable and low-stress. Everything we needed was close, but we were still on vacation, on the island.

Jahna Jacobson is a freelance writer who lives in Pensacola with her husband, Michael, and two daughters; Elly, 13, and Quinn, 3. When she isn't writing she is working on her house, driving the kids around, managing the budget, wrangling her pets and doing volunteer work.