All right. Let's discuss. I obviously did not make it clear in yesterday's post that the little cement block house on St. George Island is not actually being considered as a house for us to buy. I mean, I do sort of love that funky old fifties style and I remember my stays at the Starfish with great fondness and I'm sure I would have a great time in that little house but it is not what we need and definitely not what Mr. Moon wants in a waterfront house. It's funny. When I first started visiting St. George Island, there were so few houses on it. And most of those were indeed the cement block houses, built right on the sand. There were a few wooden houses and a few houses built on stilts but it was mostly very quiet, very laid-back, very much a place for local people to go to the beach with the family. There was a hotel and it's still there, although it has doubled and tripled (at least) in size. I think all the rooms had kitchenettes, as they catered to folks who were coming to the beach to fish and hang out with the kids and there really weren't any places to eat. There was a tiny store that everyone called The Blue Store, and a convenience store where they sold gas and beer and bread and peanut butter, etc.
Farther back than that, ranchers grazed cattle on St. George. I guess they barged them over the bay. You can still see fence posts here and there, but mostly in the water.
Anyway, things really started changing in the 80'. I've said before that when we started renting our Starfish apartment in the summers, there was nothing between it and the ocean except the street and there was very little traffic on that.
Now, that part of the island looks like this.
If you enlarge the picture and look to the extreme left you can see a bright green building. That may or may not actually be the Starfish. If it's not, it's close. And see those weird buildings across the street from it? Those are what we called the skinny houses, and they started building those, one at a time, during our summers there. They are all rentals. And hell, if someone offered me one for free, I'd take it! Right on the beach with a lot more room than it would appear from the outside.
I've stayed in one or two of them and they're not bad at all.
But.
It ain't how it used to be.
Here's some of the "real" houses on the beach. And they go for astronomical prices. Someone a long time ago bought up the entire west end of the island and turned it into a development called "The Plantation" which is a gated community.
Because of course.
And the biggest and most expensive houses are mostly there.
How about that charming, cozy little miniature Versailles?
Oh Lord. Some people have more money than sense.
So all of this is mostly just to put that little cement cottage in perspective of what's available on the island. Want to book for a vacation? I just looked up a listing for one of the skinny houses. For a mere $2,175- $3,400 a week, it can be yours! Price depending on the season, of course. Housecleaning fees and taxes not included.
Sigh.
So another thing I wanted to talk about was why Mr. Moon and I are looking for a waterfront house.
Basically, we want a house on some sort of water where he can fish and we can both enjoy sitting by the water and watching the sky, the birds, the serenity that only water brings.
I grew up in Roseland where I lived almost on the Sebastian River, right down the road from the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. All of those bodies of water were very formative in my childhood and I am not sure I would have survived without them.
Glen grew up in Tennessee where he did not live especially close to any water but loved the rivers and lakes his family took him to and he fell in love with fishing with his daddy. He dreamed about living on the water and when he got the opportunity to move to Florida, he jumped on it.
And here we are. Both of us loving the water so much and we are at a place in our lives where if we want to buy and enjoy a place on a river or a lake or a bay (or an ocean?) we probably can if we choose carefully. Neither one of us has any desire to live in a waterfront condo or in a tightly packed situation. We both love trees and wildlife, quiet and natural beauty. His tastes differ from mine in many ways, but basically, these are the things we love. We would not be moving there full time. This is something we've had to discuss. He would not mind that at all but I have no desire to completely move out of this house. We may be forced to by age and disability at some point but not yet.
Besides, I can't be that far from my children and grandchildren.
So. Here we are with our agreements and disagreements and what we are willing to compromise and what we are not. I would really love to be able to swim in any water we live on and he must be able to fish in it, and to use his boat in it.
And that's what we're working with here. Dog Island was this place for us for many years but it is no longer really doable for us now.
I suppose we are looking for our little cottage in the Isle of Wight (if it's not too dear.) We have scrimped and saved.
Now. In current news, this little guy was slinking along the screen on my back porch today.
I took the picture after he had already slithered out to the steps. Sorry that I didn't get the handsome head. I felt sure that it was not a coral snake, which is truly deadly, but a King snake. Still, I had to look up pictures and how to ID the little critter. There is a rhyme that is supposed to be helpful in this regard which goes something like, "Red touching black, safe for Jack. Red touching yellow, kill a fellow."
But who the hell can remember that? Not me, baby.
And this one is definitely sporting the safe for Jack pattern.
It must be a baby because King snakes get very large.
All right. Off to make supper.
Love...Ms. Moon
P.S. I see after posting this that some of the pictures are not enlargeable. I am sorry. Do you have a magnifying glass? It's really not that important.
the skinny houses would be great for a weekend visit w/ family.......but not to have permanently as a vacation home (imo). Love the King snake....we have them here.....and yes....I remember that saying from my childhood......red next to yellow can kill a fellow! that one is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteSusan M
I think they'd make a fine permanent vacation home. They're light and airy and have great balconies looking out on the Gulf. I'd consider myself lucky to have one, honestly.
DeleteI thought that was a pretty little snake too. He was just a tiny thing.
PS currently watching one of our resident Quails....who just emerged with their baby offspring in the past 3 days......... a pair with about 17 babies (2 inches- no more) scurrying along....following their twittering parents,........ I've tried to take vid....but just not happening. Too cute for words.....hope they.....and the other new babes survive.... we have tons of them here.....they are SO fun to watch and listen to
ReplyDeleteSusan M
Oh, I'd LOVE to see those baby quail! I have seen them in fields before but not in a long time.
DeleteYour house hunting is all clear now. That place has changed so dramatically since you knew it before development.
ReplyDeleteThe whole coast west of here has completely changed. I remember beaches where you could run around naked all day long and never see another human being. Sugar white dunes and beach, gorgeous blue green water. Now it's all houses and condos.
DeletePhew, I'm so glad you're not considering that St. George house. I just didn't see you there at all. Now the skinny houses - hmmm, they do look kinda lovely don't they!
ReplyDeleteActually, that little cement block house would be right up my alley for a beach house. Not luxurious at all but it's got the basics! Easy to clean, too!
DeleteWater heals souls. Mountains are OK - especially if there is some form of water - but the ocean with its salty smells and clean air beats everything else hands down. I hope you both find the perfect place. Or at least the perfect compromise.
ReplyDeleteI am not a mountain girl. I realized that when I moved to Denver, Colorado. Whoa! Those mountains looked like they were hurting the sky. I need green and water. I mean- mountains are beautiful to look at but they are not my spirit source.
DeleteI couldn't believe that you mentioned the Isle of Wight.......did you mean ours, the one off our South coast, or were you referring to the place of the same name ( named after ours...I looked up to see if there is one in USA) that is in Virginia? My son (and the 3 grands) sent a photo last night of them on the ferry to the Isle of Wight for a holiday! We went there about 7/8 years ago for a week. If you mean ours, how do you know about it?
ReplyDeleteI think she's alluding to the Beatles song. :)
DeleteYes- Francis- I was quoting the Beatles' song, "When I'm Sixty-Four." I love that song.
DeleteI can certainly understand not wanting to be hemmed in by neighbours and too far from family too. I live in a block of flats among many other blocks of flats and I dislike it quite a lot. I know too, that you are very attached to your current home which has everything you need and want. So finding a little "getaway" place that you both love is the best idea.
ReplyDeleteThose rentals are far too expensive per week in my opinion. Who has that kind of money to holiday with? And forget about living permanently with that amount!
Those skinny houses can sleep eight people so I suppose that folks can chip in together to rent them. Not one family though. People certainly do rent them. And the problem is- all of the cheaper places right on the beach are long gone.
DeleteYes! "Red on black, friend of Jack. Red on yellow, kill a fellow." That's how I learned it, and I'm also sure you have a king snake there. A very pretty one!
ReplyDeleteI can understand your desire to find a place on the water. Are you sure, though, that you can't make Dog Island work for you in that respect? It seems a shame to have to make this purchase when you have a place on the Gulf already. Of course you know the ins-and-outs of this more than I do! I know it's a pain to get out there and shop and that kind of thing.
I think at one point you were toying with the idea of finding a place in Roseland. Is that still on the table, or is it too far? I can see how having to drive down there might eventually be a burden.
I am not a fan of the skinny houses. Nor "Versailles-on-the-Gulf." I don't know what people are thinking when it comes to the aesthetics of todays' architecture.
Oh gosh, Steve. I keep wondering that about Dog Island too but even if we put in some sort of device to lift things up to the house we'd still have the issue of hauling things to the boat and then off the boat and into the car and off the car and to the house. It's a younger person's place, I think. Glen's balance is not good and I am not as strong as I used to be. It is rather heartbreaking.
DeleteWell, I'd love to find a place in Roseland but honestly, I would only get one if it's on the river and there just aren't many of those. When my grandfather's old property came up for sale I was so excited and thrilled when Glen jumped right on it but...sigh. Was not to be.
That giant house is called "The Palace in the Plantation" or some bullshit like that.
Well, that explains it! Hope you have good luck in your house search, Mary!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen.
DeleteYou got the snake rhyme just right, Mary. It's a beautiful creature.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying hard to get over my fear and aversion to snakes. I'm never going to want to pet one or anything, but I recognize they have an important place in the ecosystem and do us more good than harm.
I'm excited to see your eventual home away from home on the water! Because I'm just sure the right place is out there waiting for you.
I do not want to handle snakes either. Not in the religious or any other sense! But like you, I do very much appreciate their place in our world. I am deathly afraid of the poisonous ones though.
DeleteI so hope you're right about a little house for us on the water. Thank you.
yep, red on black, friend of Jack; red on yellow, kill a fellow.
ReplyDeleteI loved our beach house (actually on the bay side) growing up and even with our kids until my parents finally moved into it and then it was their house and not a casual beach house where we could laze around all sandy in bathing suits. the parents used to complain that no one came to visit (by then it was just me and my family as the siblings both lived in different states) but it just wasn't as much fun. after they died we eventually sold it because none of us kids could afford the upkeep and taxes. but back when the west end of Galveston Island was basically deserted except for a few beach/bay communities, there were no grocery stores or any kind of store except for about 5 miles down the road was a convenience store/bait shop/basic summer beach stuff place owned by a guy named Red and so that's what every called his store, Red's although I think it did have an actual name that I can't recall.
but yeah, a house on some kind of water. I'd like that too.