FROM THE PUBLISHER beachLIFE 2022 : Travel as an antidote
Last year , in early February , there was a distinct note of optimism in the air , especially within the sphere of travel . COVID-19 cases were collapsing and travel restrictions were being lifted . Though the road ahead was far from certain , the conventional wisdom had it that the worst of was behind us . The conventional wisdom , it turns out , was a bit off . Maybe more than a bit .
Optimism sometimes requires some effort . That is , you have to seek out the good in times of difficulty . So let me do that now .
If it ’ s possible to identify an upside to the pandemic , it ’ s this : The past two years have prompted vast numbers of Americans to look up from their lives and contemplate what really matters to them . I would argue that travel is one of those things .
COVID-19 has delivered an abundance of isolation . It has also delivered plenty of exhaustion that comes with excessive routine — of going through today , just as we did yesterday , just as we will in the day that lies ahead .
What many have realized — or rediscovered — is that travel is a natural antidote to all of the above . Travel requires us to abandon our familiar environment knowing that we will be introduced to the unfamiliar . We will pass through distant landscapes , come to know strangers , and lie down at night on a bed we ’ ve never slept in before . We do this with the unspoken promise that , when we return home , we might experience a new clarity of what our lives are all about . We may even welcome a return to our old routine — at least for a while . If you agree , keep reading , keep browsing . This issue was written , designed and published with you in mind .
We begin with the rise of vacation home rental popularity throughout the pandemic , then head off to Cape San Blas , a new destination for 360 Blue . Next , we take an up-close look at the flour-soft and stunningly white Emerald Coast sand and catch up with Santa Rosa Beach local Sharon Maxwell , founder of the South Walton Turtle Watch . Next , we ’ re off on an extraordinary snorkel and scuba diving excursion at the Underwater Museum of Art before exploring the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway , which connects Choctawhatchee Bay and St . Andrew Bay . While there , we take a detour up the Choctawhatchee Watershed .
As we all know , travel is one of the most memory-rich experiences we have — and there ’ s a reason these memories last a lifetime . Our Magical Moments of Travel article unravels the emotional and psychological impact traveling has on us . Next , we move on to a local distillery in Santa Rosa Beach — Distillery 98 — before rounding out the issue with a Brief History of the Sonder Project . This remarkable nonprofit has done extraordinary work where aid is desperately needed .
With that we welcome a new season of travel that , with any luck , will take us to the ends of the Earth . So here ’ s to you . Here ’ s to us . And here ’ s to the open road .
nathan henris
Publisher
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER beachLIFE 13