I've talked to so many native Floridians who say that they "never go to the beach" despite being so close to it. That seems absolutely wild to me. I mean, people around the country dream about being at the beach. Up until moving to Orlando in 2020, I spent most of my life frozen in Fargo, North Dakota. I was that typical guy who'd go on vacation and be like "Yeah man I totally think I'm supposed to live here. I just vibe with it." So the idea that I might also get to the point of being "meh" about the beach seemed bananas. Well, after a year and a half of actually living here, I've got my answer:
Not a chance, folks. It's not happening. I'm a beach guy for life.
I remember the first weekend we had free after the move. We woke up on a Saturday and just decided to go to Cocoa Beach on a whim. It was a surreal feeling to just be able to spend the day there for almost zero dollars, aside from gas and the couple drinks we packed in a cooler. No flights, no hotels, just a couple lawn chairs parked in the sand and a gallon of SPF 50 for my hilariously untanned skin.
This past Saturday, my wife Lauryn and I hit up Cocoa Beach once again. It might have been the 1000th time since we've been here, I don't know. What I do know is that it still felt like a mini-vacation. I still got butterflies as we drove past the gigantic cruise ships parked in Port Canaveral. All of my stresses and anxiety from the week disappeared once the smell of saltwater hit my nostrils. I still felt 9 years old playing in the waves (as you can see in this video)
Moral of the story, just like vacation-Pike said all those years ago, I totally "vibe" with the beach. My wife Lauryn would argue she vibes with it even more but that's neither here nor there. We love where we're at.