The History of SEASIDE

" When I closed my eyes and let my mind wander, I could almost feel the sea breezes evaporating the moisture on my skin. I could recall the special pleasure of relaxing on a porch rocker after a shower at the end of the day on the beach. "

Robert Davis reminiscing on his summer family vacations on the Gulf Coast. 

You know Seaside now. The pastel houses. The picket fences. The families riding to the ice cream shop, bike following bike following bike. It seems impossible to imagine, but long before what you see today, Seaside was just a dream. A dream that started with one man. 

J.S. Smolian had always had an intense connection to this part of the Gulf Coast. The sugar white sand. The turquoise blue water. He loved the way this place pulled his family together. The magical way it synced them. He loved watching his grandchildren become brilliant beach castle architects. He loved watching his children become themselves again. 

The well-deep connection was so strong that in 1946, he bought 80 of its acres. Undeveloped land dense with live oaks and scrubby brush, barely navigable but for a couple of dirt paths. J.S. had a vision for the acres. A dream, really. He had peered into that untamed territory and recognized a certain grace. An elegance. His plan was a summer camp. A destination he could share. The plan never materialized, however. The land rested. 

Until 1978, when J.S. deeded the 80 acres to his grandson, Robert Davis. Robert knew the connection. He had felt the same magic J.S had. His memories of gulf beach summer nights spent here on wide porches were as indelible as the sound of the waves or the sea breezes drying his arms after a swim. They were idyllic. Simple. Robert shared his grandfather's dream. This could only be a place to share. He made his own plan. A town seamlessly tied by a common sense of community. 

In 1981, Seaside was born. Over 30 years after J.S. first acted on his dream, Robert realized his own. It was the dream we all have for life itself. Simple. Beautiful. Graceful. Elegant. 

35 years later, we celebrate as the Seaside dream continues. 

Source: www.seasidefl.com

Stay Humble & Kind

  There is a song on the radio you may have heard by Tim McGraw. The song conveys a simple message, but one that serves as an age-old reminder to us all.

  Lori McKenna is a critically-acclaimed artist in her own right, but she's also one of Nashville's most sought-after songwriters. "Humble and Kind" sprang from McKenna's concern over raising her younger children in the age of cell phones and social media, and hoping they understood the proper way to treat others. Hill was the first major commercial artist to cut McKenna's songs, and as a result, "If I write something I'm proud of, I think, 'I wonder if Faith or Tim would like this?'" she admits. "And so I sent it to him, and the fact that it worked out in the end still kind of amazes me. Faith and Tim with their kids and me and my husband with our kids, we're in the same little world of sending your kids off. So it just sort of hit him the way it hit me, and then the way he sings it is just - I feel like he wrote the song with me, the way he sings it." The singer's Everyman quality allows him to relate to his audience in a different way than some other entertainers. "He's really a regular guy, Tim... I think that's why everybody loves Tim's singing, because he sings it like he's singing it for you, not singing it at you." If you haven't heard the song yet, its worth a listen. In the meantime, visit: www.stayhumbleandkind.com to see how this song inspired a community movement. You just might need a box of tissues.



Source: tasteofcountry.com        

10 Quotes About the Sea That We Love

We love living on land's edge. 

Once you've lived on or visited a coast - east, west, or in the unique place we do - you become addicted to the sea. 

So here are 10 awesome quotes that put it better than we ever could.

"On the beach you can live in bliss."  Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), It's always our self we find in the sea." e.e. Cummings

"Because there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissings the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away." Sarah Kay

"To me the sea is a continual miracle; The fishes that swim, the rocks, the motion of the waves, the ships with men in them. What stranger miracles are there?" Walt Whitman

"A beach is not only a sweep of sand, but shells of sea creatures, the sea glass, the seaweed, the incongruous objects washed up by the ocean." Henry Grunwald

"After a visit to the beach, it's hard to believe that we live in a material world." Pam Shaw

"To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your solitude." Jeanne Moreau

"I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought." Helen Keller

"The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul." Wyland

"Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think." Robert Henri