The month of June offers the gifts of summer, when a casual mood prevails, and the long arms of daylight reach for night. This season beckons all to head out of town for a quiet weekend retreat or a week of lively fun. Some families prefer the pleasures found along the Gulf Coast, where warm days are spent relaxing beachside. Others enjoy the many adventures available in the mountains of the East and West. Join us as we learn why the following Southerners choose to return again and again to these vacation destinations and describe the appeal of each one of them.

Navarre Beach, Florida
The fine white sand and sparkling emerald water of Navarre Beach--on the Florida Panhandle--hold a lifetime of memories for Laurie Brandt of Baton Rouge. Her family started coming to this quiet area when she was a young girl. The yearly entourage grew as Laurie and her two brothers married and had children. For more than 20 years, the entire clan met for one week in the same rented house until they purchased their own vacation home a few years ago.

"The beach stops the clock. It lets you just be," she says. "When you're away from everything, you can talk and listen. This beach created some of the happiest moments I remember most."

The family, including Laurie's husband, Harold, and their two teenagers, enjoys staying close to the beach, rarely venturing out except for groceries. "Life is simple," Laurie explains. "We spend our days relaxing, letting the shore wash its memories over us."

Last year, Laurie's husband bought her a kayak. "When you kayak with dolphins, you get a beautiful free feeling," she explains. "It's another world. You can feel God."

Even though tragedy and loss touched the family--Laurie's brother was struck and killed by a drunk driver, her parents and grandmother passed away, and two hurricanes damaged the family beach house--they never canceled their annual trip to Navarre. "Our lives are like the beach," she says. "You rebuild and move on and survive whatever hits you."