Fridays Five Favorite Things - Beach Vacations

I'm sure if you read Conde Naste this month, you may not see some of these beaches listed on their "world's best beaches list." But when you look back at your favorite beach vacations, it's not about where you are, but who you're with that counts.

5. Montego Bay, Jamaica - The June following Katrina, Mark's three brothers and their girlfriends came along with us on a Happy Graduation Trevor and a We Made it Past the January following the Worst Disaster in US History trip. Even the most positive and upbeat New Orleanians needed a break sometimes. And what a break it was. We spent five days getting to know each other better, betting on who could eat the most quesadillas (Trevor wins!), searching for and finding the discotheque, and sipping the strongest strawberry daiquiris outside of New Orleans city limits. I can't wait to do another Allen family vacay soon.

4. Mission Bay, San Diego, CA - My family spent a week one summer at the most amazing resort in San Diego. The place we stayed was made up of a bunch of quaint cottages that lined the shores of an island in the middle of Mission Bay. We spent our days playing put put on the greens course that was on the property and we spent our evenings walking on the beach watching people sit around these fire pits. It was one of those vacations you hope to recreate because it was just so perfect.

3. The Baccara, Santa Barbara, CA - I was lucky enough to nanny for an amazing family with two precious little girls. One summer we spent two weeks on the CA coast. One of our stops was at a breathtaking resort called the Baccara. I had never in my life stayed at a place so special. And although we were there in June, it was chilly and slightly overcast outside. It didn't make for great weather for the children because the water was cold and there was very little sun, but I thought it was amazing there. It seemed like the kind of beach scene that you read about in an old novel, like Rebecca, when they describe the grayness of the sky and the soothing sound of the ocean coming ashore. When the children had gone to bed, I would light the fireplace and sit on the balcony and read. We weren't there for long, but I count it as one of the most amazing places I've ever been.

2. Nassau, Bahamas - I've been three times, twice when babysitting and once on my honeymoon. One of the things I found most difficult about nannying was that I had the opportunity to experience the most beautiful places, but I couldn't share those experiences with the people I cared most about. Since we were honeymooning in December and Mark really wanted to go to the beach, I wanted to go back to Nassau so that he could experience all of the things I had. It was such an unforgettable trip. The beaches were beautiful and not very crowded. Sometimes it felt like we were there all by ourselves. It was the perfect way to start our little life together.

1. Biloxi, MS - Probably not the beach you thought I'd pick. For as long as I can remember as a little girl we spent our vacations in Biloxi. To me, it was the most glamorous, most special beach in the world. Everything seemed so much better there - the grocery stores, the movie theater, the Baskin Robbins. Every year we got to get a double scoop ice cream cone. Rainbow sherbert - that's what I always chose. I can still picture the swirl of fuchsia and orange juices running down my hand. There was an innocence about Biloxi. It was a time when vacations didn't require much other than a bottle of 50 sunblock and a beach towel. We'd wake up when the sun did and swim until we could no longer stand the sight of the raisins that had become our fingers. And nothing made the trip more fancy than one final meal at Mary Mahoney's Old French House. My mom and dad would take us in our prettiest dresses and we'd have a meal fit for royalty. My favorite was always the little salad they gave you with the "red" dressing (come to find out its French dressing). And although I have been back to Biloxi several times since then, it has changed. Gone are the little hotels and motels and condos that were dotted along Beach Bvld. They city has made room for the Beau Rivage and Hard Rock Casinos. It's progress over preservation which is a good thing in all regards, but it makes it harder and harder to remember what it was like before all that. I have found though on the few occasions I've visited that one step through the door of Mary Mahoney's and you'll never forget what life used to be like when Biloxi, MS was the only place you'd ever want to be.