Omni: How a nearby resort became my happy place

 Omni: The Happy Place

 

I have a few places I can always go no matter what kind of mood I’m in,

And I feel calm and happy after going there.

There is one in particular though that is especially important to me

And I cannot get there but once in a few years.

This is not because of distance,

Though it is about an hour and a half away from my home.

It is because of cost.

It’s a resort.

 

How did Omni on Amelia Island become my special happy place?

It dates back to September 2013.

My birthday is at the end of August

And that year, my mom wanted to offer me a gift of choice.

She was willing to give me money for a shopping trip

But I stumbled upon an ad for a special event 

That the church I was going to at the time 

Was hosting in mid-September.

For just $150, the ladies of the church could go up

To this resort in Amelia Island 

Stay together in three-bedroom villas for two nights

Enjoy worship music, guest speakers 

And on the Saturday afternoon, 

Everyone could enjoy the amenities of the resort 

To their fullest extent.

I asked my mom, and she sent me the $150 to reserve my space.

 

2013 had been a bit stressful for me thus far.

I had gotten back together with my then-boyfriend

But now husband

But in June, his parents had decided it would be cheaper

To have a large house in Palm Coast,

A town 30 minutes south of me,

Than to keep renting a small and ailing house

By the beach in town.

Because he was living with them at the time,

He had not choice but to go along with them.

30 minutes is not that difficult.

Present day in 2020, I drive 30 minutes each way to work

Five days a week.

But at the time, gas prices were high- nearly $3.50 a gallon.

My income was lower,

And though I had a roommate, 

I did not have a savings stowed away for the expensive maintenance

A car needs when it drives 60 miles in a day 

Multiple days a week.

My boyfriend had a car,

But it was a clunker.

He didn’t trust it to make too many trips back and forth.

It had broken down before.

His family, after they moved, welcomed his brother 

And his brother’s girlfriend and new baby 

into their now four-bedroom spacious house.

But once that many people were living under one roof,

It didn’t feel so spacious.

His family had their own private matters and dramas to deal with.

He would get pulled into them since he lived there.

Since I would come visit, especially all weekend,

I would also get pulled into them.

There was also the question of “Where is the future headed?”

Because he was no longer near any of the college campuses

That he wanted to attend,

And my job was in St. Augustine.

I could not move south anytime soon.

Our relationship was strained by that fall.

Don’t worry, we figured all of that out by the end of the year

But for the time being,

I was feeling stressed in general.

I needed a weekend away, surrounded by good praying women.

I needed a weekend with God.

 

On the morning of the day that I was supposed to leave for Omni,

I was feeling sick.

Actually, I had been feeling sick since the evening before.

I had a scratchy throat, congestion,

And had been getting up to go to the bathroom

or tossing and turning all night.

I still to this day don’t know if it was just some sort of 

Hypochondriac anticipation of having to go to a strange place

And be around other people I did not know well,

Or if I had an actual cold.

I went to work that morning,

But felt very run down and even queasy.

Work let me go home at lunchtime.

I decided to visit the doctor just to play it safe,

And they suspected I was coming down with 

An upper respiratory infection

So they gave me some different medicines

And suggested a few more over the counter options.

I picked up everything at the pharmacy and went home.

I slept for three hours.

I’m not normally someone who takes naps,

But I had not really slept the night before.

When I arrived home for my nap,

I was fretting. 

I was fretting and praying.

If I felt any worse, or did not improve at least some,

I probably would just have to miss the weekend.

 

I woke up from my nap feeling much better.

I still felt stuffed up, but my body felt better.

After eating something, 

I tossed my suitcase in the car 

And I was ready to go.

This was a true adventure for me.

I for a moment wished I could have had some 

Companions along, but I would have had to leave

much earlier to ride with the others.

I at least had my iPod to keep me company.

I made the familiar drive out of St. Augustine

To Highway 9A in Jacksonville, 

But this time I took 9A far past the exit for the mall,

All the way north over a large bridge and a river,

to an exit that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

From there, 

I took a winding road that went out over the intercostal,

Past Old Florida marshes and forested areas,

Eventually past some neighborhoods,

and on out to Amelia Island.

 

The resort was off this road,

The entrance had a guard booth there to verify people.

Once I was in,

I drove up to the large main resort building and took in my surroundings.

The main part was facing the ocean and had a massive pool deck. 

The rest of the resort was a series of villas, cool and shaded   

by old Oaks.

Once I found the women from my church and got checked in,

I was directed to the villa I would stay in.

Several people were sharing each one,

But the girl who was supposed to share the double twin room with me

Was a no-show,

So I had a bedroom and bathroom to myself.

My window was a peaceful view of a golf course.

 

Once I was there, checked in with my bag in my room,

The event started with everyone going to 

A large conference room for worship.

From there, the weekend spun into a blur

But it was a beautiful, peaceful blur.

There was worship,

There were sermons,

There were guest speakers reminding us

What it is to be not just women but 

God’s children.

There was a dinner,

There were hours spent at the beach,

Swimming in the pools,

Lounging in the sun.

There were peaceful walks along the shaded walkways.

There were the loud buzzes of thousands of late-summer cicadas.

There were cups of coffee while viewing a pond.

There was fellowship,

A few new friends to be made,

and plenty of time to relax.

I had not felt this peaceful or close to God in a long time.

And this meant a lot, since the past few years

Had been very hard on me at times.

 

Being so close to God in such a peaceful place

Endeared me to it instantly.

In fact, I might have felt just as endeared to it 

Even if the event had only been for that evening.

I left feeling like I was on cloud nine,

As if I had been to heaven for a moment.

That feeling did not last too long once I left,

And I was thrust back into my regular life

Facing stress and frustration,

But I always longed to go back and feel that peace and joy again.

In my mind, just going back to that place

Would be holy

Even if it was not for a retreat centered around God.

God had been there, He had touched me 

And I would still feel the residual blessing if I walked on 

The resort’s grounds again.

 

That December, my boyfriend realized 

That he wanted to move out of his family’s house

Find a way to be closer to me in St. Augustine,

And go forward with planning our future.

It was a triumphant but also anxiety-inducing day

Because that decision was made after a family feud of sorts

Over a Christmas-related issue.

Just a few days after he began the process 

Of moving closer to me,

We decided we were done being uncertain

Where things were going 

And we would finally start our lives together.

We went to the mall on a Sunday afternoon

And picked out rings at Kay Jewelers,

Set a wedding date for June 2014,

And began telling our families on Christmas day.

We only gave ourselves less than six months to plan

The wedding, but it felt right.

 

Soon after we announced our plan to get married,

My dad stepped in and wanted to help financially.

We had a tight budget,

We planned to marry at the church we went to together

(Not the same one that hosted a retreat).

even though it was very plain and simple,

it was affordable.

We wouldn’t have money for a proper honeymoon,

So my dad said he would cover three nights 

somewhere of our choice, if it wouldn’t cost over $600.

And as long as it wasn’t so far away 

that he would also have to pay for travel expenses.

Right away I thought of Omni.

What if I took my new husband to this sacred place?

Would he feel the peace I felt?

I imagined us floating peacefully in the adults-only pool,

Facing the ocean.

I could feel the magic I felt before.

But when I looked up Omni online,

The rates were so high that 

Even if we only stayed two nights

It would go over his $600 limit.

This wouldn’t even include ordering food 

Or drinks on our room’s tab.

 

In the end I chose a resort near Palm Coast,

Also along the ocean.

It had water slides and a lazy river.

We had a great time there before driving over

To Ana Maria Island for a few days

to stay in a simple Holiday Inn.

We had a great time, but I didn’t forget about Omni.

 

In 2015, as I approached my 28^th birthday,

My husband agreed that we could finally go back to 

my special Omni resort.

The terms though weren’t as happy as I would have liked.

That fall there would be my 10-year high school reunion 

In my hometown.

I expected him to go, because I wanted to show him off.

There would also be the wedding for his older half-sister

Who was getting remarried near Atlanta.

His parents expected us to go,

And we would have to travel in a plane for this event.

My husband had just gone back to college

After taking a little more than a year off 

To contemplate what he wanted to do

And work on his health.

He at first balked the idea of going to any 

Of these social obligations,

And I was upset.

I wanted to show him off to my old high school class

And I wanted to be a part of this family wedding celebration.

He told me that if I was willing to possibly not attend

Those events,

He would take me to my resort for my birthday weekend instead.

I took him up on it.

I still convinced him to go to the reunion and the wedding, however.

But that is another blog post for another day.

 

Omni when you’re just spending a romantic weekend

And it’s not part of a church retreat

Is very expensive.

Just two nights in the main tower 

In a room with a large king bed,

Luxury bathtub, mini fridge

And balcony with view of the pool deck

Was over $400.

Include dinner in one of the resort’s own steakhouses,

Drinks by the pool

And a few small purchases on-site,

And we racked up another $250.

We had the Friday evening,

Two whole nights and one full day 

to make the most of our surroundings.

I made sure that we walked on the beach,

Swam in every pool and hot tub,

And even took a walk by the golf courses

Up to the fitness center

Where there was another pool, indoors,

That was quiet with no other hotel guests.

There were thunderstorms off and on due to 

A hurricane being out in the Atlantic 

But we did have a good time.

We have a funny story to tell our kids 

About a huge moss-colored spider 

Running across my foot 

while we were on a walk under some trees.

I thought it was enjoyable over all,

But it did feel a little rushed.

I puzzled over that,

Considering we were there for the same amount of time

As the retreat lasted

And the retreat had several hours 

of time spent in that conference room.

Ironically, all that week leading up to our stay

And during our weekend there,

I was fighting a sinus infection.

I was fighting it with herbal remedies so it was taking longer to heal.

I remember feeling tired and little run down with a headache

off and on.

I didn’t let that dampen my fun, however.

 

Where I was somewhat disappointed, however,

Was that my husband didn’t feel the peace and magic

As I had.

He felt some stress from the spending we did

And he felt that the experience was dull over all.

He liked beaches and pools and shady walks 

But perhaps he didn’t feel like paying so much to have them

Was necessary.

We actually had the means to enjoy all of those things at home,

Just not in one neat little resort package.

My condo was not on the beach.

You had to drive at least ten minutes to go to the beach.

We had a pool in our neighborhood,

But it was not adults only 

And the hot tub was not big enough to swim in.

There were places to go for a walk,

And those were usually peaceful,

But they didn’t lead to a beach or a private pool tucked out of sight.

Still, I enjoyed my weekend and once again,

Couldn’t wait to go back

And hoped I would feel the old magic and peace again.

I figured it would be another two years.

 

2017 was rough and rocky.

I have written other blog posts about it,

But to summarize it,

The year centered around losing my bank job

My marriage almost crumbling

A separation

And then my husband losing some of his income too.

I turned 30 in 2017, 

And I would have loved a long

four-day weekend at Omni for that 

but what I got was a dinner at a local Carrabbas

because we had a gift card,

the day off of my temporary retail job,

and a few drinks at a restaurant we liked downtown.

There was no money for resorts that year.

2018 was all about rebuilding what was lost in 2017.

Also, it was about having a baby.

When my birthday rolled around,

I was two weeks from my due date

And I needed to save up my time off of my new bank job

For use during maternity leave.

We had just finished a bankruptcy,

And there was still no money for a resort.

 

2019 I finally took the long week off for my birthday

that I had wanted in the prior years.

This time, we planned ahead.

My mom wanted to gift me something for my birthday again,

Just like in 2013.

She was willing to pay for a few nights getaway for us.

I happened to find a special flash sale for omni’s villas

And booked one for the low rate of $89 a night for 3 nights.

With resort fees, that came to $400.

One extra night for what we paid in 2015.

The only catch was that the villa that came so cheaply

Was located all the way near the tennis courts at the back

And was nowhere near the ocean.

We had to ride the free Omni bus to the main towers,

Wiggling and whining almost-one-year-old in tow,

To enjoy the pool deck and beach.

Having a baby along subtracted a bit from the peacefulness value.

He wouldn’t sleep in his pack and play,

He cried unless we put him between us in the big King bed.

In the mornings, he was up early.

He had blowout diapers on more than one occasion.

Hauling him and his bags of necessities around was tiring,

And I couldn’t even imagine how families

With three or four small kids could do it 

for days at Disney World.

But we still made the most of it.

This time, we ventured out of the resort for one afternoon 

And explored the shops and restaurants of downtown Amelia,

About 20 minutes away.

Still, my husband would get tired out and would sit on the couch

In the villa and watch X-Men on the cable TV,

Leaving me to take a walk on my own for a bit.

I wandered through the tennis courts

to the indoor pool and hot tub 

And stuck my feet in while listening to music on Youtube.

When I caught a moment alone,

I could almost feel the old magical 

peaceful feeling from six years earlier.

With my husband and baby came different feelings,

Mostly positive, but more hectic than that weekend in 2013.

 

I tried to make a case for returning in 2020,

But there were no flash sales

And Covid-19 made everyone leery of travel,

Even local travel,

Including my husband.

On my birthday week off this year,

We ended up on a different adventure.

It was a staycation,

With no overnight plans anywhere.

The week was spent largely doing activities

To entertain my son 

And then dealing with projects 

that needed to get done.

I lamented not getting to go to my happy place.

But that same week, 

My birthday was on the first Saturday at the beginning

And my period was due.

It did not start.

So by the end of that week, 

approaching Labor Day weekend,

We took a test, and it was positive.

We spent that staycation week finding out

That our son would have a little sibling soon.

 

By the time my 34^th birthday comes around in 2021,

We will have a toddler and a new baby.

We will be making plans to move to a house that fall.

I will have spent all my vacation time on maternity leave.

There won’t be extra money for a resort stay

Even if I found a flash sale price.

In fact, with small children 

And new homes and financial responsibilities

The next several years,

There probably won’t be a resort stay again at all.

I have slowly begun to make peace with that,

Embracing those things right in my town

And neighborhood that are like having a vacation.

But I always keep Omni 

in a special place in my heart.

Maybe when my children are older

And can sleep in their own beds at night,

Entertain themselves some of the time,

And stay calm on a family trip...

I will take them to experience the peace and magic.