A Courtyard In Alys 01/05/22

Grayton Beach State Park, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”….  “I’m looking for my brothers.  Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”  “They have moved on from here… I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”  So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.  But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ~ Genesis 37:14b-18     So they weren’t easy to find.  It’s good God sent someone to help him out.  And it shows how God already has a plan laid out for the salvation of His people.  If Joseph hadn’t found his brothers, the following events may not have taken place – at least not the way God intended. How did they recognize Joseph from such a great distance that they had time to plot his murder?  It was that coat, I’m sure.  These ten brothers are deeply mired in sin, and it’s about to get worse.  Not one of them is off the hook for this, they’re all co-conspirators, regardless of what each of them had to say about this idea.  It’s like Cain and Abel all over again, only this time, there’s a mob instead of just one person.  Have you ever succumbed to a mob mentality?  Doing, saying, thinking or acting in a way not normal for you because you’ve been caught up in the crowd?  It doesn’t have to be a physical group of people, it can happen at work, at church, on FaceBook – anywhere a group of people cause you to think or react differently than you would on your own.  I’ll bet none of these brothers would’ve set out by himself to kill Joseph.  Just because a number of people agree on something, doesn’t make sin right.

Based on the weather report, we deemed today to be the best for our round-trip 20-mile bike ride.  We did the same one last year, but this time, there was TONS of construction!  Gigantic houses, road work, sewers . . . it was incredible!  If you’re looking for any type of construction work, come down here and I’ll bet you can find a job.

It was a little cool, requiring long sleeves and jeans, but it was mostly sunny and mid to upper fifties, plus there was exercise involved, so we were fine.

Most of the communities we rode past were gated, but there was this one that was open last year, and again this year.  It’s called Alys – – whatever that means.  😊  Anyway, it’s gorgeous, reminding us a bit of those pictures you see from Santorini, Greece.  Even though they allow us to walk/ride around, their beach is still private.  I’ve still not figured out how communities can claim beaches.  The thing is, you can walk the beach, you just don’t have access to it, and you can’t park your body or your stuff on it.  I don’t know what happens if you do, except that if the property owners choose to, they can have you arrested.  But I did find the following information at southwaltonluxuryhomes.com about the property values here, lending even more credence to the surprise that you can walk around!

In a difficult economic climate, less than 20 percent of residential lots have been sold. Yet, Alys Beach is setting the precedent in real estate market value. Home owners are eager to “get in” this groundbreaking development. July 2014 saw the most expensive Alys Beach lot ever sold at $6.5 Million on Sea Venture Alley!   The most expensive home in Alys Beach located on beautiful Sea Venture Alley, sold in 2013 for $8.5 million! This home featured 3,527sf, 4 Bedrooms and 4.5 Baths. The most expensive home in Alys Beach currently for sale is listed for $7.950mil on Charles Street. It is an impressive 6,880sf with 6 bedrooms, 6 full baths and 2 half baths.

So go ahead!  Get yourself a beach house! Just keep in mind that most of them can’t even SEE the beach.

Any-hoo…. We found a lovely courtyard where we sat to eat our lunch. 

We rode on up the path just a little further to the community of Rosemary Beach.  Another nice, but more commercial area – and still with a private beach.  A nice couple were going to let us go out the gate, but you have to have a code to get back in as well, and unless they wanted to stand around and wait for us, it’d be a really long walk back to a public beach access point, so we turned them down. 😊

The day kept getting more and more beautiful, and we were anxious to get home so we could deposit our bikes, change into warmer weather clothes and walk our own beach.

Glorious day!