Grayton Beach State Park, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?” ~ Genesis 37:28-30 Are you confused by the transaction details as I was? So which is it? Midianites or Ishmaelites? Did they stand there and drag him back and forth until the brothers got the best price? It seems most scholars believe the names were used interchangeably, so either term is correct. I actually found a website that said that if you had 20 shekels of silver today, it would be worth about $6,400, because a shekel is a weight, not a coin (.0251326979#). But at the time, they say it was the price for a slave. And I don’t know where Reuben was, but he obviously wasn’t there, and we see that he’s devastated that his secret plan can’t be carried out. Assuming you don’t know the rest of the story, what would you think would happen to Joseph now? It’s good to try to imagine scripture without knowing how things turn out.
As I mentioned yesterday, we leave Grayton Beach today. But before we go, I have one more thing to share. We came across a 30A Real Estate Guide the other day. 30A’s the main route through all these beach towns.
Astronomical prices for everything! Lots far from the ocean for $650,000, and as I mentioned the other day, homes selling for millions of dollars.
And that’s just the land, and it’s not anywhere close to the beach!
Remember the white house neighborhood we visited a couple of times?
One of these is actually listed as for sale –
New construction 7 bedroom, 8 1/2 bath, 5,218 sf, .53 acres
Wanna guess?
$8,995,000!
Plus furnishing it, paying taxes, utilities, and most likely astronomical insurance. Maybe even some owner’s fees for the privilege of living in the neighborhood, and of course cleaning, window washing and landscaping, because anyone who owns one of these probably doesn’t clean or landscape themselves. And they definitely don’t do windows.
I think I’ll pass . . . .
But what really caught our attention is that in 2020, Grayton Beach was designated the #1 beach in the United States! According to the book:
Dr. Stephen Leatherman (Dr. Beach) has been rating beaches for decades, utilizing 50 different criteria to designate the top U.S. beaches every year. 2020 marked the second time (the first was in 1994) the Grayton Beach State Park came in at the top for the first place slot.
Seems like quite an honor! But then, I don’t know the qualifications of this Dr. Beach. 😊
Other than a lot of traffic for these small roads, our 111-mile, 3-hour and 20-minute trip today was pretty uneventful. But it sure was scenic! We left the large beaches for humungous hotels and condos! Those on the other side of the street have no hope of ever seeing the Gulf.
Is there something we should know?
Gulf State Park, Gulf Shores, Alabama
Our site at our new location is very wide, but at a mile or so from the beach, it won’t be as convenient for us to visit. You’re probably tired of all those beach pictures anyway. 😊
We had to pull back out onto a main road, in order to get to the campground.
There’s 6,150 acres! That’s just over 9 1/2 square miles!
Wonder what God will choose to reveal to us this week?