If you live in a part of the country that has four seasons, you know the weariness you feel toward the hostile winter weather come mid-January. December is not so bad because during Christmas we enjoy the colder weather to go along with the Christmas festivities. Even the first two weeks of January aren’t that gruesome. It’s a time we tend to settle in and unwind, meditate, and plan for the year to come. We enjoy a warm fire and the smell of pine or cedar-scented candles filling our home.  
But then mid-January comes and we start anticipating more frequent blue skies and warmer weather. Then that we realize with dread that spring and warmer weather is at least six to eight weeks away!
Time for a winter get-a-way
 For many years in January, we enjoyed going to the mountains to ski. Granted, it’s not warm. It can be colder, but it’s a ton of fun and the snow on the slopes of the mountains and the fresh mountain air are invigorating. 
This year, however, we took a trip down to Cinnamon Shore in Port Aransas near Corpus Christi, Texas.  We were already in Texas for my daughter’s birthday, so it was just a quick three-hour drive south. While a couple of the days were rainy and cooler, while there, we also had a 60- degree-plus day with blue skies. That made it worth the trip. I’ll take sixty degrees over forty degrees or below any day.
Cinnamon Shore is a beach community on the Texas Gulf. The homes are beautiful and the community is pristine, including streets lined with palm trees. Anytime I can be in an area with palm trees in January, it’s a win. Access is granted to one of the most beautiful, well-kept beaches I’ve ever seen. It’s wide, very well maintained, and goes for miles. I love a beach you can walk on. My husband and I walked four miles one day. Two things that made the beach very people-friendly are beach markers every tenth of a mile and porta potties about every quarter mile. Speaking from experience, it’s easy to lose your place when taking long walks on the beach and forget where you got on and where to get off, so I appreciated those markers.
Even though it was only in the sixties, the temperature was perfect for walking on the beach. We both even got sunburned. 
If you go in the winter just be prepared for all kinds of weather. It rained all day on one of our days, but our condo was so cute and cozy that we enjoyed hanging out there. We also took advantage of the fitness room that morning and one of the scrumptious seafood restaurants at the Port that afternoon. 
Cinnamon Shore has several heated pools on the property. Although it was a little cool to enjoy the pools during our stay, they were all very large and beautiful and we could tell they would be a lovely place to hang out in hot weather. 
Local Restaurants
We got an awesome pizza and incredible salad one evening at Dylan’s Cole Oven Pizza restaurant just a few steps from our condo. There is also a coffee shop/cafe in the North shore where we stayed and an upscale seafood restaurant, Lisabella’s Bistro and Bar. A poolside cafe is also available. 
You never have to leave the resort to find something to eat, although we enjoyed driving down to Port Aransas a few times to try some of the local seafood restaurants in the town. We ate at Fins and Virginia’s on the Bay. Both were old, rustic places with incredibly fresh seafood served in hearty portions. There are at least twenty more restaurants that are recommended and sound yummy.
Come again
After our brief winter stay, we both decided that we would love to come back in the summer to enjoy soaking up the sun on the beach and at the incredible pools. 
We found everyone at Cinnamon Shore Resort and in Port Aransas very friendly.  We’re looking forward to another stay.
When he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment: when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
Proverbs 8:29
