I feel like I mention it in every single blog post but moving has had such big impact on our lives. Although we’ve been going out plenty we haven’t really had a “date night” in a while but recently I decided we needed a day off- no work, no doing stuff for either house – just some time for the two of us to relax. Of course one of the best ways to relax is to go on vacation but hey we both work so unlimited time isn’t an option and let’s be real – neither are unlimited funds; so we had a little day-cation instead.
Honestly, I don’t know why we haven’t done this earlier as it’s not too far south of Memphis but we went to the Hernando Point beach at Lake Arkabutla. Was it just like going to the “real” beach? No. Is it fancy? Absolutely not. But there was sand and there was water and you know what – whether you’re jumping off a $100K boat or floating on a $5 raft the water feels the same.
Best part of this date was how affordable it was – ok best part was spending time together but you know what I mean. Hernanrdo Point is within a state park and there is a $5 swimming fee per car – that’s right $5! There’s grassy areas with picnic tables and grills, bathrooms and a small sandy beach. The day started off a little cloudy and there were very few people there – it was almost like having the place to ourselves.
We brought tailgate chairs that we already own and I got this fun raft from Five Below. I’ve purchased another raft so next time we each have something to float on.
I packed plenty of bottled water and a few snacks in our cooler bag and then we stopped for sandwiches on the way there. As a super save we had a coupon to buy one sandwich get one free – woohoo! I already had this bag from Draper James but if you don’t already have a cooler bag Five Below does have some similarly sized bags.
As the day went on the sun came out and more people arrived; although the beach area is small there was still plenty of space for everyone.
The swimming area is roped off and marked with poles as the boat ramp is nearby but all the boaters were very good about respecting the wake free zone. The swimming area gets to be about 7 ft deep. The water is cool but not frigid so you get use to it very quickly.
We stayed at the beach for about 3 hours and with food, float and admission spent less than $25. Overall it was a fun day in the sun and nice to cool off and do something different.