On an impossibly wide bend on the tidal Potomac sits a little Virginia town that looks like it came straight out of 1954. It’s filled with tiny vacation cabins, families play along the rocky beach on the river (if you can call something that is miles and miles wide a ‘river’), there are a couple of little city parks and the place feels peaceful. It’s Colonial Beach and my wife and I first went there last year.

We’ve been back several times and have a fantasy of buying a cabin there, although we can’t afford it. It’s hard to ignore the relaxed vibe of the town and it’s only an hour and a half from our house (and probably would be less if we braved I-95 for a chunk of the way). We went down again this weekend, when there was a little parade and carnival, and we always enjoy it. Perhaps we should start a little housing fund and see where it takes us.