I KNOW!!!!! i'm not sure whether it's faster to go souf or east. i've been directly (more or less) south to the ocean in alabama. that was an eight hour drive. east would be north carolina...i have no idea how far that'd be. probably about the same, i think it takes six hours to drive through tennessee.
and i'd lived by the beach my whole life! at one point in cape canaveral i could WALK to the beach. it was fantastic. plus we had peacocks in our front yard and a pool. i still remember that rental house
although it had some bad things though. we were walking to the beach one time and came across a scorpion!!
and the house reeked of wet dog, and there was uhhh...i'll just say a bug outside on my bedroom window. so i couldn't sleep in my bed. i bet my parents were glad when we moved!
believe me, i wish i was 30 minutes from the ocean
or less!! i'd love to be closer.