For a quiet place, I recommend the Outer Banks of NC. Mostly houses, very few hotels, no high-rises at all. There are numerous very large houses available for rent that make for a great reunion.

Here is why it is my top pick: my idea of the perfect beach vacation is to sit on the beach with a book, boogie boarding on the days when the surf is right, long walks on the beach, (this is starting to sound like a personal ad...) watching kids build sand castles, a bit of hiking on nature trails, and nice restaurants for when I don't feel like cooking. If the children would be happy playing on the beach, it's fine. If they want more structured activities that you have to pay for, it might not be the best place.

June is a great time to be there, and not you are not planning to early - places book quickly.

Thanks for the responses that keep coming in...I am very grateful for the input and I research every single suggestion!

We once had several families rent adjacent houses in Akumal when our children were young. It was the perfect beach for small kids.

I was just in Blue Mountain last weekend. There was heavy equipment on the beach building retaining walls but the work appears to be near completion. It began last fall. There were actually only a few pieces of equipment on the beach and it was easy enough to get away from them by walking a few yards. I didn't see any dump trucks racing up and down the beach. (Quite frankly, I can't imagine a dump truck racing any where!) But I assume they would have to drive on the beach to deliver sand. I just didn't happen to see any.

At least two condos and many houses that I saw, where the retaining walls were complete, did not yet have steps rebuilt for beach access. People staying in them would have to use the public access or perhaps the condos have an agreement with the "next door" condo to allow use of their steps. I can't imagine them not having steps built by summer, since that is a quick process, but it would not hurt to inquire about beach access if you rent there.

The beach itself was very nice and plenty wide.

Part of the parking area at the public beach access at Blue Mountain was cordoned off for the equipment although I never saw any there.

I saw no torn up roads and there were no traffic problems. I drove down 30A on Sunday afternoon and the only place the traffic slowed at all was going through Seaside, which it always does due to the pedestrian crosswalks.

I checked out Seaside, Watercolor, Grayton and Watersound beaches and they looked fine. I saw no heavy equipment on these beaches.

If you are thinking of going to the beaches of South Walton this summer, I didn't see anything to be concerned about. If you are planning to go Blue Mountain, just check to make sure the work is complete.

Thanks sunshinesue! From all the positive posts about 30A it is definitely in the running for where I choose to go next year, and I am glad to hear that the area seems to be coming together nicely. My prayers are with the people of these affected areas that they will not have to go through such a terrible hurricane season again anytime soon.