I have family from Columbus, Ohio and I'm from southern Alabama. They have a beach house down here they regularly drive to. You can make the drive in a day. Gulf Shores, Alabama; Dauphin Island, Alabama; Orange Beach, Alabama; Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Florida are all fairly cheap during the winter and have pretty beaches. Not too many tourists, not crazy like Panama City, nice local places to tour while you're there (i.e.- Mobile, Alabama, etc). You can also look into renting a bay house/cottage on Mobile Bay. Look up Fairhope, Alabama. Small, quaint resort town. Very visitor friendly. The Grand Hotel Resort is a beautiful, sprawling resort on Mobile Bay that has been around since the civil war. A little pricey, but totally worth it. Also, if you come to Fairhope in the next few weeks, you can check out Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama (a 30 minute drive from the Grand Hotel). Mardi Gras started in Mobile and is a little safer, more family-friendly than New Orleans. No way to relieve stress like catching some beads and checking out colorful floats.