College kids may be heading this month to the spring break mecca of Panama City, Fla., for wet T-shirt contests and tequila shots. But Rep. Steve Southerland is making the trip for a different reason: It’s his home district, and he’s got a recess of his own.

The Florida Republican is traveling south  next week to spend time with his family and do some work in his district. But that’s not to say the Congressman’s week will be all work and no play.

The freshman lawmaker makes his hometown sound like paradise, boasting that it will be 85 degrees. “The beaches are white,” he says. “The water is emerald green.”

Talk about a nice break from the chilly Washington weather.

Southerland says he is looking forward to the trip. Still, he won’t be free from distraction. While he’s at the beach, his thoughts will be back on Capitol Hill, where debate about the continuing resolution spending bill is raging. The fiscal conservative voted against a temporary bill Tuesday night.

“I want to be with my wife and my children,” he says. “But I will not go lay on that beach under the belief that everything’s OK because you’ve got to come off that beach and come back to life.”