There’s bright sun, windswept beaches and exotic cuisine. You’re almost guaranteed to shed pounds while engaged in hours of healthy aerobics. But despite that description, state Supreme Court Justice Joette Katz’s most memorable vacation spots are nothing like a resort spa.

In fact, with the encouragement of college-age son Jason Rubin, the high court’s youngest justice spent time in coastal Sri Lanka rebuilding housing for homeless victims of the Pacific tsunami of December 2004. She and Jason did similar work again last summer in Biloxi, Miss., helping rebuild after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.