After dinner, I stopped in the lobby to arrange for a 7:30 a.m wake up call the following morning.

“We’ll be happy to do that, Ms. Weibel, and would you like a follow-up call 15 minutes later?” asked the woman behind the front desk.

My jaw dropped open. I have always wondered why hotels don’t offer this service. Turns out I was just staying at the wrong hotels; at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach Florida, multiple wake-up calls are standard operating procedure.

Oceanfront pool at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach

I had been invited to stay at the Ritz in preparation for writing a review about the property. Because the resort has earned the prestigious AAA Five Diamond and Mobil Five Star awards, I knew I was in for a treat. But I was also apprehensive. When I abandoned my corporate life three years ago, I traded my stressed-out life of luxury for a happier, albeit poorer existence. My wardrobe these days consists mostly of khakis and, since a laptop is an absolute necessity, I carry a backpack rather than a purse. My only other stay at a Ritz-Carlton had occurred some 15 years earlier, at a property with an extremely formal atmosphere where dressing for dinner was a requirement. I worried about being under-dressed, unaccepted, and judged this time around. Read the rest of this entry »

Gorgeous starburst fireworks. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/duaneschoon/3389256448.

Oh yes, it’s HOT in Florida right now. Most days you could probably fry that proverbial egg on our sun-baked sidewalks. But that’s not the kind of sizzle I’m talking about. It’s the smokin’ hot lineup of events planned for Independence Day that I’m talkin’ about!

A weekend of festivities kicks off with “Powerboats By The Bay,” a collection of souped-up racing boats on display at downtown’s Centennial Park on July 3rd & 4th, followed by a spectacular fireworks show over Sarasota Bay at 9 p.m. on the 4th. Although the fireworks can be seen from almost anywhere in the downtown area, in-the-know Sarasotans head for the Bayfront near Island Park, where the the dazzling pyrotechnics create mirror images in the calm waters of the Bay.

Mosaic of pyrotechnics, as seen from Sarasota's Bayfront Park. Photos courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/markus941/729113535.

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