Wine and Spirits Travel

I’m not sure if I was more excited about my first Seabourn cruise because I had heard so much about how many accolades the line received (“World’s Best Small-Ship Cruise Line by Travel + Leisure for the last five years, to name one) or because the voyage and accessibility of the cabins made it the perfect trip for me to take my mom on. My mom, who had Polio as a child, needs an accessible room when she does travel. The layout of the Seabourn ship and rooms seemed like a perfect match for her and I was definitely right in presuming so. From the moment we entered the Port Everglades Cruise Terminal in Fort Lauderdale , Florida, I had no doubt this was going to be like no previous cruise. Mom was riding her scooter (which the porters helped us unload) and we were greeted and taken to the desk to register. There were no lines and it was a quick process. We were escorted onto the ship and into our suite immediately. All 225 rooms on the Seabourn Sojourn are suites an

It had been a fun and relaxing two days at Lido Beach Resort, but it was time for my friend Lynn and me to leave Lido Key and head to Longboat Key. We left the resort first thing in the morning to head downtown to the Sarasota Opera House . Sam Lowry, Director of Audience Development, met us at the door for a private tour.  We were lucky enough to get to see every corner of this historic building, which opened in 1984 and went through an extensive ($20 million) renovation in 2008. The building had been kept its history in the renovation and Lynn and I were impressed with the special touches, from the detailed woodwork around the stage to the gold crest in the cream colored Grand Atrium. I had never been to the opera and I fantasized about putting on a floor length evening gown and socializing in one of their well-appointed member lounges while waiting for the curtain call! After the Opera House, we returned to the Lido Beach Resort to pack up. The clouds were b

My friend Lynn and I woke up to the bright sunshine at the Lido Beach Resort. It was our first trip to the western keys off Sarasota and had been a good one so far. I had breakfast through room service and thoroughly enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes with blueberries while watching the waves off my balcony. We had a pretty full day and I was hoping to have some time to also get close to those waves. We were starting the day with a trip to the Mote Aquarium and Research Center , which is dedicated to the ocean life in the area. We learned about Eugenie Clark, still diving and supporting the aquarium’s research into her 90s. We saw some of the research in the form of a project trying to breed octopus in captivity. One way the Mote Aquarium and research laboratory raise money is through farm by raising sturgeon to harvest caviar and sell it. I found it to be quite fascinating as the process was explained. Sea turtles are a big part of life here and the aquarium hop

With all the places I’ve been around the world, I’ve actually never been to the Florida Keys (with the exception of covering a tennis tournament on Key Biscayne). I’ve spent a lot of time in the Miami area, but the timing just never worked out for me to extend the visit to the keys. I was intrigued to get an email about visiting the “other keys.” Frankly, I had no idea that Florida had “other keys,” but a little bit of research led me to discover that there were some beautiful islands on the west coast off Sarasota . The timing worked and, with summer ending here, a beach trip sounded like a great idea. I made arrangements to fly down and meet my friend Lynn for yet another girls getaway. The itinerary had us doing everything from visiting (what has been voted) the No. 1 beach in the U.S. to touring the Opera House, but I was excited that first day to just arrive in time to catch some rays. My previous trips had been jammed packed and my time at home limited so the ide

I always enjoy having fun with the younger generation – especially when it involves anything Disney. When a trip came up to go to Disney World and explore their Epcot Food & Wine Festival, I didn’t have to think twice. I had never been to any of the Disney properties without kids, at least not since I was a kid. It turned out that I got to see a whole new world (pardon the pun). The trip was put together by the Disney’s Golden Oak  public relations team and we were checking out the many benefits owners of that property get, including VIP tours. I was flown to Orlando We were given rooms at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was my first time staying on any Disney property. It seemed like a place with too many kids for a grownup Disney vacation, but once I saw the animals roaming outside my window, I was hooked on the experience. The property was just beautiful, with ponds and flowers among the African motif. There was a large pool just outside the lobby area