Tranquility at The Setai resort in Miami Beach

Roses and an orange in the lobby at The Setai )photo by dorothyadele)

The Setai hotel in South Beach Miami, Fla., is rated one of the top luxury hotels in the area. The art deco design, peaceful ambiance and outstanding customer service places The Setai in a unique category.

Upon entry, the hotel’s atmosphere transports visitors to a tranquil resort.  Oranges are displayed in clear glass globes on wooden tables in the courtyard and along the walkways to remind visitors that they are in South Florida and not just in an Asian retreat.

As we entered The Setai, the front desk agent greeted us and gave us cold lemongrass iced tea and warm moist hand towels to freshen us while we waited to check in. The dimly lit hotel and lobby made me feel like I had entered a spa.

As we exited the elevator and walked toward our room instrumental music drifted through the hall. We entered our softly lit suite and heard music that had previously been turned on.

A suite at The Setai in Miami Beach, Fla. (photo by dorothyadele)

Dark cherry colored wood floors, cream-colored walls and sleek brown rectangular tables and lamps create a peaceful art deco design in our room. A comfortable king size bed is set against the far wall beyond a brown square table with two chairs. The hotel management is serious about relaxation, and it was the first hotel room that I have visited that didn’t have an obvious clock.

Room amenities include a large bathroom with double-above -the-counter sinks and a large shower. The overhead rain shower and the wall system stream water from two directions.

Guests may brew tea, espresso, regular and decaf coffee with the  shiny black and stainless Illy coffee maker in the room. The coffee maker includes a steam wand for milk frothing. The Setai also offers a beach bag and umbrella for guests to use while visiting.

The hotel has three large pools set at different temperatures. Large comfortable lounge chairs are near the pools and on the beach. Between the pools and the beach is an outdoor bar and restaurant. The food is excellent.

I have never visited a hotel comparable to The Setai. The Setai’s soothing atmosphere, muted decor and superb customer service offer the traveler a unique experience.

The Setai lounge near the pools (photo by dorothyadele)

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Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above

Azalea (photo by dorothyadele)

Forget Me Knot, Tulips and Daffodils (photo by dorothyadele)

Crocus (photo by dorothyadele)

Tulips, Pansies and Hyacinth Flowers (photo by dorothyadele)

I may have sat in President Kennedy’s chair

Our Friends shopping on Worth Avenue (photo by dorothyadele)

 

A recent trip to Worth Avenue in Palm Beach triggered memories from a previous trip when we naïvely entered an expensive, renowned restaurant when we were in our 20s. What could have been an embarrassing mistake became a memorable experience.

The trip began when I vacationed with my friends in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and we drove to Palm Beach to spend the day. We arrived in the morning and strolled down Worth Avenue. Worth Avenue is often compared to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., and Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

Exclusive fashion boutiques, jewelry stores, antique shops, fine furniture stores, restaurants, gift shops and spas composed — and still compose — Worth Avenue. Ferraris, Bentleys,  Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce automobiles  were parked on the palm-tree-lined street. Brightly colored flowers cascaded over arches and poured out of tubs and baskets outside the shops and in the courtyards.

Friends are strolling on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach,Fla. (Photo by dorothyadele)

We window shopped, and watched diamond-adorned shoppers saunter in and out of Gucci, Van Cleef and Arpels, Hermes, Neiman Marcus and Cartier stores. Many shoppers wore hats and sported designer clothes, shoes and bags.

By mid afternoon, we were hungry and we looked for a restaurant for lunch. I suggested that we drop into Ta-boo for a quick bite. I did not realize that it was famous,  and President John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Donald Trump, Jimmy Buffett, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Rod Stewart and many other celebrities had dined there.

I was first to enter the restaurant , and I stopped like I had hit a wall. I spotted shiny silverware and crisp starched white tablecloths, and I knew that it wasn’t in the average price range for us 20 somethings.

I considered bolting out the door and sprinting down Worth Avenue in search of McDonalds‘  golden arches. Instead I casually glanced back at my friends with an uh-oh look and smiled. We quickly decided to stay.

My friends liked new experiences and were unlikely to get upset over a lunch. Also, it would have been awkward if we darted past the maitre d and out the door clutching our wallets. I bet that would have raised some eyebrows.

Though Ta-boo was upscale, we enjoyed our lunch and had a great time. My friends teased me that they would not allow me to suggest dropping into a restaurant for a quick bite ever again.

I fondly remember our lunch at Ta-boo. Who knows, I may even have sat in President John F. Kennedy’s chair that day.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Up

Fountain at Furman University (photo by dorothyadele)

Boca Raton Resort & Club Tower (photo by dorothyadele)

Foyer Light (photo by dorothyadele)

Bimini Fishing Trip and a Yacht With Old Men and Hookers

During the 1980s, many of my friends and acquaintances owned or worked for businesses in Ocean City, Md. Several of them traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Boca Raton, Fla. to spend the winter. We visited our friends in Fort Lauderdale annually, and it was common to meet many of our acquaintances from Ocean City while we vacationed.

Doug on the Bow

On one of our trips, as we dined in Fort Lauderdale, we met Brynner, an Ocean City boat captain and his mate. They had brought a 48-foot-Hatteras-fishing boat from Maryland to Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach, Florida. After brief negotiations, five of us chartered the boat for the next day to go to Bimini in the Bahamas.

Early the following morning, as we began our 50 mile journey the mate tossed red bait — or chum into the royal blue Atlantic to attract fish. The chum formed a bloody stream behind the boat and we dragged several fishing lines through it. When a fish took the bait the line zinged loudly as it unreeled. The zing alerted us to jump into the fighting chair to battle the fish.

I am in the fighting chair

When it was my turn, the mate harnessed me in the chair to prevent the fish from pulling me overboard while I reeled it in. The mate showed me how to keep tension on the  line so that I would not lose the fish.

I struggled using both hands on the reel to bring in the fish. It took about 15 minutes, and I caught a barracuda. It weighed about 60 pounds, but with the fight, it felt like it was about 200 pounds. We also caught dolphin –the fish not the mammal. This was my first time deep sea fishing, and I loved it.

When we arrived in Bimini, we docked at the Bimini Big Game Club Marina. We gave the fish to the locals to clean and keep. Barracuda is poisonous, but they cleaned it so that it was edible.

I am on the bow of the boat

We left the boat and as we walked down Bimini’s main street in Alice Town, several locals approached us selling drugs. We ignored them, and we attempted to stop into the End of the World Bar. When we stepped on the shack’s sand floor, a man dropped his pants. We left quickly. I wonder what would have happened if we would have laughed — probably not a good idea.

We eventually returned to our boat and the three guys of our group, Doug, Joe, and Gene grilled hamburgers. Lucky for them, the captain docked next to a yacht occupied by about 10 older men who ranged in age from 55 to 70 and their attractive hookers.

As the guys grilled, they watched the hookers and men drinking and walking in and out of their cabins and into cottages near our marina. They put on a show for my friends, and I have never seen the guys enjoy grilling this much. Actually, I don’t recall the “happy grillers” cooking  since that day.

That evening we went to the Compleat Angler which was a bar and lodging that had

Compleat Angler

been frequented by Ernest Hemingway. We played the famous Compleat Angler ring-toss game with our captain, mate and some of the locals. The object of the game is to toss a metal ring — attached to the end of  a rope that hangs from the ceiling — on a metal hook  that is affixed to the wall. The locals were experts, and they could hit the hook with the ring without looking.

In addition to playing the game, we watched the “old men and the hookers’ show” continue in the bar. A few of the girls even danced on the tables.

The hookers and men, the dropped pants, and catching fish made our trip an adventure.  Even though a fire destroyed the Compleat Angler in 2006,  we have unique memories from our impulsive-Bimini trip.

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Mean, Old Condominium Managers Sabotaged Our Dinner

Rooftop Deck in Ft. Lauderdale

Rooftop Deck in Ft. Lauderdale

A recent Ft. Lauderdale visit sparked my memory about the mean, old condominium managers that sabotaged our dinner years ago.

In my younger days, several of my friends and acquaintances moved to Ft. Lauderdale for a month or more during the winter — I will explain in a later post. One year, my friend Gene rented an upscale condo on North Ocean Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale. Two of our friends from Ocean City, Md. stayed with him.

When Doug and I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, Gene invited us to see his condo.

Rooftop Deck in Ft. Lauderdale

When we entered his building, we met the old, ornery men who oversaw the condominium. We were polite, and they guardedly granted us permission to go up to Gene’s unit.

I suspect that the managers resented Gene, because he lived in this lovely condo in Ft. Lauderdale for several weeks and — to their knowledge — did not need to work. I guess that they were  not delighted that several friends visited during his stay.

We loved seeing our friends and we spent the next few days and nights with them. We made a point of conversing with the condo cops when we entered or left the building.

Occasionally, our group enjoyed Gene’s rooftop deck and pool that offered a spectacular view of the

Rooftop Deck in Ft. Lauderdale

Atlantic and the Intracoastal Waterway. The best part was, that it was rarely used by anyone except us. However, the condo managers came up to the rooftop often to spy on us.

One day — or maybe two — or maybe three, we probably made cocktails at the rooftop pool. (As you can tell from the featured photo I was not involved!) It was not against the rules but I suspect that the managers did not like younger adults having fun. 

Though we were well behaved, I believe that the condo spies slithered  up to the rooftop looking for ammunition for their next maneuver.  I presume that they wanted us gone.

After the cocktail caper, we made dinner reservations for our group. Gene suggested that we stop by for a drink before dinner.

Doug and I arrived that evening at Gene’s building dressed for dinner. I wore a sundress and Doug sported a white button down shirt and khaki pants. We politely asked the condo dictators if we could go up to Gene’s unit because we had dinner reservations.

They said, “no.”

We asked them if just one of us could go up — briefly.

They said, “no.”

We asked them if they would call his condo and tell him that we were in the lobby.

They said, “no.”

We asked them if we might use their phone and we would  call his unit.

They said, “no.”

We asked them if they would go up and ask our friends to come down.

They said, “no.”

We finally left the building.   Cell phones were not common, and we had no way to contact our friends without a pay phone.

When we finally called our friends, it was too late for our dinner reservation.  Though overdressed, Doug and I dined at McDonalds. That was the last time Gene rented that condo, but it gave us a unique and funny memory.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Future

Knockout Roses (photo by dorothyadele)

Boca Raton Resort & Club Exhibits New Art Amid Old Design

Doggy John Sculpture at the Boca Resort & Club (photo by dorothyadele)

As I step out of my car to enter the Boca Resort & Club in Boca Raton, (Rah-tone) Fla., I am usually struck by the palm tree, white SunPatien and fushia-Bougainvillia-filled gardens. I look for pink arched stone windows and doorways, wrought iron railings, and spired and clay colored tiled roofs that transport me to the historic Mediterranean.  The Boca Resorts’ blending of  Spanish and Venetian Mediterranean, Moorish and Gothic architecture from previous eras evoke opulence.

On this visit,  Doggy John the contemporary French bulldog sculpture pounces on me as he  proudly peers at  arriving patrons.  Doggy John is one of several sculptures resulting from  a partnership between  the Boca Raton Resort & Club and the Baker Sponder Gallery.  They are offering a “collection of museum quality sculptures” throughout the resort. 

Doggy John is my favorite sculpture in the Boca Raton Resort & Club exhibit.  I love his  bright colors and his large size. He is bronze and stands  94 x 98 x 63 inches.   In 2010, Julien Marinetti created him, and he  sells for $500,000.

 The Horse With Saddle sculpture greets visitors in the middle of the palm tree-lined lobby. Cream carved pillars, arched doorways and windows, and flower-carved ceilings surround the sculpture.

Boca Raton Resort & Club Lobby (photo by dorothyadele)

The Adam and Eve and the Key Angel sculptures share the Cloister Garden with brightly colored-mosaic-tiled fountains and benches.  Ornately decorated columns from an earlier time border the yard.

Adam and Eve Bronze Sculpture (photo by dorothyadele)

Tiled Fountain in Cloister Garden at the Boca Raton Resort & Club (photo by dorothyadele)

Ornate Capital (photo by dorothyadele)

Key Angel Sculpture in the Cloister Garden at the Boca Raton Resort & Club (photo by dorothyadele)

The Steel Roots sculpture shares the garden with foliage and fragrant white  gardenias near the croquet lawn.  The Jelly Baby Family sculpture adorns the Boca Raton Resort and Club hall.

Steel Roots Sculpture Next to Croquet Greensward at the Boca Raton Resort and Club (photo by dorothyadele)

Jelly Baby Family at the Boca Resort & Club (photo by dorothyadele)

These photos represent  a few examples of  contemporary art meticulously mixed amid historic Mediterranean design at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.   What do you think about mixing  the old and new?

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Bonding With My Son

Billiard Balls Racked for Eight Ball (photo by dorothyadele)

If you enter my home on a dreary day, you may hear the crack of a billiard break or see the brightly colored red, yellow, orange, purple, blue, green and black billiard balls scatter on the purple pool table. You may also hear a Ping-Pong-table-tennis ball smack the table, the wall or me. You may also hear loud ha has, woo hoos, oh nos and very long uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhs– like fans chant at football games preventing the players from hearing their signals.

I have always been “one of the guys.” Consequently, I have a unique and special relationship with my son. We play chess, Ping Pong and billiards during inclement weather. We play to win and we laugh often.

Chess is one of my favorite games and I was unbeaten for years. When I was in fourth grade, I played on the high school chess team. When I play chess with my son we split the wins. Of course it is not about winning but about fun and bonding. Okay, we like  winning  too!

To play billiards, a player uses a cue stick and hits a white cue ball into at least one of 15 balls directing them into one of the six pockets on a pool table. Eight of the balls are solid and seven are striped.

When we play Eight Ball billiards, one player shoots the solid balls–not the eight ball– and one player has the striped balls. The players take turns and the object of the game is to shoot all of their seven balls into the pockets and then pocket the eight ball last. If the eight ball rolls into a pocket before the player pockets all of his balls, that player loses the game. The player also loses if he hits the cue ball into a pocket while shooting the eight ball.

When it is my turn to shoot, if I am winning–which isn’t often– my son plays the pool table like bongo drums, yells the uhhhhhh chant, and jumps up and down trying to make me miss my shot. Of course I laugh, miss the shot and he wins. I also attempt to distract him to make him miss too.  When I occasionally win, I tease him that I will tell his friends that his pool-

Ping Pong Table Tennis Table (photo by dorothyadele)

shark mother beat him in billiards. I also threaten that I will have his school announce that he lost to his mother over the public address system.

When we play Ping Pong, my son slices the ball with his paddle and the ball bounces on my side of the net and then bounces back into the net out of my reach. My only hope to return the ball  is to belly flop on the table and hope that it doesn’t collapse from my weight. I barely flick it over the net and he slams it back sometimes hitting me!

Our games are humorous, lively and loud, and you can hear us throughout our home. Playing these competitive  games has strengthened our relationship, and I cherish every moment.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost

Clemson Football Stadium during a game (photo by dorothyadele)

Lambro: Sequestration was Obama’s idea in the first place

Official portrait of United States House Speaker (R-Ohio). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lambro: Sequestration was Obama’s idea in the first place

According to a Washington Times article, President Obama  ”‘was determined not to face another debt-limit increase before his re-election campaign, ‘Mr Boehner explained in his op ed column.’  Having just blown up one deal, the president scuttled this bipartisan,bicameral agreement. His solution? A sequester.”‘

Washington Post To Obama:  Sequester Was Your Idea, Fix It

Bob Woodward Gives Republicans Some Major Ammunition On The Sequester

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Bouillabaisse Recipe From Maryland Seafood Cookbook III

Friday evening while I prepared bouillabaisse, my husband glanced into the kitchen and heard me singing “Like a Rolling Stone” with Bob Dylan. I wonder who sang better Dylan or me. Do you think that he could tell us apart?

I scrubbed clams and mussels while I danced. My husband shook his head, smiled and ambled into his office. He often shakes his head when I perform, I can’t imagine why. He was probably questioning when I was going to grow up, calm down and act my age. Good luck with that!

I don’t prepare bouillabaisse often, but this is my favorite recipe from Maryland Seafood Cookbook III. There are three Maryland Seafood Cookbooks that are available at Amazon.

I spent about two hours preparing the stew, so I chose to entertain myself during the process.

Bouillabaisse

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

2 bay leaves

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon salt

24 ounces canned tomatoes, chopped

4 ounces clam juice

2 cups water

1/2 cup sherry

1/2 pound shrimp, cleaned, medium

1 pint Maryland standard oysters shucked

1/2 pound white fish fillets, cut into chunks

1/2 pound Maryland regular crabmeat, cartilage removed

6 Littleneck clams, scrubbed

6 mussels, scrubbed

1/2 pound of squid cleaned, cut in 1 inch squares

In a large 4 quart pot, saute garlic, celery, onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add spices and tomatoes. Simmer for 1 hour. Add clam juice, water and sherry and simmer for 10 minutes. Add shrimp, oysters and fish and simmer about 3 minutes. Add crabmeat, mussels and squid. Simmer until clams and mussels open. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings. Calories: 300 per serving

I doubled the recipe and tripled the seafood (you can’t have too many clams or mussels with my family). I also added extra clam juice. In the future, I would add the clams when I add the shrimp, because they took about 10 minutes to open. I would add the crabmeat at the last minute because it was already cooked.

The family loved it. Enjoy!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Forward

Beach Path

Weekly Photo Challenge: Forward

Dr. Ben Carson’s Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast

World-renowned Dr. Benjamin Carson, the director of  Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore recently spoke at the Fellowship Foundation National Prayer Breakfast.  He highlighted some of the following points.  

Dr. Carson grew up in extreme poverty in a single-family home with his mother and brother.  As a child, he was a “horrible” student with low self-esteem and a bad temper.   His mother who married at 13-years old had  a third-grade education.  

 

Dr. Carson said that his environment could “preclude success,” but, he credits his mother and her strong  support for his advancement.

 

“I had a mother who believed in me, and I had a mother who would never allow herself to be a victim no matter what happened, never made excuses and she never accepted  an excuse from us,” said Dr. Carson.

 

In addition to accountability, Dr. Carson’s mother strongly encouraged her sons to read. Reading offered an escape and opened a new world for Dr. Carson. 

 

Dr. Carson received inspiration from characters in his books who controlled their lives and accomplished great feats.  Reading helped him realize that he could also direct his future and that poverty would not imprison him forever.  This perspective changed his life.  

 

Dr. Carson spoke about our country today. He said he dislikes “political correctness” because it undermines freedom of speech and it is “dangerous” because it “muffles” people and prohibits them from voicing their opinions at a time when our society is drastically changing.      

 

He said that we need to be informed, educated, speak up for our beliefs, but show respect for others. He  also said when we stop making excuses we begin to solve problems.

 

He compared the U.S. to ancient Rome that was destroyed by moral degradation and economic instability. He warned that this could happen to the U.S.

 

“If you don’t think that can happen in America, you get out your books and start reading,” Dr. Carson said.

 

He also discussed the importance of health care. He suggested giving a person  a birth certificate, an electronic medical record and a Health-Savings Account at birth.  Pretax funds could be contributed into the individual’s HSA during their lifetime, and after death the account could be passed on to family members.

 

An impoverished person would receive donations into their HSA and maintain control over their own health care. He said that his plan would eliminate the need for “death panels.”

 

He related taxes to tithes, suggesting a uniform tax percentage (not necessarily 10 percent) for everyone.  For example he said that if you make $10 billion you would pay $1 billion, if you make $10 you would pay $1. He said that thinking that you must hurt the wealthy has “resulted in 602 banks in the Cayman Islands, that money needs to be back here building our infrastructure and creating jobs.”

 

Dr. Carson ended  is speech with a vivid account of  our flag surviving the British bombardment at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.  Expert’s say that this was a turning point in the war that steered us toward becoming  a free nation.  Dr. Carson said  that if you were at  Fort McHenry that day “you would  have seen at the base of that flag the bodies of soldiers who took turns propping up that flag”  that symbolized “one nation under God indivisible with Liberty and Justice for all.”  

 

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