It was a brilliant November morning–clear skies, a little breeze, temperature in the 60s. Perfect weather for fishing, said our guide, Joe, who knew well the waters around Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. Joe said we’d probably be able to land some grouper, snapper, snook and crevalle jack.
Our group of four–Dede, Marijo, Dorcas and I–said we weren’t picky. Anything with fins would do. We didn’t want to be skunked by husbands, who had just set out in another boat with their guide, Doug.
Little did our band of hunter-gatherers know that Jonathan Livingston Seagull and his flock had other ideas. We were on the water less than an hour when about a dozen seagulls came out of nowhere, circled the boat and relentlessly attacked the bait. It was a feeding frenzy. “It’s like that Hitchcock movie, ‘The Birds,'” Dorcas yelled as she hooked a gull.
Via cell phone contact with Doug, Joe found out that Bob, Tom and Don were also doing battle with gulls and had to keep moving too. What gall those gulls had!
The encounter lasted about an hour (we landed two gulls, which Joe released) before they finally gave up–or were full. Back to uninterrupted fishing, I swear we all caught the same grouper–too small to keep. The crevalle jacks were under the size limit, too, but they looked enormous to us. Though we never caught any fish that qualified as keepers, it was a kick when the boys pulled up nearby to see Dede reel in one of the crevalles. Yes!
We regrouped in the harbor and learned Tom had caught a Spanish mackerel and Bob a cobia, both large enough to keep.
The fishing expedition was one highlight of a long weekend with friends on Gasparilla Island, better known as Boca Grande. My non-fishing husband, Scott Denman, and I love its laid-back charm. The Bush family likes it, too, as do hundreds of fishermen who come for the world-famous tarpon season, which generally starts in mid-April.
Fishing’s about the most rigorous sport unless you count golfing at the venerable Gasparilla Inn, a favorite winter retreat since 1913 for the rich and famous. (The 18-hole course is open only to guests and members.) But most residents and vacationers seem to get their exercise by walking or biking the 7-mile path that stretches the length of the island.
Speaking of fish. Island restaurants specialize in it, and they should. Fresh grouper, pompano, snapper. Tops with me is The Temptation (“The Temp,” to locals) for old Florida atmosphere and excellent food (love the fried oysters, cole slaw and fries). For breakfast, you can’t beat Loons on a Limb (“The Loon”).
A memorable four days with friends ended with a trip to nearby Useppa Island, which was used as a base for planning the 1960 Bay of Pigs operation and is reachable only by boat. Our friend Cuzraved about her visit last year. We got there, thanks to an Evanston couple (Freddie and Tom) who have a house on Gasparilla. Lunch at the Collier Inn (the only hotel on the island) was followed by a short walk to the island museum where we saw, among other things, artifacts from the Bay of Pigs operation.
A trip in July to London was not as relaxing. I was on assignment to find cheap ($150 or less) hotels. I visited about 50 and found 20 that qualified.
Between visits to hotels, I visited sites in the neighborhoods. While in the Bloomsbury area, I stopped by the British Museum for yet another look at the Elgin Marbles (ancient reliefs from the Parthenon in Athens) and a new look at the Great Court, which was built around the former British Library Reading Room building.
After a morning of sleuthing for hotels in the Victoria area, I headed to the Tate Modern, my first visit since the former Bankside Power Station was turned into the museum in May or 2000. Highlight was the “Matisse Picasso” exhibit that focused on the lifelong personal and artistic relationship of the artists. (The touring show opens next month at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.)
Before returning to the Victoria area the next day, I took a ride on the London Eye, the giant ferris wheel on the banks of the Thames River that gives passengers a panoramic view of the city.
My husband loves London as much as I do, so he talked me into allowing him to join me halfway into the trip on the condition that he’d stay elsewhere and not interfere with my research. He stayed at our favorite non-budget hotel, Dukes, in the St. James’s area.
One evening we dined at one of London’s best French restaurants, Petrus, where the bill came to the equivalent of a four-night stay at one of my budget hotels. The chef is a protege of Gordon Ramsay, whose namesake restaurant is London’s only three-star Michelin. Like Ramsay’s, Petrus gets my vote. Excellent food, excellent service. Very expensive.
In October we went to Miami to board The World of ResidenSea, a cruise ship that’s more like a floating condo. If you have a few million, you can buy one of the 110 residences, outfitted by renowned decorators (Britian’s Nina Campbell is one). They come in two- to six-bedroom sizes and an annual maintenance fee that starts around $100,000.
We weren’t shopping for a condo. We were booked into one of the 88 guest suites, and trying to pack as much as possible into a three-day stay before disembarking in Nassau. Can a concept like The World appeal to people used to a traditional cruise ship experience? I’ll be writing about our experience for the travel section’s Feb. 2 cruise issue.
The Nassau stop meant a chance to take a short cab ride to Paradise Island for a look at the Ocean Club and its recent multi-million-dollar expansion and renovation. The setting is lovely, and the main restaurant (Dune) is under the tutelage of internationally known chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
There’s also an 18-hole golf course and a new spa, where guests take treatments in the privacy of eight Balinese-style villas.
I stayed at the hotel about 20 years ago, and left wondering what took me so long to return. Next time, I’ll check in.
———-
Meet the staff
Carolyn McGuire likes to fish, practices catch-and-release and hopes someday to land a tarpon–but she’d settle for a nice size grouper. Her e-mail is cmcguire@tribune.com.
