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The Royal Blues Hotel (Deerfield Beach, FL)
The Journey Continues. How are we Carrying-On? For some of my friends in the Northeast, the answer is, sadly, “Not well.” I can’t say that I blame them—it’s been a rough ten months. The COVID fatigue is real. It was day six of our road trip, December 5, 2020, and I was starting to think we left town just in time when we hit our first taste of warm weather. Would it be too much to call it a breath of fresh air? We’d just entered Deerfield Beach, not far from Fort Lauderdale, and I was becoming more and more convinced that Florida has gotten a bad rap. People are…
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The Lodge & Club at Ponte Vedra Beach (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)
On the Road Again. We pulled into the Jacksonville Beach area around 5 p.m.—just in time for our second COVID test of the trip. The staff at Crucial Care was extremely organized and professional, and (thankfully) we both tested negative. If I am being honest, I was managing my expectations regarding COVID protocols in Florida. We’ve all seen the news, where the maskless are carrying on in crowded indoor bars. There are bad apples everywhere, but was this the norm or the exception? With our safety (and the safety of those we were visiting) in mind, I conducted exhaustive research into the places we were going to stay. We hit…
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The Ballantyne Hotel (Charlotte, NC)
The Journey Continues. Night four of our road trip was spent at the impressive Ballantyne Hotel in Charlotte, NC. Readers of Carrying-On know that I rarely write about large hotels, as I typically prefer more intimate accommodations, but the Ballantyne Hotel—part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection—is an exception simply because it is exceptional. The hotel is larger than life, with grand chandeliers framed by wraparound staircases, ultra-high ceilings, and floor-length windows that overlook the golf course. The evening we arrived, the lobby was still decorated for the holidays with big, beautiful Christmas trees and glistening lights. They were just finishing afternoon tea, and I so wanted to sit by the fire,…
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Wentworth Mansion (Charleston, SC)
The Road Trip Continues. For nights two and three of our recent road trip, my husband and I stayed in Charleston at the magnificent Wentworth Mansion. A member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SMLH), this historic mansion was a pleasant surprise of sophistication and comfort at a time when we were still dipping our toes back into traveling. Quite simply, the Wentworth Mansion exceeded every expectation. After a long day of driving, we pulled into the secluded parking lot a little after dark. (descriptor) The Wentworth Mansion is an ornate boutique hotel in a prime location of Charleston. We traveled up the stone pathway to the entrance…
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On the Road Again
What a long, strange trip it’s been. I am, of course, referring to 2020. Like so many others over the last ten months, I’ve been asking myself, Are we there yet??? The answer is obviously no—but we appear to be getting close (or at least closer). My last post, from the Brazilian Court, a wonderful little hotel in Palm Beach, was on February 29, 2020. Little did I know at the time how the world was about to change. Since then, my husband and I have been working to keep our business afloat, our employees paid, and all of us safe. We’ve also suspended nearly all entertaining and travel. In…
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The Brazilian Court Hotel and Flagler Museum (Palm Beach, Florida) | Winter 2020
For this winter board meeting, our group elected to venture to Miami in February. We were lucky enough once again to be guests of our friend Dan on his Privé Jet. #grateful We knew Miami was a gamble given the inconsistencies of Florida weather. Everyone thinks South Florida is a lock for sunshine this time of year, but it is not. We had lows in the 40s and a little rain. But we did see some sun (65°– 80° highs), and no day was a total washout. We also got to incorporate a stay in Palm Beach, so all in all, it wasn’t a bad trip (though the board did…
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Galley Bay Resort & Spa (Antigua) | Winter 2020
As much as we loved our recent trip to London, it was time to get back to what we do best—chasing the sun. And so we packed our bags and headed to the island of Antigua. A trip this time of year would typically have been to Aruba as in years past, but we were determined to try something new. As usual, I copiously researched a variety of options. My finalists were the Turks and Caicos and Antigua. Turks was more expensive and farther north. In my mind, destinations farther south usually correlate with better weather, and I wanted to be as close to the equator as possible. In Antigua,…
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London Calling (London, England)| Winter 2019
Five weeks ago, I was preparing for trips to New Hope, PA in the fall and Mexico for Thanksgiving, when I received a wedding invitation in the mail. Our friends were getting married in London in December—just a month away. Having never been to the UK, I literally thought, “Is London calling?” I immediately sent a text to my husband who was in the throes of his own year-end business planning. You know you’ve met your ideal partner when you send a picture of a wedding invitation in another country at 3:35 p.m. and the response you receive at 3:44 p.m. is “Let’s go.” Lest you think this spontaneity is…
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Carrying On in New Hope (New Hope, PA) | Fall 2019
I have become quite a fan over the last few years of the New Hope, PA/Lambertville, NJ region. In this area of the country, “the city” refers to New York City, and Philadelphia is known as “downtown.” Regardless of where you are coming from, both towns offer so much to enjoy for a quick weekend getaway. There are definitely places to see—those quaint little shops and art galleries that line the streets, and other more commercial endeavors I might skip. In general, we love to take in both sides of the Delaware River, staying on one side and eating and cocktailing on the other. (This was only difficult one year…
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The Jefferson (Washington, DC) | Fall 2019
Once again, business took my husband and me on the road. Or should I say on the rails? We tend to fly more often than not these days, but on this trip, we took an Amtrak train roundtrip to Washington, DC. We worked a little and played a little―what a fantastic time we had. For the business end of the trip, we stayed at a mammoth chain hotel. I tend to believe (with few exceptions), no matter how good the brand, 1,000+ rooms are impossible to manage impeccably―thus, high-quality service is virtually unattainable. This chain proved once again to be the rule, not the exception, sadly for us (and our…
