The truth about the cost of living in this area is brutal right now. While income has barely – if at all – increased for most employees in many years, the costs of groceries, gasoline, utilities and, of course, rent have vastly increased in the last 18 months. When droves of people started moving to Florida during the height of the pandemic, real estate went through the roof. Many people who owned rental homes realized they could easily get hundreds more in their pocket with the supply-and-demand situation this area was facing, while others decided to take full advantage of the market and sell their rental properties. Not only did they leave the worry of being a landlord behind, they had a lot more money in their pocket from buyers paying an inflated price for their property.

To quell the rumor mill, this project does not include a “hotel” per se, but a “condominium hotel” experience. The units will be privately owned, and if the owners wish to enter their units into the rental management program, they can do so. It will be no different than the condominiums and homes that are rented out by island real estate rental companies. 

Planning and organizing such an event would be an exhausting venture for many people. For Camille, it was a rush. “I loved working with Bayard Sharp. He trusted me. He had the most wonderful sense of humor and a sense of adventure, like no one I have ever known in my life. We spent a year-and-a-half planning that party, and we had a wonderful time. It was probably one of the greatest experiences, not just in my career, but also in my personal life.”

 And then we found a message in a bottle. Somewhere along a stretch of Boca Grande beach, probably the same day we found it, some kids decided to send out a message to the world in a time-honored way, by tossing a bottle into the water with a note in it and letting the currents take it to its destiny.

When we consider alternative perspectives and adopt new approaches toward the environment and how we as humans impact it, the more likely we are to preserve our planet for future generations. The first Earth Day occurred on April 22,1970. It marked a growing consciousness of man-made, human-related environmental damage in the U.S. and around the globe. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson is credited with developing the concept. His primary goal was to organize teach-ins across university campuses in an attempt to bring greater awareness to air and water pollution issues. As a direct result of his efforts, the three “R’s” of sustainability were established. Notably, the most widely recognized among them are, “reduce, reuse, and recycle.”