The Secret to Happiness is a Caribbean Beach

The beach has always been my happy place. The majority of my childhood was spent on the shore of Miami Beach and I learned to surf on the waves of Maui’s Ka’anapali. I got married on Smathers Beach in Key West and discovered my passion for travel on the black volcanic sands of Los Gigantes of Tenerife. Yet it’s the beaches of the Caribbean that bring me the most joy.

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Sink Your Toes in the Pink Sand Beaches of Bermuda

Bermuda conjures up images of beautiful homes with its unique white roofs, crystal clear waters, iconic shorts and, of course, the pink sands that make their beaches more idyllic than your average tropical paradise. These pretty-in-pink beaches are all found along the island’s south shore between Horseshoe Bay Beach (my personal favorite) and Warwick Long Bay Beach. But what gives the sand its rosy hue? It’s the result from the blending of crushed shells, coral and calcium carbonate called red foraminifera.

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37th President: Nixon Library in Yorba Linda

Richard Nixon was a congressman, a senator, a two-term vice-president, a near two-term president, and an adviser to the presidents after him. He was also the first president to resign. All of these are facts I knew thanks to my seventh grade civics report on the 37th POTUS. Years later through movies, books and the Pentagon Papers, I learned that he was racist and paranoid, he held grudges and was grossly power-hungry. Basically he was tremendo H.P.

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Keys to the South: One or Two Days in the Florida Keys

“We’re going to the keys this weekend,” in the Miami lexicon means that the person is going to be 1. unreachable, 2. on a boat and 3. intoxicated. It’s more about a state of mind than an exact location, as the Florida Keys are made up of 1,700 tiny islands between Soldier Keys and the Dry Tortugas.

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Market Watch: Ponce City in Atlanta

The produce section of the Whole Foods is where the best (purchased) seats of Ponce de Leon Park once stood. This baseball stadium was the home of the Atlanta Crackers from 1907 until the Braves arrived in 1966. If during that time you worked at the Sears, Roebuck & Co., however, you would be able to see the game for free.

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On Barcelona Time

Barcelona is in charge. No matter what is on your agenda, she seems to dictate what, where and when. Dinner will start and end whenever she tells you. The most direct path to where you want to go will always be subject to her whim. On certain days, you may end up spending more time at the market than La Sagrada Familia.

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