Table of contents for November 2020 in Naples Illustrated

Rising Tide Explorers delivers rental kayaks to clients before sunrise. This could be a reason why the Naples business was recently ranked the No. 1 kayaking tour company in the country by a USA Today poll. In addition to kayak rentals, Rising Tide offers guided kayaking tours or boat tours through thriving estuaries in Naples and Marco Island that are home to dolphins, manatees, wading birds, hundreds of species of fish, unique invertebrates, and more. Kayak adventures can include exploring mangrove tunnels, oyster reefs, and hidden bays, as well as sunset tours of Rookery Bay Reserve, where hundreds of birds rush in for the night. For owner and founder Ryan Young, his company’s dedication to science education is what sets it apart. His guides study the biology of the animals…

STYLE NOTES GO LOW: Polish your look off with an embellished flat sandal or jeweled kitten heel. BLING RING: Stash your touch-up and night-in necessities in a circle-handle handbag. SHINE BIG: Opt for one major piece of statement jewelry to accent your ensemble.…

Birding festivals are a prime opportunity to learn and have fun—and some are within a few hours’ drive from Naples. Experienced birders know to get a one- or multiday pass depending on your interest in the various field trips and educational opportunities available. Field trips fill up quickly, so go online and register early. Outings are often led by more than one experienced birder, who will guide attendees to spot unique species; some might even bring their spotting scopes. There are also expert-led presentations on topics such as habitats, field techniques, advanced birding skills, birding calls, and photography. Some Florida festivals to consider include: 1 FLORIDA’S BIRDING AND PHOTO FEST: Held in St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra in northeastern Florida and set for April 21-25, 2021. Plan for field work,…

For many of us, the pandemic was a reset of our daily values and a return to an appreciation of simplicity. We were baking bread from scratch, converting condo balconies into potted herb gardens, and feeling satisfied with the purity of these domestic pursuits. Sourcing groceries (toilet paper, bleach, hand sanitizer) and produce was tricky at times, and farms in the Naples area stepped up to fill a void at the supermarkets by reminding residents that they’ve got the freshest goods in the land. Though many Southwest Florida farms took a hit when Governor Ron DeSantis closed restaurants on March 20, these businesses have found a way to come back after a storm, much like the crops they so carefully watch over. With the cooler nights this time of year,…

Nothing says Thanksgiving quite like a freshly baked pie. To get a deeper sense of pie’s role in our national holiday, we consulted with Tony Ridgway, proprietor of Ridgway Bar & Grill, Tony’s Off Third, and Bayside Seafood Grill & Bar. Ridgway grew up on an apple and peach orchard in Pennsylvania and baked his first pie at the age of 10. “As soon as the baking apples were ripe, we made pie,” he recalls. “We commonly used Fuji or Granny Smith. I do love a great pumpkin pie. At the restaurant during the holidays, we make pumpkin tarts in our bottomless rings with straight sides. I’ve also made a wonderful pumpkin pecan pie, with a small layer of not terribly liquid, high-ratio pecan pie mix with pumpkin pie mix…

Fine dining can be an uplifting experience, but few things are more noble than serving a good breakfast. Ciro Amato knows this. He started working in his parents’ restaurant at age 12, and was in charge of a kitchen by the time he was 20. In 1999 he purchased Goldies Restaurant and plunged into the world of all-day breakfast and specialty lunch items. His formula is simple: “Great food for everyday people.” “We have dishes on our menu that customers might pay $30 or $40 for downtown, and they can get them here for $10,” he says. Every Wednesday is Italian day, with rotating items such as veal marsala, chicken Française, and rigatoni alla vodka. Even so, the backbone of the menu is comfort food: eggs benedict, country fried steak,…

It’s well-documented that the regular practice of gratitude keeps anxiety at bay. “We can only be grateful when we are able to detach from our desire for things to be different than what they are, things we don’t have or things we want to receive,” says Cesar Rios, director of the Naples Yoga Center. Gratitude has this unique quality of keeping us grounded, present, humble, and that is what makes it powerful.” Even beyond Thanksgiving, practicing gratitude can rewire your mind to think positively and build resilience. Look closer at what you already have and who you are—acknowledge that you have a killer sense of humor or pat yourself on the back for your cookie-baking skills. “As gratitude becomes a deeper part of who we are, it redirects our minds…

©2020 Palm Beach Media Group North, LLC. All rights reserved. Naples Illustrated [ISSN 10996303] [USPS # 16626] is published monthly, except June and August, by Palm Beach Media Group North, LLC. Known office of the publication: 3066 Tamiami Trail N, Suite 102, Naples, FL 34103. Periodical postage paid at West Palm Beach, FL and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Naples Illustrated c/o Palm Beach Media Group North, LLC., P.O. Box 3344, Palm Beach, FL 33480. Subscription price: $39.60 per year. Outside U.S. add $35 per year for postage and handling. Send subscription orders to: Subscription Department, Naples Illustrated, P.O. Box 3344, Palm Beach, FL, 33480 or e-mail: circulation@naplesillustrated.com, fax (561) 659-1736. Volume 23, No. 9, November 2020. Visit our website at naplesillustrated.com Naples Illustrated and Palm…

Best-selling author Randy Wayne White is a man of many accomplishments. Whether he is writing one of his trademark Doc Ford books, spearheading baseball trips to Cuba, opening restaurants, or developing conservation initiatives, he carries on with a dedicated, collaborative, and infectious energy. White lives on Sanibel Island with his talented wife, Wendy Webb, a well-known singer and songwriter. He’s very close with his two grown sons, Lee Wayne and Rogan, and three “delicious” grandchildren, who all live nearby. NI recently caught up with White to discuss his artistic contributions to the area and more. randywaynewhite.com NI: What’s your newest book and what drives your writing success? White: Stingers, part of my middle grade series, will be out soon. I’m working on the twenty-seventh Doc Ford novel right now. I…

Situated in the North Naples neighborhood of Mediterra on a large pond, surrounded by dense tropical growth, this 5,000-square-foot, Mediterranean-style home and its alluring exterior checked every box. But inside, it needed a lot of updating. While it was hard to see the potential at first walk-through, Sarah Anderson, an interior designer and principal of Designing Naples, had a vision for how she could transform this three-bedroom residence into a stunning and functional escape for its new owners. “The benefit of the home was it had wide, open windows and it was very open, but it felt tired,” Anderson says. “This is a second home, and my clients wanted somewhere fun to accommodate their large and warm, multigenerational, extended Italian family.” To eliminate the dated yellowish tones throughout, Anderson selected…

Rewind to the early 1960s, when a young Marlon Brando arrived in French Polynesia to film Mutiny on the Bounty. The South Pacific had long piqued Brando’s curiosity, and his freshman trip to the island nation sparked love at first sight. By 1967, Brando had consummated his love affair with French Polynesia by purchasing Tetiaroa, a breathtaking atoll roughly 30 miles north of Tahiti, anchored by a lustrous blue lagoon and fringed by 12 palm tree–studded motus (islets), vibrant patches of coral, and countless white sand beaches. At his remote home away from home, Brando sought to preserve—and even share—a piece of French Polynesia’s natural splendor and biological heritage by not only protecting the land but creating a world-class research station and the planet’s foremost carbon-neutral resort. Fast-forward to present…

Rolls-Royce once claimed that at 60 mph, the loudest sound you heard in one of its cars was the ticking of the electric clock. Fast-forward to today, and the loudest sound you’ll hear in the all-new 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost won’t be the clock—it went digital years ago—but a whisper. It seems that during the six-year development of this superlative, new-from-the-tires-up 2021 Ghost, engineers have managed to achieve close to the impossible: a cabin that is completely silent. There’s no engine noise. No wind noise. No tire roar. No nothing. Silence is golden, right? Think again. When they asked a group of owners to try out this no-noise interior, they were less than enthusiastic. They found it too disorientating, just too ghostly. Like wearing Bose noise-canceling headphones while driving. The solution?…

Picture yourself hiding in the brush at a Naples sanctuary, park, or conservancy on a clear November day with a trusted pair of binoculars in your hand. You’ve been waiting for an hour to spot a painted bunting, and suddenly, out of the clear blue sky, there is not one but two, a brightly colored male and his mate, a muted yellow-green female. This type of reward for calmness and diligence is exactly what keeps seasoned birders hooked and has new birders wanting to witness and understand more. Naples resident Edward Kemnitzer, a long-time birding devotee, explains how he got started. “My Aunt Jo gave me a birding guide when I was 9 years old growing up on Long Island, New York. I still have that guide to this day.…

It’s one of the oldest ongoing debates: Which wine goes best with which food? The question itself presupposes that there is an ideal match, and the concept of food and wine pairing has been propagated by both the wine industry and generations of sommeliers—largely because it increases wine consumption. Recently, though, some well-informed people have been claiming that the concept is a myth. The debunking process probably began with the 1989 publication of Red Wine with Fish by Joshua Wesson and David Rosengarten. Master of Wine Tim Hanni has gone further, proclaiming that food and wine pairing is based on a set of “delusions.” There’s some scientific evidence to back up his claim. We now know that the human tongue contains between 2,000 and 5,000 taste buds, and each of…

“Intermission is over,” Kathleen van Bergen, CEO/President of Artis—Naples, announced in a September statement. Following a months-long closure, “we believe we have found ways to safely allow our audiences to return once again to our cultural campus to enjoy the power of the visual and performing arts,” she added. The organization’s enhanced safety protocols require that all patrons must observe social distancing, wear face masks, and have their temperature checked upon entry. The Baker Museum is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and reopening to the general public with timed entries November 1. In honor of this milestone birthday, the museum is partnering with artist Dale Chihuly—whose works were on display when the museum opened in November 2000—on an exhibition entitled “Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now,” which includes early and recent…

Danny and Reagan Geschardt met in Naples almost 17 years ago and teamed up to paint a reproduction of Chagall’s Paris opera house ceiling for Richard D’Amico’s restaurant, Café Lurcat. Their artistic and romantic chemistry was undeniable, leading them to marry in 2005. Now the co-owners of Geschardt Art and Broome Street Studios are doting parents to two tweens and two twentysomethings. The family business entails selling the couple’s abstract paintings to fill spaces with fun, happy colors. They describe their vibe as a “relaxed island preppy style with a vintage flair.” This fall, the creative duo is opening a showroom off Fifth Avenue to highlight their vibrant artwork and a new line of tunics and caftans with block-printed fabrics. They draw endless inspiration from sunsets and historic downtown Third…

With more than 100 shops to explore, this pedestrian-friendly retail zone in downtown Naples offers some - thing for everyone. Here, we highlight a few of the treasures that await. COCOON Mitchell Siegel travels the world and collaborates with artists to create one-of-a-kind pieces for his nature lover’s dream store. He also offers furniture made in his Greenwich, Connecticut woodshop, like Thailand’s exotic, live-edge, acacia wood table with sun-bleached finish ($4,800). (cocoonnaples.com) PEACH TREE DESIGNS Judy Collins founded Peach Tree Designs in Cape Cod, but this family-run boutique has been a downtown Naples fixture since 1997. Room vignettes display a thoughtful selection of home accessories, fine furniture, gallery-quality artwork, eclectic lighting, and gifts. Use these handcrafted, mini porcelain ceramic pieces ($25-$98) as vases or standalone sculptures. (peachtreedesigns.com) KAY’S ON THE…

1. FILTER YOUR AIR While opening windows or screened doors will provide increased ventilation and reduce airborne contaminants, it can be less than desirable given the Southwest Florida heat. Another option is to filter the indoor air by upgrading the filter in your HVAC to the CDC-recommended MERV-13 or greater. For those not hip to filter acronyms, the MERV rating describes the filtration effectiveness. The higher the rating (it goes up to MERV-16 for homes), the greater percentage of smaller particles it filters out. It is these small particles that can remain intact and infectious in the air for hours if not removed. Call your HVAC provider to find out what level of filtration your system can support. Added filtration can be found in the form of a HEPA purifier.…

Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula is best known for its prolific sparkling beaches, but some of its greatest treasures lie inland. Case in point: Chablé Yucatán, a stunning, 40-villa, 750-acre wellness retreat on the grounds of a former sisal plantation in the blink-and-you-might-miss-it Mayan town of Chocholá. Born from the ruins of a nineteenth-century hacienda, the high-design hotel mingles glass elements with archaeological remains alongside colorful, colonial-inspired structures. Chablé’s freestanding casitas and family villas are emphatically modern and minimalist, framed by limestone and dark woods and homing in on the beauty of the surrounding natural foliage. Lush gardens and crystal walls foster an impression of jungle immersion indoors, especially within the expansive bathroom, where double sinks and rainfall showers appear to nurture the earth from which the plants grow. Outdoors, a white…

Life, they say, is too short to own an ugly boat. How many times have you groaned in horror at some top-heavy, Whirlpool-white, floating RV and asked yourself, “What were they thinking?” Thankfully, all it takes is one fleeting glance at the Dutch-built masterpiece that is the Zeelander Z55 to know all’s well with the boating world. Those voluptuous curves, that towering flared bow, those truly elegant proportions? Just gorgeous. Call it retro if you will. Yes, there’s a touch of Hinckley-esque Maine lobster boat in the profile. Plenty of roaring twenties, high-speed New York commuter in that rounded transom. But beneath those classic cues is a thoroughly modern mini-superyacht brimming with the very latest technology, some of the coolest design touches around, and a whole lot of best-of-the-best craftsmanship.…

Ready to explore birding in more adventurous ways? Top Southwest Florida locales to visit are Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Tigertail Beach Park, and the Sanibel Lighthouse. The Great Florida Birding Trail has 10 locations in Collier County alone. Although spending time in nature can cost little to no money, the standout bird-observing perches we recommend below all rely on the philanthropic hearts and wallets of the avian-friendly community to provide top-notch experiences. 1 J.N. “DING” DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: Occupying one-third of Sanibel Island, this 6,400-acre refuge is a unit of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Not to be missed is the one-way, 4-mile-long Wildlife Drive, where you can see birds—roughly 240 species—from your car, bike, or on foot. Look for the American white pelican, mangrove…

There’s nothing like Thanksgiving in an election year, especially when the presidency is up for grabs. If holiday interactions—both virtual and in-person—prove to be awkward, then you might be on the lookout for a creative coping strategy. A study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that those who laugh in the face of stress are better equipped at dealing with it. The findings show that the frequency of participants’ laugher was inversely related to stress symptoms. What’s more, the intensity of laughter didn’t matter when it came to anti-stress benefits. Meaning, you don’t need to be on the verge of happy tears to reap benefits; even a smirk can skew stress. “Laughter really is medicine,” says Diana J. Chavez, a psychologist at Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida. “It’s a…

Step aside kale, because cauliflower is taking over the veggie bin. This seemingly plain vegetable from the cabbage family is packed with antioxidants, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and fiber—no wonder researchers laud its cardiovascular and cancer-fighting benefits. It’s the ideal alternative to high-carb starchy foods that tend to spike blood sugar levels, which can lead to hypoglycemia (even if you don’t have diabetes), impact your immune response, and damage blood vessels. Cauliflower is also high in choline, a mineral that helps you think and balances mood. Plus, when prepared a certain way, it is a low-carb substitute for mashed potatoes. “Half a cup of cauliflower mash has 2.5 grams of carbs, versus half a cup of mashed potatoes at 20 grams of carbs,” says Dee Harris, a certified…

The Aldo Castillo Gallery at 634 Fifth Avenue South is bringing paintings, photography, drawings, sculpture, works on paper, digital art, and new media installations by established international artists to Old Naples. Those who have visited the Miromar Design Center in Estero with an interior designer or work within the design industry are likely familiar with Castillo’s name and aesthetics. An international art dealer, curator, artist, and human rights activist, Castillo is recognized as a leader in cutting-edge contemporary art. He founded his first gallery in Chicago in 1993 and relocated to Southwest Florida in 2011. He’s achieved prominence as the organizer of prestigious international art shows and art fairs in China, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the United States. (aldocastillogallery.com) WHITE OUT at FSW Feel like staring into a monochromatic…