Covering South Florida is a big project, so we’d like to thank those who took their time to assist with our research:
Sandra Friend:
Sue Arnold, Arnold’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center; Toni Badovinac, Oak Park Inn; Arnold Boston, Bayfront Inn; Kat at Billie Swamp Safari; Becky Bovell and Jennifer Huber, Charlotte County Visitors Bureau; Becky Bragg, Canoe Outpost Peace River; Dina Craig, SunStream Hotels & Resorts; Cynthia Dobyns and the Harradens, The Ivey House; Roxie Smith and Ellis Etter, Pink Shell Beach Resort and Spa; Terry Felder, SeaRocket USA; Annette Figueroa, Sun Splash Family Water Park; Virginia Haley and Erin Duggan, Sarasota Visitors & Convention Bureau; Nancy Hamilton and Katie Meckley, Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau; Maria Hayworth, Hayworth Creative Public Relations; Christa Hill, The Clewiston Inn; Amanda Kliegl, The Sundy House; Larry Levey, Avon Park Depot Museum; Cindy Malin, Seminole Tribe of Florida; JoNell Modys and Jack Wert, Naples Marco Island Everglades CVB; Kent Morse, Dolphin Explorer; Deborah Petty-Cole, Best Western Ambassador Suites; Michelle Phillips, Florida’s Freshwater Frontier; Harriet and Bob Porter, Lake Placid Mural Society; Patty Register, Gatorama; Mary Rude, Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve; Marianne Saltz, South Seas Island Resort; Krissy Simone, Esterra Spa; Howard Solomon and family, Solomon’s Castle; and Liz Sparks, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Sandra would also like to thank her friends who aided and abetted these adventures, including Linda Benton, Lori Burris, Clyde and Niki Butcher, Paul Cummings, Phyllis Malinski, Jackie Butcher Obendorf, Mike Owen, Chuck and Betty Wilson, and my husband, Rob Smith Jr.
Trish Riley would like to thank Gentry Baumline with Hayworth Creative PR, Diane D’Amico at Jupiter Beach Resort, Dania Kahn and Jason Alexander at Courtyard Marriott Boynton Beach, Josie Gulliksen of Newman PR, and the folks at Coral Lagoon Resort in Marathon and at Ambrosia House in Key West. I’d also like to thank my assistant, Jennifer Jenkins, for her painstakingly hard work fact checking and updating the South Florida information, and friends and colleagues Teresa Mears, Barb Freda, and Patti Roth for their help in finding the best new treasures in the region. Last, I’d like to thank my sweethearts, Teddi (my Yorkie) and Stella (Rachel’s cat), for keeping me company while I wrote up our interesting experiences as we researched this guide. Teddi even helped vet a good portion of South Florida, and—glamour queen that she is—she was especially welcomed throughout the Keys.