Florida

I'm in Hollywood, Florida right now (just south of Fort Lauderdale), here on business. Did you know that the Florida shoreline (beyond just Miami) is actually pretty? (Yes, I realize I'm a little ignorant.) You would never know with such romantic beach names like Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton... I've been spoiled by West Coast beach names like La Jolla Shores, Coronado, Newport Beach, and Redondo Beach.

Our hotel is the Westin Resort, and the damn place overlooks the water. Our company has a hospitality suite up on the 30th floor with windows and a balcony around half of the room. From the balcony, all you see is transparent, seagreen water broken by a jagged line of deeper blue water. Upon entering the hotel room, the first thing you see is the water-- a lot of it. Coming from a dark hallway, it's blinding and almost obnoxious. Then, you realize that the view is real. And, it is a glorious view. So, you drink it up, greedily. Delirious and drunk and blubbering.