golf
It’s really nice that Naples is a nominee for a USA Today reader poll in the Best Golf Destination category. We like being a destination, but, to this tennis player, maybe a sport where you walk or ride and perspire very little may be diverting attention from other truly deserving and seductive treasures here.
Even, ahem, tennis, for instance, where we boast the likes of former pros Mary Carillo and JoAnne Russell as resident gurus and offer great space and hot competition at places like the Cambier Park courts. And how about following your taste buds here to eat? Ever try Mereday’s scallops, Inca’s Kitchen’s steak or the Peking duck at O'Mei? Yes, and you’ll have to go a long way to find a more generous crowd. Just this month alone, Jay and Patty Baker first donated $2 million to support the building of a park within the Gordon River Greenway and were right back with another $1 million for the Boys & Girls Club.
So tee it up, America, and come on down. We’re about more than a pebbled ball just waiting to be hit (and how hard can that be when it doesn’t even move?).