|
|
||
|
Print this page
Email to a Friend
Digg This Article
Purchase this Issue
|
Here & NowBy: Karen T. BartlettThink you get around? Read on! |
Consider the cruise thing. One could, presumably, sleep on a pillow already touched by thousands of other heads, queue up for the buffet and pile onto a party boat for a group shore excursion—oh, and be be back by 3 p.m. Doesn’t it just make your skin crawl? Or, one can buy the bed, the D. Porthault linens, the Monets and the Christofle, and the entire 2,500-square-foot suite, along with the jet heliport and box seats to the most coveted events around the world. The
Magellan, slated to be the world’s most exclusive residential cruise ship, isn’t even built yet. It’s first sailing May 1, 2010, but one Neapolitan already has plunked down his $3-point-something million for his home at sea. He chose one of the more modest units ($8 million is just a bit crass, don’t you think?). For the rest of us, there’s the fractional ownership option for under a quarter of a million. Check it out: www.residential cruiseline.com.So we have our cruiseship; we may embark at any port of call. Now how shall we get there? International first class is quite acceptable, but oh, dear, those teeming domestic airports. No problem. Remember that $3 million we saved on our
Magellan residence? Just enough to purchase our share of a top-of-the-line Gulfstream jet, and all the privileges thereof. A limousine will pick us up at home and whisk us to our private hangar at the Naples airport, where our personal concierge and crew await. We’ll luxuriate in our glove-soft leather recliners under muted lighting and enjoy prepared-to-order gourmet meals, until door-to-door service gets us to the international first-class lounge of our choice. Very civilized. More information: www.allenshares.com; (239) 435-2359.Which creates a whole new dilemma. If a cruise ship—and therefore much of the earth—is our home, where shall we go on vacation? Why, to the moon, of course. The investment portfolio has done well; surely we can nip a bit out for a little respite from earthly stresses. Space Adventures Ltd., the world’s premier private space exploration company, is taking reservations now for the world’s first vacation flight to the far side of the moon. Price tag: $100 million. Per seat. No date set yet, but Space Adventures authorities confirm that some Gulfshore residents (names withheld to avoid the ire of their financial advisors) have already plunked down their first annual membership fee of $980 in the Space Club to secure their spot. This is a bargain because they get all kinds of perks, like newsletters and chats with real astronauts. And 100 percent of the dues are applicable toward space flights. They can prepare for the lunar mission, with a zero-gravity flight, available now for just $95,000, followed by the suborbital flight, which includes four days of intensive training. Once they reach the 62-mile imaginary line that designates the beginning of space, they get five full minutes of weightlessness before zooming back to earth. At $102,000 that adds up to $25,500 per minute, but it comes with a pin and documentation suitable for framing. For those who suspect I’m embellishing the facts, see for yourself: www.spaceadventures.com.
OK, so i was just guessing about people sending their kids to soccer practice in techno-limos. But I didn’t make up the limos. Chauffeurs in NASCAR-type racing suits haul clients around in racing-motif limousines, autographed by racing stars and souped up to the max inside. If you’re not ready for the spaceship price tag, $150 an hour will get you as close to the control panel of the
Starship Enterprise as you can be on wheels. Black granite floors reflect the neon colors in the fiber-optic ceiling, which, if you squinch up your eyes, looks like an alien galaxy. Settle in with black leather seats, seven flat screen TVs, Playstation 2, DVD players and a satellite dish. Dreamed up by Naples’ own Brian Pease, Racing Limousines is now a hot national franchise. Bonita Springs franchise owner Norman Hinspeter can’t reveal the celeb passengers’ names (not because he’s stubborn; it’s just that they all book under John Smith and Mary Jones), but one of his most interesting recent passengers was the Stanley Cup. Well, you couldn’t expect one of North America’s most important trophies to ride around the Gulfshore in a peasant car. What would the neighbors say? More info: www.racinglimos.com/naples. (239) 242-9949.Now for the rest of us. it’s summer. We regular folks want a little adventure, too. For just $60 a day, we can do as the Italians do and zip around town on an adorable little scooter in our choice of black, red, yellow or silver. If you can ride a bike, you have all the skills you need. Complimentary pickup and delivery to your home or hotel is included. Call Suncoast Scooter Rentals (239-435-1795), wish them a happy one-year anniversary and book your day of wild abandon. Oh, and it’s off-season here in paradise, so I bet you can do some bargaining. But please don’t mention that I said so.
So, Dear Regulars, Irregulars and Others: sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. And always, always, savor the moment.
