Posts Tagged "The Colony"

Live from Longboat!

Posted by joy.the.curious on Mar 1, 2011 in Villa Am Meer | 3 comments

An update on Villa Am Meer

It’s Tuesday morning and I’ve finally had some time to exhale and catch up on my sleep. We arrived here on Longboat Key Saturday afternoon and have enjoyed beautiful, perfect weather every day. Today we woke up to our first day of clouds, so I decided to take the opportunity to write a quick update about Villa Am Meer.

(Achtung! Spoiler alert! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click the link at the very top of my blog that says “villa am meer” to start from the beginning.)

On Sunday, Ross and I took our first daily amble down the beach. I was anxious to see “my house,” as well as the new concrete piers (groins) they installed last year, so I brought my camera along. We were a little bummed because we’d heard The Colony Resort had closed, so we were keeping an eye out for a new “margarita stop.” (If anyone knows of a place, please let us know.)

Here’s the view as we were just starting out. You can see the concrete groins up ahead. That’s where we’re headed. Villa Am Meer is the first property past those groins.

Here’s a Google map of where we’re headed. That’s Villa Am Meer at the bottom right of the map (the house closest to the beach with the long driveway off Gulf of Mexico Drive).

View Larger Map

Once we reach the groins, you can see the tall palm trees on the property. That’s the Islander Club on the left. Notice how close to the water that resort is compared to the rest. That’s why they had to put the groins in… to prevent erosion of the beachfront. These days, new properties are required to be built much further back.

Ross decided to check out the new pier/groin…

Finally, we approach Villa Am Meer. Trying hard not to look like a creeper, I decide to take a few videos:

Later, on another walk, we noticed a young couple enjoying the beach, directly in front of Villa Am Meer. We introduced ourselves and learned they are now living on the property and maintaining it, though it is still owned by a separate company. They confirmed there are no plans to develop the property anytime soon. (Yay!)

So… all good news for Villa Am Meer at the moment! Later this week… an answer to the question, was Hermann Kohl or his company, Norda Essential Oils and Chemical Company, ever convicted of bootlegging? I’ve been to the National Archives in Chicago to find out.

Stay tuned!

Villa Am Meer, Chapter 15

Posted by joy.the.curious on Oct 7, 2010 in Villa Am Meer | 9 comments

A few final thoughts…

New here? Start with Chapter 1…

I’ve been writing about Villa Am Meer for about seven months now. In that time, this beach house has become like an old friend to me. I’ve imagined what it would have been like to have stayed there, listening to the waves crash on the shore, sipping a cool glass of Chardonnay at sunset, and snuggling around the wood-burning fireplace after sundown. I’d like to imagine there were no TVs allowed here, and that guests were asked to leave their cell phones at the door. I imagine soft music playing, an acoustic guitar, and dancing on the rooftop patio under the moonlight.

I’ve been told of family Christmases at Villa Am Meer, with delicious Italian food and homemade ravioli. I’ve been told of summertime parties with friends, sangria, brie cheese and strawberries. And, I’ve been told of the “little house” – a one level, two bedroom guest house on the northeast corner of the property. It had a tiny fish pond in front of it, and a wrought iron bridge you had to cross in order to get to the front door. The “real magic” took place here, from what I’ve been told.

As one might imagine, the family is very private. I guess I would be too, especially if some crazy midwestern woman with no earthly connection to the house suddenly started blogging about it. But, I do hope to connect with them one day. I hope that by sharing the history of this house, I haven’t caused them any distress. That was never my intent. Those who know me would tell you I’m not that kind of person.

So then, what WAS my motivation for writing about this house? In the past seven months, I’ve been asked this over and over, and the answer is both simple and complicated.

I guess it all boils down to this… it got me writing again. I’ve always loved writing, and it seems to come naturally to me. However, a few years ago, I became hell-bent on writing something in order to get it published. I wrote a few children’s books, a middle-grade novel, a screenplay, and even a corporate gift book. Nothing was published. This didn’t surprise me; I knew the odds. But, I have to admit, it was hard on my ego. I wasn’t used to failure.

So, I quit writing. I decided if I couldn’t make my living as a writer, then what was the point. I went back to what I knew and saved myself the heartache.

For two years, I wrote nothing at all. I turned 40, took up snowboarding, and became obsessed with tracking down every branch of my family tree. When I ran out of branches on my own tree, I started tracking down my husband’s branches. Anything to keep from writing.

Then, last March, I was walking along the beach with my husband, on our way to The Colony to have a margarita. I spotted my favorite little beach house amidst a rumble of big rig construction. It appeared war-torn and vacant, and I was certain it was about to be torn down. I ran back to our condo and grabbed my camera, determined to preserve this little nugget of Longboat Key history. I knew nothing about the property or its owners, but for 15 years that little beach cottage had piqued my curiosity, and since it appeared to be on its final death throes, I decided to ask a few questions. And that’s how this whole journey started.

But, truthfully, why did I keep on? (And on, and on?)

Well, I guess because it just felt good. It felt good to be writing again, and I loved the instant feedback that blogging provided. People were commenting on my posts, adding to the story, encouraging me to go on. And so… go on I did.

There was also that moment, while I was on vacation in Montana, when I first learned of Elena’s death. The news hit me hard, and the synchronicity of that event seemed absolutely uncanny. At that point, the story seemed to take on new meaning… like it was bigger than me and just ached to be told. I can’t explain it really… it just seemed like continuing the story was the right thing to do.

One final thing.

On August 1, I began reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Ironically, I’d given this same book to an artist friend of mine a few years ago, never assuming it would ever apply to me. I was a writer after all, not an artist.

I was wrong.

The Artist’s Way has changed the way I look at the world. I’ve now realized that the reason I kept on writing about Villa Am Meer is because I was finally writing for the right reasons… not to gain fame, wealth, or success… but simply to enjoy the process. “Creativity is God’s gift to us,” Julia Cameron writes. “Using our creativity is our gift back to God.” The refusal to be creative is counter to our true nature.

I must admit, I’ve been lost for a while, manically trying to busy myself with other pastimes while my one true passion has been stuffed inside a storage locker made of gray matter. And now, I feel like Simba, staring into the water and hearing the reflection of Mufasa telling me, “You are more than what you’ve become, Simba.” Yes, Mufasa, you’re right. I am more than what I’ve become.

And so, starting January 1, my business partner and I have decided to take a two month sabbatical to “be still.” For twenty years, we’ve run a small ad agency together… a company we started just out of college. It’s been a crazy ride… turbulent, exhilarating, and often scary. But through it all, we’ve grown up together, raised our families, and remained best friends. And after twenty years, we’ve decided the best gift we could give each other is two months off. Imagine it… two months of peace and art. Groovy, baby.

I do hope to continue writing about Villa Am Meer, if any new information should trickle in. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on my journey. (UPDATE: Skip ahead to Chapter 16 to learn the outcome of Hermann Kohl’s and Norda, Inc.’s bootlegging trial… click here.)

Next time… a new story piques my interest…