Seriously On Vacation

We made it to Naples, Florida late Monday night, July 7th. Dave's company had us all staying at the Ritz-Carlton as this getaway was a reward trip. The hotel was wonderful and we had a great view of the pools and the ocean from our 5th story balcony. We vegged out on Tuesday and Wednesday before everyone else got there. Wednesday night was the official welcoming event and dinner at the Ritz. It was a great buffet and I got to meet a lot of new people and reconnect with those from last year's Cabo trip. Ashley Hobbs, the Pavilion HR queen in charge of all the details told us that when she was pricing out the centerpieces for the evening she told her Ritz counterpart, "Are the flowers made of gold, and do we get to keep them?". The guy told her, "It's the Ritz, Ash" which became my favorite saying of the trip. The next day we got to go to the spa. Dave got a massage and I got a facial and afterwards we just lazed around in the spa's facilities. That night the group went on a dinner cruise around the Naples inlet to the Gulf and got to see all the multi-million dollar houses that no one apparently ever resides in. They just own them, like a knick-knack I guess. Crazy. Friday the group went on a catamaran to a private island and got to jet-ski, hunt for shells, and relax in the oceas and on the beach. That night we went to dinner in town on old 5th street at a restaurant called Lucat. Afterwards we were going to go dancing but too many people ended up wanting to go and it turned into a fiasco. Poor Ashley was mortified at how the club was all 21 year olds and packed. Not to mention there was a line out the door. NOT exactly the place for our 30-40ish group to not stick out like crazy. I blame the Ritz guy who told us to go there. What was he thinking? The last day we went shopping and just hung out by the pool cafe and talked with people from out group. The last night's dinner was at the Ritz and celebrated the accomplishments of the individual sales team members. They did an amazing job this last year. Some of the highlights of the trip for me were meeting Dave and Mary Nordness who live in Huntsville, Alabama - my home town! They were just a hoot and I love Mary and her sassiness. I also enjoyed Derek and Jan from Scotland who have 2 daughters. Everyone else was great also, but Ashley was my favorite. She's so fun and makes doing her job look easy. Kudos to Ashley for pulling off such a great trip!