Megan Haertling decided to make her Hawaiian honeymoon last a lifetime at Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui.

          Less than a year later Haertling’s husband has a position at a college and she has a dream job as public relations director at the beachfront, all-suite, luxury Fairmont Kea Lani Resort, in Wailea, on Maui.

Just across the street from the Fairmont, at Wailea Golf Club, Rusty Hathaway has a similar story. He visited Wailea on vacation from his home in Alaska and decided he liked the 50^th state better than the 49^th. “I took a job washing golf carts and cleaning up,” Hathaway recalls. Now, 35 years later, he’s the head professional. “I almost hate going on vacation because I love it here so much. When my vacations are over, at least I know I get to come back to Wailea.”

Rusty Hathaway, managing Wailea after leaving Alaska 35 years ago, is now one of the deans of Hawaiian Golf.

            Hathaway saw Wailea’s Gold course host golf greats including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player during its’ 10 years of hosting the Senior Skins Game, but the setting is the star of the show. The garden-like gold, emerald and Old Blue courses play hundreds of feet above the Pacific and offer panoramic views of Molokini crater and the islands of Lana’i and Kaho’olawe.

            Fairmont Kea Lani’s general manager, Charles Head, an avid golfer, was so enchanted by the resort that he left a position at theScotland’s Fairmont St. Andrews, the sacred sod of the game. “My commute to and from work here on a road beside the Pacific has me seeing sunsets and whales along my way,” admits Head. “I’d say I am here in Wailea to stay.”

            If you visit, you’ll see why. In addition to golf, the scenic, tasteful, low-density resort offers snorkeling, swimming pools, Lomi Lomi massage in the spa and complimentary Hawaiian canoe rides, plus private beachfront, two-bedroom villas, conference facilities, and star chef Tylun Pang’s restaurant Ko, featuring island and Pacific Rim recipes.

Snorkeling, sunning, swimming in the Maui surf is soothing on Fairmont Kea Lani Hawaiian beach.

              Your vacation in Wailea may not last a lifetime…but the memories will!

            Visit www.Fairmont.com/KeaLani or call (866) 540-4456.

            Michigan-based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com

Chef David LeFevre, of Manhattan Beach, directs the kitchen action backstage at Pebble Beach Food + Wine.

Celebrity chef Todd English had a luxury tent full of food-o-files eating out of his hand during an intimate cooking demonstration, followed by a book signing, at the annual Pebble Beach Food + Wine event. “I love nothing more than preparing a meal for someone. It’s so sensual,” said English, as he whipped up a plate of colorful ginger roasted duck complimented by parmesan risotto with peas and carrots, using unabashed amounts of butter and salt below a giant, tilted, mirror displaying the Michigan-based Jenn-Air stoves. “We eat with our eyes first. The plate is your canvas. Cooking is the only art form that reaches all five senses.”

Just across the hall, master chef Jacques Pepin, who cooked for three French presidents, was putting on a similar show, and eschewing measuring cups to rely on his five decades of culinary experience. His daughter Claudine, acting as both sous-chef and sidekick, swigged champagne in response to her father’s comic eccentricities and rumbling French accent.

Pebble Beach Food + Wine co-founder David Bernahl sipping Dom Perignon with American Express Publishing CEO Ed Kelly.

Thanks to the vision of founder David Bernahl and his partner Robert Weakly, in partnership with Food + Wine Magazine, 75 celebrity chefs appeared for four days around Pebble Beach Resorts, headquartered at the oceanfront Inn at Spanish Bay. I touched base with Food Network Iron Chef Michael Symon at the opening night tasting to ask him how his Detroit restaurant, “Roast,” was doing. “Great,” he said in his apron. “We’ve been open three years now in Detroit and experienced 30-percent growth each year.”

Michael Patrick Shiels with Food Network Iron Chef Michael Symon, owner of Detroit's "Roast," at opening night tasting at Pebble Beach Food + Wine.

The mingling continued between sips from over 250 wineries including Silver Oak, Caymus, and the Chateau’s Lafitte and Rothschild. Sharing a swing or a taste with foodie heroes Daniel Boulud, Anne Burrell, Michael Chiarello, and even “Diners, Drive-In’s and Dive’s” host Guy Fieri was par for the course at Pebble Beach. For instance, in small talk on the golf course during the Celebrity Chef and Winemaker Tournament, Andre Bienvenu, executive chef at Joe’s Stone Crab, explained to me the historic Miami Beach restaurant actually owns a fleet of 42 boats to harvest the crab claws.

Michael Patrick Shiels on Pebble Beach Golf Links with Andre Bienvenu, executive chef for Miami's Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant.

During an impossibly exquisite Grand Finale dinner overlooking Stillwater Cove and Pebble Beach’s iconic lone cypress, chef Tyler Florence, of the show “How to Boil Water” (an Oprah Winfrey favorite), prepared oyster stew and Santa Barbara sea urchin. The rest of the evening’s courses, also prepared by celebrity chefs, were accompanied by varying vintages of Dom Perignon, highlighted by OEnoth’eque, 1970. I dined and sipped alongside Toyota CEO Jim Lentz, whose Lexus division sponsored the afternoon’s expansive Grand Tasting event. Oenologist Vincent Chaperon took to the stage to describe each pouring with the same enthusiasm as Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Perginon, who, upon discovering champagne in 1688 exclaimed, “Come quickly. I am tasting stars!”

Book quickly to meet stars, though! Varying ticket and lodging packages for April 4-7, 2013, will be in high demand when they are revealed at PebbleBeachFoodAndWine.com.

Michigan based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted atInviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com

Disney Fantasy docked at Castaway Cay, Disney's private Caribbean island.

Can you imagine the notion of living and working on vacation with a six-month contract aboard a luxury ocean liner? When Disney Cruise Line sent its’ fanciful new ship named Fantasy on its maiden voyage from Port Canaveral, Florida in April, more than 1,500 housekeepers, waiters, stage performers, chefs, lifeguards, laundry attendants, retail clerks, maintenance people and others and more were on board living out their fantasy of life on the high seas.

“I love it, and you can see why,” said Sammy, who traveled from India to serve drinks at Currents, an elegant poolside bar on an adults-only deck with a sweeping, 13^th story view of Fantasy’s stern and the Caribbean Sea. “During our six-month contract we work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, but I love meeting people and talking with them.”

Crew members rotate through a 100-person crew dining room for buffet meals and share a guest room. “My roommate and I work different shifts, so we hardly even see each other,” Sammy said. Crew lodging and meals are provided. Sammy said the crew members aboard the Fantasy also enjoy their own very nice bar and lounge, plus a back deck overlooking Fantasy’s wake.

“We hire people who have that ‘spark of personality’ and then treat them like guests onboard,” Brent Davies, cruise director on the Disney Fantasy, explained. “The crew is very proud of the ship and welcome guests onboard as if it were their own home, which it is, since they live on board.” Davies, an Australian, has been at sea for 13 years having started as a youth program coordinator in the cruise lines “teens-only” facilities. “The average Disney crew member stays three to five years, but some become addicted and make a career of it, like me.”

“Shore leave” for some of the crew means working as lifeguards and servers for seven hours on Castaway Cay, Disney’s idyllic private island, with beaches, snorkeling, sailing and swimming with manta rays in calm, crystal blue water. “How can I complain, I have the warm sun on my face here in paradise while standing in the surf with happy people on vacation,” said a young man from Wales who said he was making $450 per-week and gets two months off between contracts. Disney’s guests on board aren’t the only happy ones. Waiter and waitress Branel, from India and his colleague Jelena, from Croatia, gave diners fun brain-teasing riddles to children in between courses at Animator’s Palette, the ships’ colorful, high-tech, interactive cartoon-themed restaurant. Our smiling cabin attendant Allan, from Thailand, tied clean towels into the shapes of whimsical animals each day and left them on the bed as a surprise during his housekeeping duties.

Jelena and Branel, two of Disney's superstar smiling servers.

Ozer Balli, Disney Cruise Line’s VP of Hotel Operations says recruiters are honest with crew candidates before they ever get on board. “We paint an honest picture, because it’s a big transition for young people. Six months away from home living and working at sea with 4,000 passengers is a lifestyle not just a job. Once here, though, crew members have the rare experience of working alongside people of 65 different nationalities and the excitement of learning every aspect of the 13-deck vessel.” The crew’s extensive training in Disney’s “Traditions” class ensures guests top-level service quality and fun…with dignity…aboard the Disney Fantasy or any of Disney’s ship.

Ship Tips:

-Though you might be tempted to lounge on deck and watch the sunset, see the colorful stage shows presented each night in the stylish, expansive Walt Disney Theater on board. Disney Wishes, Aladdin, and Disney Dreams last only 45 minutes and are a marvel of inspiring creativity and performance art.

-Give your teenager space to attend Edge, a supervised, teen-only club that stays open past midnight. Movies, karaoke, trivia games, treats and fun in a high-tech, snazzy environment gives you time to visit the nightclubs and them time to feel special.

-Spend as much time as you can on Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, during the ship’s stop there. The gangplank usually opens at 9:00 am and the boat departs at 5:00 pm. Your idyllic time ashore there snorkeling, sunning, lying in a hammock, biking, swimming, sailing and more will pass by in a flash.

-If possible, make sure one of your evening dinners is in Animator’s Palette. You’ll be asked to draw a cartoon at the beginning of the dinner…and treated to a delightful surprise at the end!

Goofy Golf 13 stories above the biggest water hazard on earth!

-Europa, an adults-only section of nightclubs on board offers exquisitely decorated nightclubs designed to evoke Ireland (O’Gills), London (The Tube), Italy (La Piazza), Paris (Ohh-La-La), and a world lounge (Skyline) where the view magically changes every 15 minutes. Live music and entertainment is offered nightly in various parts of Europa.

-The champagne Sail Away toast, Pirate Party, and Fireworks at Sea are festive events on deck you won’t want to miss. They set Disney Cruise Lines apart from any other.

-Palo and Remy are adults-only, high-end, gourmet restaurants 13 stories up on the back of the ship. They also offer a quiet, elegant, open-air lounge perfect for a cigar and cognac. There are also adults-only sections of the ship for sunbathing, swimming, and cocktails.

-Goofy’s mini-golf on the back of the ship offers a nine-hole course with better panoramic ocean views than Pebble Beach could ever dream of!

To book a cruise, or a career, visit www.DisneyCruise.com or call (800) 951-3532

Michigan-based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com

Mid Pines Golf Club puts players in the dogwoods and pines for a classic, period feel similar to Augusta National Golf Club.

When 54-year old amateur golfer Randy Lewis, from Alma, Michigan, drove up the famed Magnolia Lane leading to the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club, he was a competitor not a tourist, but still he says he drove very slowly in order to take it all in and make it last. He earned a dream invitation to compete inGeorgia against the world’s best and along some legendary players at this week’s Masters Tournament by winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship last summer. Even those who manage to get the toughest ticket in sports to watch are among the elite few to get onto the greenest 300 acres in golf. Some practice round tickets are available each year though a lottery system at www.Masters.org. If you get there, you’ll see what Lewis saw. While the grounds down Magnolia lane inside the famed Augusta National are pristine, the club’s surroundings on Washington Road are not as idyllic; unless you consider the landscaping at Hooters and Krispy Kreme equal to the idyllic azaleas, dogwoods and pines of the so-called “cathedral in the pines.”

Most of the hotels in Augusta are of the standard, chain variety – all desperately overpriced for one week each year. Even broken down, fleabag barracks cost $240 for the night, often with a multiple-night minimum. As a journalist attending the event, I have the dubious memories to prove it.

Playing the highly private Augusta National is a near impossibility, and your logistical odds go down even further since the club is closed from May through October and 80-pecent of its very few corporate CEO members don’t even live in Augusta. For a truly authentic Augusta feel, though, there are some places which provide at least a sense of the golf experience.

- Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club and Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club near Pinehurst, North Carolina’s are two quaint resorts with classic Augusta-era 1920’s Donald Ross-designed courses steps outside charming lodging. Pine Needles hosted three U.S. Women’s Opens. The familiar flora, fauna and terrain give you the sense you are living and playing in a master painter’s dream creation. Log on to www.PineNeedles-MidPines.com or call (910) 692-7111.

- Dancing Rabbit Golf Club, in Choctaw, Mississippi, has azaleas and oaks, which is what its two Tom Fazio/Jerry Pate-designed 18 hole golf courses are named. Fazio has done redesign work at Augusta National, so he knows his way around this type of tree-lined, southern terrain. Visit DancingRabbitGolf.com or call (866) 447-3275

-International World Tour, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina offers 27 holes inspired by famous courses. ItsAugusta replica holes include “Amen Corner:” the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th, complete with the iconic Hogan and Nelson bridges, plus the pivotal par-three 16^th hole. Visit www.TheWorldTourGolf.com or call (877) 377-7773.

-Alister Mackenzie, who designed Augusta National with input from Bobby Jones, designed Michigan golf courses Crystal Downs, in Frankfurt, and the University of Michigan course in Ann Arbor, both private, but a but easier to sink your spikes into than the home of the Masters.

Michigan based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels, a Downriver native, may be contacted atInviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com

Neptune and Trevi Fountain behind MPS

While the glory and beauty of Rome seemed a fantasy, the Eternal City, with its history, art, fashion and cuisine was not a world away. It was just a phone call away. In this era of automated customer service and dismissive and distant telephone representatives, Nita Olson decided she wanted to help make people’s dreams come true. So she went to work for DeltaVacations.com and does exactly that.

I was doubtful when I heard you could get on the phone with a Delta Vacations/MLT sales specialist and plot out every detail of an entire, custom vacation. How could a phone rep have the time and patience for that level of personal service, especially at the discount rates DeltaVacations.com offers? I admit to wondering what a sales specialist stationed at their HQ in Minot, North Dakota could know about showing me the world, so I put the system to the test.

My ‘bucket list” dream trip was Rome. I knew next to nothing about Italy or how to make it happen, so I had a peek at DeltaVacations.com and the called 866-238-5378.

Nita started at the finish by asking, “What is your budget?”

I told her I had $2,000 to spend and gave her the dates I was available to travel.

Within moments, Nita found flights at less than the published fares, and even let me choose the routing, times and seats. “Do you want to change planes in Atlanta, Amsterdam, or Paris?’ she asked. “How early do you want to get to the airport? Are you more comfortable in an aisle seat or a window?”

Orderly yet unhurried, Nita advised that I allow her to arrange a private car to take me to the hotel. “This way when you land in Rome, an English-speaking driver will be at baggage claim holding your name on a sign. You’ll be tired, and it’ll be a comforting welcome.”

Nita recommended the Hotel Quirinale, circa 1865, based on its glamorous history and its’ location near the famed Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, shopping, and a Metro train station which would get me inexpensively to the Vatican, the fashionable Via Veneto, and even a day trip to Florence. Puccini, Verdi, and Toscanini frequented the Quirinale in their time, and so does Nita. She’d stayed there a number of times herself! It seems DeltaVacations.com sales specialists have actually visited and researched the destinations they offer, including Walt Disney World, Ireland, Hawaii, Paris, Caribbean, Napa, Mexico, cruises, ski or dive vacations, group trips, weddings, and more.

Like a game of “Price is Right,” Nita let me know each step of the way how close we were getting to my spending ceiling, and helped me make decisions based on my price. We created a flexible itinerary and chose a few organized tours of the Eternal City – the Coliseum, Pantheon, etc. – and a traditional Italian dinner show on the night of arrival, all pre-paid for convenience. My Rome dream trip came true…and my Italian adventure actually came in under my budget. That’s amore!

Some of the details from my experience you may find useful:

-The in-flight entertainment system aboard Delta on my flight from the U.S. included a fun, interactive Berlitz language game which allowed me to pass a little of the flight time learning some Italian on the way! While you can get by in Rome speaking English in many cases, you’ll get a better response from people and enjoy speaking a little Italian. Words such as: Good day, good evening, good night, thank you, please, and do you speak English are helpful.

-Do not rent a car in Rome. The traffic is manic and the twisting roads and roundabouts tangled. Taxis are readily available, and, if you’re just a touch adventurous, the Metro subway is very efficient and inexpensive. For 10 dollars you can ride it as many times as you like all day to places such as Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and more.

-The guided group trips DeltaVacations.com offers are a great way to easily see everything you’ll want to see. You’ll be picked up at your hotel and whisked to all of the tourist attractions. These tours, given in multiple languages, allow you to skip the sometimes long lines at popular places such as the Vatican Museums, Pantheon, and Coliseum. Taking the “Hop On/Hop Off” double-decker bus tour on the afternoon you arrive is a great way to get acclimated to where things are. You can get fresh air sitting on top and immediately lay eyes on everything you came to see on the 90-minute loop. This will help you plan where you want to spend time on your trip.

-The “Rome by Night” tour bus will pick you up at your hotel and give you a look at the monuments, dramatically lit, and concludes with a dinner and live, traditional Italian music. This is a very suitable way to begin or end your visit.

-A day trip to Florence is a fantastic way to get out of the city and see the Tuscan countryside. Eurostar fast trains run about every hour from Rome’s train station. A roundtrip ticket – best to book ahead – will cost about $100. The non-stop ride to Florence is less than 90 minutes and the train station is in the middle of a compact, entirely walkable town. Just wander. Florence is like an amusement park full of art, cathedrals, shopping, dining and jaw-dropping beauty.

Perfect sidewalk cafe for a vino and pizza respite

-Exquisite cuisine is such a big part of an Italian visit. Every meal can be an experience, though simply sitting down at any streetside café for a thin crust pizza and half-liter of house wine while people watching is a very affordable and satisfying experience. Via della Croce near The Spanish Steps and Via Borgo Pio adjacent to the Vatican are excellent streets on which to do this, as is Via del Lavatore, where you will find a restaurant called Il Chianti, specializing in Tuscan delights, only a few yards from the famed Trevi Fountain. I highly recommend Il Chanti, especially at lunchtime, for the food, atmosphere, and prices. Purchase gelato for desert next door and eat the frozen treat on the steps in front of the soothing and inspiring Trevi Fountain. For a thoroughly Italian dinner experience, my favorite restaurant was DivinPeccato, at 84 Piazza della Rovere. DivinPeccato translates to “divine sin,” which is ironic given its location adjacent to the Vatican and its status as a favorite with the American priests stationed just up the hill at the North American Seminarian College.

Ciuri Ciuri has four popular locations around Rome if you find yourself desiring an authentic Sicilian cannoli filled with ricotta, chocolate, or pistachio and cinnamon. The Via Leonina is just outside the Metro station serving the St. Peter in Chains church, where you will find Michelangelo’s Moses sculpture.

The most fashionable, and probably most expensive, after-dinner drink in Rome is Harry’s Bar on the Via Veneto, the romantic street Dean Martin sang about. For many years celebrities have enjoyed bellinis, campari, grappa and limoncello while hearing live music in the cozy, sumptuous setting. La Dolce Vita, indeed! Stroll the Via Veneto all the way up to the U.S. Embassy after a visit to Harry’s.

- The biggest celebrity in Rome is Pope Benedict. Seeing the Holy Father is easier than you might think. Each Sunday at noon, he appears in his Vatican palace apartment window to give a blessing in various languages. There is no charge to attend and tickers are not required. The entire “Papal Audience” lasts about 15 minutes, and you can easily get into St. Peter’s Square and have a good viewing spot even moments before what is an iconic world happening. In the anticipation, groups of people in the square sing, dance, bring items to be blessed, and finally cheer in an emotional fashion when Pope Benedict emerges in the window and speaks in their native tongue. Be advised that in August the Pope is likely at Castel Gandolfo, his summer residence 15 miles outside Rome, where he gives the blessing in a more intimate setting. In addition to St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums are home to the world’s most significant collection, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

-The famed Spanish Steps are just that – three levels of stone stairs circa 1725 leading to Trintina dei Monti church, is one of Rome’s famed landmarks. Below, the bustling Piazza di Spagna (which has a convenient Metro stop), is circled by haute couture shops: Prada, Gucci, Ferragamo, Dolce and Gabbana, and all the usual suspects, most with very attentive, creative sales people to present fashion choices. If you walk straight from the bottom of the steps up the Via Condotti (a street that is like a shopping mall) to the Via Corso, you will find the Basilica of Saints Ambrose and Charles. Despite its plain façade, you will find inside one of the most visually stunning churches in Rome.

Michigan-based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com

Pope Benedict delivers his Sunday blessing from the window

A fashion shoot taking place on the Spanish Steps

Dale Jones smiles at his Michigan memories but loves his new home in Biloxi

says, in a southern drawl through a big smile. He doesn’t remember how much he was paid for the win, but he does remember the course and the town. “Walnut Hills was always in beautiful condition. The crowds in Lansing were very friendly and very enthusiastic.”

Eggeling won by finishing two strokes ahead of Elaine Crosby, who lives 30 miles away in Jackson and finished tied for second place. Jones was buddies with another caddie, Greg “Tex” Gallup, who caddied on Tour for Mount Pleasant’s Kelly Robbins. They enjoyed the camaraderie and competition that traveling on Tour brought them.

“But I got too old to walk six miles lugging a bag,” says Jones.

So like two war horses taken from the grind of the track to the glory of a stud farm, Jones and Gallup now enjoy caddying, saddled on the power carts of resort guests, at the luxurious Fallen Oak Golf Club in Biloxi, Mississippi. They still banter like Abbott and Costello, delighting vacationers with their humor-enhanced, self-deprecating Tour tales. Jones makes the average Joes he caddies for feel like pros. But the Tom Fazio-designed Fallen Oak, Mississippi’s top-rated resort course, is truly the star of the show. “I just love this layout,” Jones insists.

Biloxi is near Gulfport, on the Gulf between New Orleans and Mobile – an area ravaged by Hurricane Katrina – which pushed the course’s debut back to 2006. “Even having a major storm in the middle of constructing this golf course turned out to be a positive – for instance, the name ‘Fallen Oak,’” said Fazio, an acclaimed architect. “You look out and see that fallen oak on the ground and we built the 18^th hole around the tree. It’s in such a natural and logical position it just had to be. I think people will come here and say it’s one of a kind.” The clubhouse bar, with its panoramic, view, is also one of a kind – voted among the top 50 in America.

Fazio designed gnarly bunkering to match the twisted trees.

The PGA TOUR’s Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, for the over 50 legends, is held March 23-25 at Fallen Oak in late March. Past British Open champion and Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman won the event in 2011 on his first visit to Fallen Oak. “A lot of the guys out here had been telling me that I needed to come and play here and that I’d love the course. I think they were right,” exclaimed Lehman upon winning $240,000.

Guests of the MGM’s waterfront Beau Rivage Hotel have access to Fallen Oak Golf Club, via complimentary limo from the hotel! To visit, see www.FallenOak.com

Travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com

The Elegant Opening Reception at Pebble Beach Food and Wine

Robert Louis Stevenson described Pebble Beach, California as “the most felicitous meeting of land and sea in creation.” If he were to be on the Monterey Peninsula in mid April, he may have better characterized Pebble Beach as the most felicitous and delicious meeting of land, sea and wine in creation.”

April 12 through 15 the famed golf resort hosts “Pebble Beach Food and Wine,” one of the premier epicurean lifestyle events in America.

“It’s crazy. 40,000 bottles of wine end up getting opened that weekend,” boasts David Bernahl, one of the event’s founders. “250 wineries from all over the world are represented and 75 celebrity chefs host more than 70 events over a five day period. It’s hedonism at its finest.”

Attendees get to see cooking demonstrations, sample cheeses and wines, and enjoy some of the most exclusive dining opportunities in the world. Chef Thomas Keller, of Napa’s acclaimed French Laundry Restaurant, for instance, will be honored in an evening salute. French Laundry typically sells out a year’s worth of reservations in two days when it accepts bookings each September. “If you’re a fan of food and celebrity chefs, you can walk up to 25 of them in one afternoon in our 60,000 square-foot grand tasting tent,” said Bernahl.

The event’s Northern California proximity to the amazing restaurants of San Francisco and wineries of Napa Valley and Sonoma enhance the event, according to Bernahl. “We’ve got 100 master sommeliers from all over the country,” he said. They will be participating with attendees in blind tastings called “Secrets of the Sommelier.” “They’re amazing. With one taste, they can discern what type of wine it is, where it’s from, the vintage, and more. Sometimes I think they can even tell the height of the person who picked the fruit! It’s truly impressive!”

The venue, Pebble Beach, is best known for America’s #1 resort golf course, the links at Pebble Beach, which has historically hosted the celebrity-laden “Bing Crosby Clambake,” now the PGA Tour’s AT&T National Pro-Am, as well as U.S. Opens. Jack Nicklaus has said if he had one more round to play in his life, it would be at Pebble Beach. Celebrity chefs including Keller, Daniel Boulud, Ming Tsai, and others will hit the links for the event’s Celebrity Chef Golf Challenge. The tournament will begin with a toast of Dom Perignon champagne and gourmet treats such as lobster rolls will be offered on tees throughout the course.

“Chefs are notoriously horrible golfers,” Bernahl joked. “I think we may have to take out extra insurance on the windows on Charles Schwab’s house!”

Various package prices are available for the Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival. They may be found at www.PebbleBeachFoodandWine.com

Travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels, a Down river native, may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com

Since its Aug. 2009 opening, the $300 million FireKeepers Casino, in Battle Creek, has successfully operated under a management agreement with Full House Resorts. The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi has negotiated a buy-out, four years early, of the Full house contract. As of May 1, 2012, the Tribe will both own and operate the casino resort.

Homer A. Mandoka, the NHBP Tribal Chairman, said, “We will continue to develop jobs for our Tribe and the region alike and will remain a positive contributor to greater Calhoun County.”

FireKeepers employs 1,500 fabulous people, who will continue to be led by General Manager R. Bruce McKee and the Executive Team. “The Team Members have sacrificed and worked hard for the property and each and every one of them has made a contribution to FireKeepers success,” said Mandoka.

The casino resort has set itself apart from others in Michigan by offering a Vegas-style presentation and culture. “Get Your Vegas On,” is a slogan evidenced by the multicolored lights, appearance of showgirls, fountain of fire in front of the valet entrance, high energy music, and nightclub atmosphere. Surprises along the way have included shows right above the casino floor, vehicle giveaways, and the Red Lightning Jackpots, which can occur at anytime and make everyone in the house an instant winner. The Firekeepers Facebook page has attracted thousands and thousands of active followers.

FireKeepers also recently celebrated the topping off of their resort style hotel, which will open in late fall of 2012. The project will bring to market 242 guest rooms, stylish swimming pool, a 150-seat restaurant, expanded guest parking, a 24 hour fitness center and business center, a retail shop. FireKeepers will double the size of their Bingo operations and present big name entertainers in a 2,000 seat event center that can be transformed from meeting space into a concert arena in just hours. The expansion is expected to create 750 more jobs.

FireKeepers Casino is located just off Interstate 94 at Exit 104 in Battle Creek. The current property features a 107,000-square foot gaming floor with 2,800 slot machines, 70 table games, a live poker room and bingo room. FireKeepers also offers five distinctive dining destinations and multiple lounges and entertainment venues.

For more information visit www.FireKeepersCasino.com

Michael Patrick Shiels and travel writer Larry Olmsted after a round on Doral's famed Blue Monster course.

Flip on the television in your guestroom at the Marriott Doral Resort and Spa, in Miami, and you will find a channel showing nothing but exciting highlights of five decades of PGA Tour golf events staged on the 650-acre property. Take your eyes away from the TV to look out your sliding glass door and you’ll see, only steps away, the precise spot on the Blue Monster course’s 18^th green where the likes of Tour stars Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, Ernie Els and others tapped in for tournament wins. Of course you’ll be tempted to try it for yourself, and you can, because at Doral you’re in the action from the moment you arrive.

The iconic surroundings – the hotel, the windows of the circular restaurant behind the green and the fountain – are instantly recognizable after years of seeing them on television. But it’s your turn, now, and when you grab your putter and head to the practice green adjacent to the first tee, you are surrounded by palm trees and flags of many nations, reminding you that you are at a tropical, world destination. Southeast Florida has always exuded multicultural intrigue, and Doral, only a few miles from Miami International Airport, does, too. You’re likely to hear bikini-clad sun seekers having conversations in several languages around the elegant swimming pool adjacent to Doral’s stand-alone European-style spa and Pritikin Longevity Wellness Center. If your preferred style of wellness is a mojito and live Latin jazz music, celebrate your day in the Bossa Nova Lounge. You’ll know you’re not alone in your tastes if you choose the Champions Grill because photos of celebrities making merry at Doral adorn the walls. Don’t be surprised if you spot an actual celebrity during your stay, either.

Can you play golf like a star, though?

The internationally famous feel of Doral permeates the property while superstar golfers populate it

Famed instructor Jim McLean, who has worked with over 100 big name pros and taught actors like Bill Murray, has his flagship golf school at Doral. Individualized, half-day coaching sessions quickly compare your swing to that of a tour pro and allow you to learn and play on one of Doral’s five courses the same day. Can McLean’s instructors really teach you something useful in two or three days? “Oh sure,” said McLean, who, himself, played in the Masters and U.S. Open. “When you come down and put away your cell phone and immerse yourself in a playing lesson with a professional, you gain an understanding of your swing and absolutely get better at the golf school.”

The PGA Tour will enjoy Doral again March 8-11 for the $8.5-million WGC Cadillac Championship.

For more information, visit www.DoralResort.com or call (800) 713-6725.

Michigan-based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com

The view from a Sandpearl Resort guestroom sweeps over Clearwater Beach and the Gulf of Mexico

Steakhouse and Columbia (in Ybor City), will be full of conservative delegates. But Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, and the other GOP celebrities would do well to visit Caretta on the Gulf, which has splashed on the four-diamond scene in Clearwater Beach’s three-year old Sandpearl Resort. Major League baseball players during Spring Training and wrestler Hulk Hogan are already regulars, and Michigan State’s marching band performed a beach pep-rally right in front of the Caretta’s leading up to the Spartan football team’s New Year’s Day Outback Bowl game.

Floor to ceiling windows and an outdoor veranda make for sunset dining just above the beach and looking over the Gulf of Mexico. Sushi; fried oysters; crab bisque with jalapeno shortbread; fork and knife Caesar salad; oven roasted grouper with Chinese black rice, fava beans and artichokes; or the bone-in rib-eye is one path your five-course dining adventure could take. A pathway to desert then, should you choose it, is just a few steps onto the sand beside the restaurant where you can make gourmet s’mores over a private, prepared bonfire.

Beach bonfires, sunrise yoga, and swim-up evening movies at the pool are reminders that the sparkling new Sandpearl Resort is sophisticated but not snobby. Every guest check-in is scored with music from a player Steinway piano and celebrated with a complimentary glass of champagne and in the lobby, which is, at the same time, filled with large watercolor paintings of children at play by the sea or snorkeling.

Spotless, soft pastel-colored guestrooms and suites look over the pool, powder sand beach, and pelicans at play in the placid gulf. Don’t look away long or you’ll miss the sight of diving dolphins. Do drift off, though, during a treatment in the Sandpearl Spa, or, pay close attention during a “Massage Lesson for Partners,” a unique and memorable opportunity offered for only $195. You can get hands-on in the kitchen, too, since Caretta on the Gulf offers cooking demonstrations with samplings of organic food and wine for $35. Sunset sailing, deep sea fishing, wave-runners, parasailing, kayaking, astronomy and other activities can be arranged, including a half-day camp for kids. Those without a car can walk the entire area for shopping, the marina, sight-seeing, the landmark Pier 60, and off-resort eateries such as Frenchy’s, which serves the ubiquitous grouper sandwich and a deep-fried Oreo for dessert.

Clearwater Beach's Spotless Sandpearl Resort is Sophisticated but not Snobby

Quiet, yet entertaining Clearwater Beach is on a sandy key only 20 minute’s drive from Tampa Airport. The scenic, straight shot west is mostly over bay-splitting causeways, so you’ll “feel Florida” fast after your flight in.

For more information, visit www.Sandpearl.com or call (877) 726-3111.

Michigan-based travel-writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com or via www.TravelTattler.com