Brendy's Blog

Turning 50

I turned 50 years old in January… and am still celebrating.  Most women cringe at the thought of being a half-century old but I decided to embrace it and milk it for all it’s worth. 

The partying began back in early November, nearly 4 months before my actual 50^th birthday.   Four of my closest girlfriends, all University of Michigan-Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sisters, also turn 50 this year so we escaped to Veronica’s family cottage on Walloon Lake in Petoskey, Michigan, for a weekend celebration.  

   

We had an amazing time looking at old photos, watching chick flicks, shopping , eating, drinking, and laughing until we cried. 

Round #2 of my 50^th birthday celebration was another  girls getaway – this time to Judith’s beautiful beach house on Lake Michigan in Holland, Michigan (I really know how pick my friends!) Janine and I took off work early on a Friday to drive over and meet Judith and her boxer Bam at her “beach hut.” 

We had spectacularly sunny and warm December weather which made for great beach walks, followed by long soaks in the hot tub and of course, more laughing, eating and drinking.

 

For my actual 50^th birthday -- January 30 -- my husband flew me out to meet him in Las Vegas, where he had some business meetings.  John met me at the airport with roses, booked a fabulous suite at the Aria,indulged the foody in me with ultra-gourmet dinners every night,

treated me to a fabulous spa day and essentially spoiled me rotten.  The highlight of the trip was a wild and crazy dune buggy adventure in the desert. 

Now by this time I’m feeling pretty partied-out, but my Dad and sister Suzy are demanding a celebration of their own.  So, I oblige.  We chose the Red Ox Tavern to host my fourth 50^th birthday fete because they have an awesome shuffleboard table. 

(While most families in the ‘70s had ping pong tables in their basements, we had a shuffleboard table).   I got beat by my 11 year old son but it comforts me to know that I have passed along my love-for- shuffle- board-playing gene.

It’s now been several weeks since my last 50^th birthday party…and I’m looking forward to the next one!  I’m also feeling really grateful to be surrounded by amazingly generous and loving people, and I think this is what I learned the most about turning 50.

 

Another Great Loss on the Rochester Culinary Scene

We need a good Italian restaurant in downtown Rochester…again. One of my favorite dining spots – Fortessa – mysteriously and suddenly closed last week.  

The food was superb (especially the osso buco), the prices were reasonable, and the atmosphere was upscale yet relaxed.  We had been dining there regularly since it very quietly opened over a year ago, and celebrated my 49th birthday there.

 

Business was very slow at first but then picked up steadily, especially after the only other downtown Rochester Italian restaurant – Andiamo’s –- switched to the company’s “Rojo” brand (think over-priced tacos).

John and I enjoyed a holiday dinner at Fortessa just a couple of weeks ago and the place was so packed we had to eat at the bar. The staff was “in the weeds” and it appeared business was booming. All of this apparent success in spite of a big marketing void; they never had a website, did not engage with social media, and were not interested in hiring yours truly.

So it was quite a shock when I heard last week that the place was closed, according to Rochester Patch.  Naturally, I had to take a drive by to see if indeed it was true. The place was totally dark, not a stick of furniture inside, and a sign on the door simply read: “Fortessa is closed.”

I felt an obligation to immediately post this on my Facebook page for the benefit of all my foodie friends.  My sister Suzy was the first to comment: “OMG!  I just bought a Groupon deal to Fortessa! How could they close?!”  Which then made me panic for a minute wondering if I had any unused gift cards…nope…phew!

As a PR consultant, I was very curious to see how Groupon was going to handle my sister’s dilemma.  I am happy to report that they did immediately give her full credit on her account, which was very smart on their part because Suzy is a Groupon addict and pissing her off would not have been good for business.

But I am still curious about what happened to Fortessa. This secret departure is really troublesome to me, especially as a publicist of restaurants. If they are thinking about resurfacing under a different name, they should definitely refund any unused Fortessa gift cards, but I’m not hopeful since there is no way to reach anyone. 

Fortessa was truly one of Rochester’s best kept culinary secrets and they have departed as quietly as they arrived.  

 

A Swim With A Sea Lion

We recently returned from a trip to St. Thomas – my virgin trip to the Virgin Islands and I am hooked!  Numerous highlights included a day trip on The Bad Kitty,

snorkeling in Magen’s Bay and soaking up the sun (as well as a few adult beverages) at The Soggy Dollar Bar. 

 

But by far our favorite adventure was a swim with a 350-pound, South American Sea Lion named “Remo.”

We met Remo at Coral World, truly an amazing and beautiful place. Privately owned, Coral World goes above and beyond your average visit to Sea World – not only can you observe amazing sea creatures, you can actually get into the tank with them.  Ever wanted to swim with sharks or sea turtles?  Then this is the place for you.  

It was a tough choice, but in the end we let Jack decide our aquatic adventure at Coral World – a Sea Lion Swim.

I’m not the most daring of souls so when Remo waddled out to greet us on the deck of his tank I thought I might faint.  After a few minutes of getting to know each other my fears subsided and I began to really enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Not that a personal encounter with a sea lion was ever on my bucket list, but if it’s not on yours you may want to consider it.

 

We played with Remo on the deck for a few minutes and took lots of photos with him.  We were amazed and enthralled by his intelligence and comical sense of humor.  

Just when I was thinking, “OK, this isn’t so scary,” Remo’s trainer told us to get into the water.  Really?!!  Reluctantly I followed my family into the tank…trying not to wonder about where this huge animal relieves himself.

Remo dove in after us. He swam underneath our feet then side-swiped me, rocking me like a buoy.  Once I got my bearings again, Remo’s trainer instructed us on the art of playing peek-a-boo and catch with a sea lion. We all thoroughly enjoyed our exhilarating, in-water encounter with this remarkable creature.

Our Sea Lion Swim was thrilling and magical. Thank you Coral World for an incredible adventure that I hope many others will be able to enjoy for years to come! 

PR Postscript: It’s not enough to have a truly unique product; stellar customer service is essential to long-term success. 

 

A Summer Day on Mackinac Island

Ahhhh....the sweet smell of chocolate fudge mingling with the stench of horse manure! Where else can you have this rare and unforgettable sensory experience other than on Michigan's historic Mackinac Island?

Having spent many summers in Northern Michigan (particularly at my grandparents' cottage in Charlevoix), we often took a day trip to Mackinac.  But it had been several years since I had been back to the island, so a couple weeks ago my husband (John), dad (Gait) and son (Jack) decided to hop a ferry across The Straits.  

As we were speeding across Lake Huron (east side of that great bridge), the memories came flooding back, especially those of the legendary Grand Hotel.

 I have been very fortunate to have worked for some really wonderful clients, and have them to thank for some amazing experiences -- the Grand Hotel is one of those.  I was on the account team for the resort when I worked at Anthony Franco PR in Detroit, back in the early 90's. My fellow account team members and I spent three days touring every inch of the property behind the scenes and interviewing every key staff member, from the executive chef to the chief gardner.

So as my family and I took a tour of the island on horseback, I recounted my stories of Grand Hotel.  And at that very moment, as we were trotting down a shaded lane of impossibly gorgeous summer homes, we were nearly side-swiped by a man in a three-piece suit speeding by on a bicycle.

He looked vaguely familiar to me.  I called out "Is that Dan Musser?"  He stopped and turned around to take a look at this crazed women on a horse yelling at him.   It was indeed Dan Musser III, who took over the reins (no pun intended, really) from his dad as President of Grand Hotel.  I had no idea how to stop my horse to have a chat with Dan, so we quickly exchanged "nice to see yous" and the reunion was over.

How bizarre.  Even our horse guide was stunned about the ironic encounter. 

After our ride, we ventured down Main Street to buy a snow globe for Jack's collection (he now has 63 of them from all over the world) and headed home...happy to have more great memories of Mackinac Island.

- Brendy

PR Postscript:  This was a day of brand value at its finest…we paid $40 just to walk through the Grand again…and it was worth every penny. 

 

PRConsultant's Group featured one of my PR business blog posts today... http://archive.aweber.com/prcgsubscribers/6u0m2/h/Common_Legal_Errors_in.htm