15 Ways to Lure Your Lover

By Karen T. Bartlett

Published: July 2, 2008

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Just gaze at the moon, June
Go stroll on the sand, Stan
You don't need to be rich, Mitch
Just listen to me.

Just hop in a canoe, Lou,
Check into a suite, Pete
Put a tan on your skin, Lynne
And set your soul free.

OK, so Paul Simon didn't have Florida on his mind when he penned "Slip out the Back, Jack.. Make a New Plan, Stan... Drop off the Key, Lee" in his 1970s hit, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. If he had, he would have named it 50 Ways to Lure Your Lover, and the relationship would have been saved.

No need to hop on the bus, Gus. We'll give you the condensed version: 15 Ways to Lure Your Lover. Just pick one of these passionate pastimes, swoop up your sweetheart and start luring!


1: Try An Aphrodisiac, Jack
...with the Light Up the Night package at the National Hotel in South Beach, Miami. The perfect package for couples seeking a quick but romantic and luxurious getaway. You and your sweetheart will get one night of deluxe accommodations, breakfast for two at Tamara’s (or room service delivery of your order), two evening cocktails in the chic D’lounge lobby bar and the signature rose petal turndown service.

2: Slip Into The Dune, June
Disappear together into 19th-century Florida. At Beaches of South Walton, wooden boardwalks cross sea-oat-covered dunes, and brick walkways meander through movie-set reincarnations of old northwest Florida beach towns. Sleep in a cozy carriage house, a tin-roofed cottage or a beachfront mansion. Stroll, bicycle or jog. Count the stars. Sigh deeply.

3: Ask The Spirits To Tell, Mel
Visit a psychic medium in Cassadaga, Florida's eccentric spiritualist town. Reflect on the messages overnight at the oh-so-adorable Ann Stevens House in nearby Lake Helen then return for more insights. Visualize Victorian architecture, a tin-roof Jacuzzi gazebo and suites named "Lilacs and Lace" and "Peaches and Cream." Your cowboy may prefer the manly log cabin-style "Laredo."

4: Propose with Zen, Len
Marriage on your mind? Propose in Delray Beach amidst the lush and tranquil Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, with its 15th-century-style rock gardens, scenic ponds, romantic bridges and waterfalls, and an authentic 1900s teahouse.

5: Stay At An Inn, Gwynn
Stroll arm-in-arm beneath mossy oaks and breathe the fragrance of magnolias and jasmine. Take your morning coffee on the veranda of a historic inn. Mount Dora, 25 miles and a century from Orlando, is a Deep South town of tearooms and antique markets.

6: Soar Into The Sky, Cy
Soar heavenward in the open cockpit of a 1940 Waco UPF-7 biplane in the last rays of sunlight. Drift over the uninhabited barrier islands of the Lee Island Coast and swoop low over Sanibel, Captiva, Boca Grande and Useppa. Goggles and pilot provided. There's no talking, so just hold hands and snuggle up.

7: You'll Think You're In Greece, Reese
Skip the pricey airfares and get romantic in Tarpon Springs, a real Greek town just north of Clearwater. Kiss the honey from Florida's best baklava off your sweetheart's lips. Light a candle for eternal love at the stunning St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Stroll the sponge docks and practice your Greek with the locals in an authentic Greek taverna. Feast on dolmades, pastitsio and moussaka.

8: Pick A Lover's Lane, Wayne
Captiva Island's tiny Andy Rosse Lane dead-ends in sheer romance at the Gulf of Mexico, where you can snuggle in one of the funky, Caribbean-colored cottages of Captiva Island Inn. Relax outdoor patios to live Parrothead music.

9: Push The Pedal To The Floor, Eleanor
At the Richard Petty Driving Experience (locations in Daytona Beach, Homestead and Orlando), you can buy your sweetie a 150-mph ride in a Winston Cup-style stock car. Vroom, vroom, baby!

But what if your guy wants major league sports, while you'd prefer a romantic getaway? Channel that testosterone! Head to Tampa Bay, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Buccaneers, the Lightning, Mutiny Soccer and four Major League Baseball spring training camps. After the game, slip away to Whispers, an intimate resort condo tucked behind a lush garden wall on tiny Treasure Island. White sands, dolphins, golden sunsets and massage therapists on call.

10: Now Win Her Heart, Bart
In the University of Florida Gators' hometown of Gainesville is a gracious Victorian mansion dating to the 1880s. The Sweetwater Branch Inn is covered in English gingerbread, and happens to be a very popular wedding spot in town. Hint, hint? Just west of the Florida State University Seminoles' Tallahassee campus is the classic Georgian style Allison House Inn in sleepy Quincy, once a wealthy Coca-Cola town.

11: Write On The Wall, Paul
Sweep her away to the outrageously unique Chalet Suzanne Country Inn & Restaurant, a quirky fairy tale castle in Lake Wales that has towers that lean sideways and miniature doorways to nowhere. The Balcony Room has a round gauze-draped bed and balcony, where you can sup like fairy tale lovers high above the dining room. Dine in your robes, if you please - service is by dumbwaiter. For an extra $60, write your initials or a love poem on a tile on the Autograph Garden wall.

12: Will You Dine, Madeleine?
Mmmm... mimosas, smoked salmon, caviar, Belgian waffles and fresh strawberries. Eggs Benedict, tender prime rib, rich pastas and artful salads, decadent tarts, soufflés and chocolate rum cakes. Shall I go on? OK, harps and saxophones and Christofle silver and monogrammed Limoges china. More? Fresh Florida grouper, Gulf shrimp, sushi and omelets to order. White linen and fresh flowers and Key lime pie. What better way to highlight your fine manners and exquisite taste than at an elegant Sunday brunch. Dress code is usually "resort casual" at The Breakers in Palm Beach and the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort in Miami.

13: Cat In The Hat, Matt?
Love me, love my kids? Easy! Charm them both at Portofino Bay Hotel, a romantic slice of Italy with a Universal Studios' flair. The kids' room is a movie set, with sailboat beds and street lamps, kid-size robes, Nintendo and on-site babysitting. And here's where you get to be the hero: their magic hotel key puts them instantly at the front of the line for every ride in the Universal Orlando theme parks.

14: Shell Out Some Dough, Joe
$7,500 - more or less - will buy you and your beloved exclusive use of Vizcaya, a glamorous 17th-century Italian palace, for a weekday evening of intimate dining. The lavish inner courtyard, balustraded terraces and formal gardens with fountains, statuary, mazes, grottos and the emerald lawns is booked for the affairs of diplomats, debutantes and kings - why not yours? The usage fee is $7,500 during the week and $10,000 on the weekend; permits, catering, flowers (and perhaps the ring?) are extra. What the heck, just go ahead and get married. Use of the gardens for an afternoon ceremony costs only $525.

15: Get In A Canoe, Lou
Imagine just the two of you in perfect synch, canoeing down the Santa Fe River beneath a full moon. Never mind the other lovers in canoes up ahead or paddling discreetly behind. The campfire burning at lovely Lily Spring seems just for you. Santa Fe Canoe Outpost (High Springs), a romantic adventure specialist, can make it happen.

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