Holiday Greetings from Useppa

Oh, Boy!!!  It's December!! 
How did THAT happen?!?!?

Neighbors came back to Useppa and now, they're planning to leave....to go home, wherever that is, for Christmas.  The weather is absolutely SPECTACULAR and is forecast to be even better.

FOR THOSE HERE FOR THE HOLIDAY - Parties and events are planned!
                       Useppa's Traditions

 

Dec 24th, Afternoon
Santa arrives, by boat and is met by all the kids, arriving at the beach ON THE FIRE TRUCK!!

December 24th, The Wassail Bowl
We all meet at the Collier Inn, where we sing Christmas carols, eat decadent cookies made by the staff and drink a very special Egg Nog.  The evening ends, calamitously, singing The Twelve Days of Christmas, led by a long time member, assigning groups to enact "their day".  Hilarious!!!  Unforgettable!!!
 

                                           

Dec 25th, Christmas Day!

Lots of small supper parties and Open Houses and the Collier Inn always has a great spread!  It is very low key....very "family"....just wonderful!
                                   

Dec 27th, OPEN HOUSE AT THE MUSEUM
                      

December 28th, POA Holiday Party
              BLIMEY!!!!  IT'S THE PIRATES OF USEPPA

 

                 Party for Property Owners Association, only.  JOIN!!

          And, dig out your costumes!!  Be a Pirate!!  Aaaaarrrrr!!

Dec 30th, Useppa's Annual Beach Croquet 

For all players, all levels of experience...or none.  Awards for the Winners.  A great day of fun!!

December 31st.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
        Celebrate with a party!!!!  At the Collier Inn....or
                           

Join the bonfire on the beach....or party in private.  Regardless, most gather at the "After Party" on the Pro Shop patio, and all  dance, sing and toast in the New Year...under the stars.

HAVE WE FOUND PARADISE...OR WHAT?

           We look forward to seeing everyone back....soon!!~

        

Listing on Useppa

Though it is really sad to lose long-time friends on Useppa, we are honored when they ask us to help them find a family that will love and enjoy their beautiful home...and Useppa, as much as they and their extended family have.

Take a peek at this, click on the link to see the tour and think about it.  Who do you know that would be perfect for Coquina Cottage and Useppa?  

                                          301A Coquina Cottage, Useppa FL 33924, USA

Two Great Opportunities on Useppa

Great New Listings

Useppa Island - Best Opportunity
513 Useppa - Villa with just under 1800 sq. ft.
$425,000

Waterfront and dock at your door, endless views north to Charlotte Harbor and Boca Grande. Gulf fishing? Your dock is 4 miles south of Boca Grande Pass. Useppa Village, 3/2 attached villa directly on the water, priced right and with owner financing available. No lender requirement for flood insurance! Enjoy all the amenities and activities of the Useppa Island Club, as well as the most welcoming boating community on the Paradise Coast of SW Florida. Offered fully furnished with golf car, this home has a 25 foot waterfront deck, plus huge wrap and rear decks for lots of outdoor living space. First floor has spacious living/dining and open kitchen, with a small master and bath, while the second floor has a more spacious master and bath, with a guest bedroom or studio-office.  View the Property Details

309 Useppa - 3 bedroom with a private dock
$785,000

This is the perfect little Useppa Island cottage, nestled on the shore of protected Rum Cove, with private dockage for up to a 40' boat and a view across the Intracoastal Waterway to Cabbage Key. An east/west exposure, both sunrise and,  sunset, bathe the home in color and light, offering magical views. This 2-bedroom, 2-bath home boasts "Old Florida" design, open architecture, hardwood floors, a wood-burning fireplace and great cross breezes, as it sits among the treetops on a generous lot.  Positioned amidst some of the best fishing and boating there is, anywhere, and is less than a 10-minute boat ride from the Gulf. View the Property Details

Lots of Activity on Useppa

We have been BUSY...making presentations about Useppa and showing property to 266 people,  made up of caravans with five Michael Saunders offices, presentations at MSC sales meetings, hosting visiting Realtors from several offices of Sotheby's, Pepper Frazier & Co., Nantucket, and Coyle Realty, Tampa. We still have major presentations scheduled with two Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, next week, and a regional meeting of Sarasota Realtors, in October, plus two more caravans in October.

Last week, we entertained three journalists that specialize in Resorts, Real Estate and Food & Wine for two days....and a past editor of Gulf Shore Life, gone Freelance.  We also entertained the head of Sales from DuPont Registry, who visited with a group of friends, camping in for a day. They all fell in love with the Island, gave us industry and advertising advice and promised us great press....along with the potential for at least two weddings.  Here come the brides.....

For additional exposure, we have been donating our cottage for charitable events and, thus far, have been sold as the highest bid item at the Women’s Council of Realtors annual fund raiser. We've also offered our cottage for three additional charity events.  One that sounds like a lot of fun is the Annual BYOBachelor Auction in Sarasota, to benefit breast cancer. 

BYOBachelor Auction
Buy Your Own Bachelor

  Another charitable event, the Sarasota Exotic Car Fest to benefit Cerebral Palsy (a VERY BIG TIME event). 

And, referred by our neighbor, Karen Able, we are supporting an event for St John Neumann Catholic High School, (their daughter’s school  in Naples) a well-attended and very well-funded event, year after year.  All of these events are during Season and are highly publicized.   So, lots of exposure!!

And, for the first time, Useppa Island homes can be seen on Luxury Portfolio International.  Just go to www.LuxuryPortfolio.com, click on “HOMES” and enter our MLS zip code 33924 to see several Useppa properties.  And, last, we were introduced in Gasparilla Magazine, presenting properties on Useppa....a whole page! 

This coming selling season is going to be exciting!!!  And, it is almost upon us!! Stay tuned....

Useppa Big Chill....

Well....we did it!  Seven couples plus one - the Taylors, McColgans, Trinos, Hoovers, Beissweingers, Greers, Ligabels and Kay Chapin (Charlie was under the weather....we really missed him) managed to eat, sleep, drink, climb hills, crest rocky bluffs, boat, eat, sail, hike, row, meditate, drink, eat, walk, play croquet, beach comb, cook, eat, clean, drink, read, discuss, eat, joke, nap, drink, hoot and holler, laugh, cry, sing....in the rain, fog, sun and wind and under dark skies....literally, live together, happily...for 5 days, sharing only two bathrooms. And, to a person, felt it was an absolutely FANTASTIC USEPPAN EXPERIENCE!

Carolynne Krusi and Paul Beissweinger were our incredible hosts in concert with the McColgans, who were  our boating transportation..  The base of operation was Beissweinger's 100+ year-old home, The Colonel's House, 100 yards from the Little Cranberry docks, up an incline and in an ideal position to oversee Little Cranberry Harbor, which still serves the working lobster men of Little Cranberry Island, as well as summer residents and tourists that visit during the season.  It was perfect for us....8 bedrooms on three floors with plenty of space to "be"...both inside and outside.

The Colonel's House

Little Cranberry Island Harbor

The yellow house you see on the left margin of the picture is 

The Colonel's House aka Beissweinger's

The First Day was scattered arrivals.  The Greers came the furthest....from Orcas Island, WA.  They arrived Sunday night, before everything started and stayed with the McColgans at the their home in Bass Harbor...15 minutes, at most, from Little Cranberry Island and ended up talking and laughing until the wee hours of the morning.    You know what happens when people come east, still operating on "west coast time".

 Monday brought the rest of the gang in, sporadically.  Easy travels....no problems, en route.   Everyone got to choose their bedrooms, high bid/first choice.  All rooms were cute, quaint and perfect.  After a turkey dinner, sans cranberry (???) sauce, everyone settled in the living room.... 

with after dinner drinks and cookies..  

The most impressive entrance was...

LOBSTAH MAN

 AND

 HIS LOVING WIFE

MRS. LOBSTAH

WITH HER GOOD FRIEND, "LOBSTAH SUE"

you will note, a double-fisted drinker

Up and out early on Tuesday, we went to Acadia National Park and began our hiking day at The Jordan Pond House.  We split into two groups...."the walkers" and "the climbers."  Both groups encompassed "the talkers."

The Plan....walk around Jordan Pond...3+ mile hike, with a detour up and over The Bubbles for those that wanted to do a little more than hike.

The climb added an additional 3+ miles of vertical trekking. We were then to meet back on the lawn in front of the restaurant to partake of The Jordan Pond House's famous

 Popovers and Strawberry Jam.

The Jordan Pond House was built in the 1870s, starting as a small family business.  The Rockefeller family later purchased the restaurant and surrounding property and gifted it to the park, to ensure it's ongoing  operation.  The Rockefeller family has donated much of the land within the park, engineered and built the carriage roads and bridges within the park and have allowed the park to use much of their personal land for the  park's activities and attractions.  We are very grateful!!

Stay Tuned for Day 3....

It’s raining….it’s pouring…..
 

 

…and the old man was snoring, last night. This afternoon, we got an inch in under an hour; over two inches for the day.  The good thing about the rain is that the afternoons really cool down as the breezes kick up.  We’ve had some great 70-something degree cocktail hours, celebrated outside.  Not bad for August!  

We got a note from the Welch’s who have a friend…their dog’s sibling was owned by that friend/couple who lived in Ohio…who happened to see a Florida license tag…..that said "Usseppa".... definitely out of place in Ohio.  So...they took a picture!

 

Sherry put the word out  "Who’s Volvo is this?"  She never said how many answered, but “numerous” residents were certain they were correct.  I know I did.  But,  Sherry says…

 “And the winner is ........... Mary Bacon (& Terry West, on his second try).  The car belongs to Peter & Sally Bergsten.” 

                                            I should have known that!!!   

I think we have shared that the Island is lonely without you guys.  See for yourselves!!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Soooo pretty, but....no one here to enjoy

 

 

Except...maybe a few of us!!!

 

Some of the action Useppa did see was a group of Realtors’, walking the Island, checking out “The Useppa People” listings, then enjoying some hilarity over lunch at the Collier.
 

        Though...we seemed to have lost a couple.  Somewhere???

 

This was the first of several caravans planned. ….and it was lots of fun.  It was great to get a “real world” perspective from those in the thick of things and to get some creative ideas for attracting island-loving potential buyers to Useppa.  This caravan actually resulted in a visit being scheduled for a  perfect-sounding buyer…one who will be coming with her own flats boat and spending a couple of days to test the waters…so to speak.

Soooo...here we sit.  Not even enough of us for Happy Hour.

YOUR USEPPA ISLAND HOME MISSES U!

 

 

 

 

WOW!!!  July is gone....

And, Useppans are on the move!  The Abells are really on the move...boating around Useppa in their new ride, "A Good Year", running out of gas (sshhh) in Boca Grande Pass?!?!?  NOT nearly as exciting as a 30-year High School Reunion, especially when you look like Karen...or a trip to California...and a trip to Italy!!!

  Do any of us know if John and Karen are secretly retired?!?!?
                                       What a summer!

And, we heard from the Swigerts, who logged 6,950.7 miles in 58 days, across 25 states and DC,  actually spending 152 hours, 48 minutes, in the car.  Lessons learned:

This country is really big! A northern route is more interesting than a southern route.Avoid Interstate highways as much as possible.There is not much to see between Chicago and the Rockies. This is important - Start looking for gas when the tank is half full and top off as soon as you can.Carry food and water - just in case.There is a lot of unused land.Saw a couple large wind farms - Wonder why there aren't more. Fruita, CO is a great place - Home of Mike the Headless Chicken.Shane looked great in the Bolder-Boulder 10K. Jackson Hole, WY is a neat place with good beer.The Grand Tetons are big.There are a lot of mosquitos  in Yellowstone but they don't seem to bother you.There is a lot of water in Yellowstone.Yellowstone is a very scary place.The East entrance route out of Yellowstone is spectacular. Deadwood, SD could do a better job in re-creating its past.Missed the Devil's Tower - Should have done my homework.Mt Rushmore was impressive but a little goofy that a guy would actually build it. Hampton Inn rooms are free if the fire alarm goes off. McDonalds is better than A&W. Driving thru rain around Chicago expressways is not very much fun.Chicago toll booths accept EZ Pass even though they don't say they do.  Starbucks will replace a bad drink and give you a gift certificate for another one. Just ask.  

                               All this and not one picture!!!!

NEWS FROM THE REAL ESTATE FRONT..... 

No....we have not sold anything....yet!!  BUT, we have presented our Useppa Island listings to 17,994 Realtors' in Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Sarasota and Manatee counties via intra-MLS e-Blasts, talking about "The Secrets of Useppa".  This will continue every two weeks for the duration of summer...at least. Our primary goal, at this point, is to ensure increased market awareness of Useppa, on a broader basis than it has seen in the past, to create strong momentum going into late fall and the Season.

We have September visits planned to Luxury Home Agency affiliates in Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs and Sanibel/Captiva...and are working on invitations from some affiliates on the east coast.

We have had our first Caravan...10 Realtors' from Lakewood Ranch and Long Boat Key with the next one planned for the 12th...a dozen Realtors' from Siesta Key.  Result - a potential buyer scheduled to visit....bringing her own flats boat!!  In September, we will host Realtors' from Bradenton and Sarasota.

www.UseppaIslandHome.com web site has been the #1 website in all of Michael Saunders & Co...600+ agents, for months!

Sooo, back at our Useppa Island Home, the tried and true...all six of us, maintain their positions at the Collier Bar, every Happy Hour...and wish you all would c'mon down.

And, doesn't this make you want to pop in...just for the sunset??

                            Check out Brian's Blog

               "Where and What is Useppa Island, Part I".  

                            wwwUseppaIslandHome.com

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