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Soaring temperatures, high humidity, endless sunny days and tropical nights – that’s Vero Beach in the summer. Time to dress down, load up with sunscreen, and be thankful we live in a time when air conditioning is standard.

When Eleanor Phillips talks about the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, the excitement in her voice is evident as she describes the Bahamas’ most recognized national park and the first of its kind in the world. It’s also well-deserved, as the park, with more than 112,000 acres of beaches, estuaries, reefs, blue holes and forested cays, attracts thousands of visitors every year and supports thriving tourism-based businesses.

Imagine one whole day to yourself at the luxurious Vero Beach Hotel & Spa – what would you do? The oceanfront pool is a perfect spot for relaxing in the sun, enjoying a favorite cocktail (brought by a cabana valet, of course). A stroll on the beach is a must!. In the evening, an extraordinary dinner awaits at Cobalt, the resort’s chef-inspired restaurant and lounge. Then sleep like royalty in one of the 113 spacious and elegantly appointed guestrooms. What could be better? Everything you need can be found right here in Vero Beach.

In 1986, when the Challenger explosion shocked the world, I was a junior in high school stuck home with the flu. I was annoyed that my one chance to watch cheesy daytime television was interrupted by what I naively thought was a hiccup – a mistake to be corrected with parachutes and a mulligan.

Weighty matters have been on my mind since my recent chat with Dianna DiCosimo, clinical nutrition coordinator at Indian River Medical Center. It’s disturbing enough to learn our collective waistbands continue to enlarge.

There is a new breed in town. They’re young standard bred horses stabled and trained for harness racing across the U.S. and around the globe. Located on 60 acres west of downtown Vero Beach, these future pacers and trotters are enjoying a privileged lifestyle.

When Susan Ritter spied a colorful plate lying on a dusty shelf in the back room of a Winter Park junk shop she snapped it up.

Year-round residents Jocelyn (“Joss”) and Norman Bierman speak with unabashed enthusiasm about their 10 years at Windsor.

Buying a home during a real estate bust might seem daunting, but the experience was pleasurable and glitch-free for Gainesville transplants Dr. and Mrs. Wayne and Maggie Creelman.

“Often people want to put two hats on me; one of a writer and one of a physician,” Dr. Abraham Verghese tells his audience at a recent meeting of the Indian River Literary Society. “But I will tell you honestly that I don’t see myself that way at all. I see myself completely as a physician. For me, all the writing comes out of the great privilege of being a physician.”

Ole! It's time for Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican holiday celebrated on May 5 that commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces in 1862.

When most of us think about the ocean we envision an idyllic scene: sun-splashed, blue-green waters, shimmering waves rolling to the shore and perhaps a fish or two jumping in search of food. Then there’s Kemit-Amon Lewis who will tell you all is not picture-perfect beneath the surface, especially when it comes to coral reefs.

In 1840, at the time of the Second Seminole War, the William C. Forbes acting troupe, which included musicians and a dancer named Miss Rosalee, traveled south from Georgia on the Florida, a steamship that made the run twice weekly from Savannah to Picolata on the St. John’s River. The actors’ destination was St. Augustine, 18 miles due east, where they were booked for a two-week engagement.

In the midst of the village of Windsor stands a spacious and stately house which quietly and appropriately manifests its Southern antecedents.

Serge is still on the run from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as well as from authorities in local jurisdictions and various SWAT teams, because of the long trail of dead bodies in his wake.

Until a few years ago, social networking sites like Facebook were used almost exclusively by 20-somethings preoccupied with staying connected with circles of friends via photo-sharing and clipped messaging.

How important is tourism to the economic vitality of a region? John Myers will tell you that on a scale of 1 to 10 it ranks right up there at the top.

Harnessing the sea’s currents to provide a clean and renewable source of energy is an exhilarating concept. It is believed that the power of the world’s ocean currents and waves is vast enough to meet all our global energy needs – now and in the future.

Among the 500 million people who watched Neil Armstrong take that first tentative step on the moon on June 20, 1969, was a tall, 40-year-old Italian-American named LeRoy (Roy) LoPresti.