Kitchen & Bath Business - July/August 2019 - 10

July/August 2019

e d i t o r ' s

n o t e

EMBRACE THE ADVENTURES

y question for this issue's masthead has to do with the ideal vacation.
A lot of the answers covered the quintessential beach trip - everyone loves those - but some of them took on the unexpected. I have
had one of those kinds of vacations this year, and it was definitely
a step out of my comfort zone - at first.
My boyfriend Scott has a bucket list of goals he wants to achieve,
and touring Staniel Cay - an island off of the Bahamas - was one of them.
While we were planning this trip, my first aversion was to the prop plane we
would have to take from Fort Lauderdale - a two-hour flight that would surely
terrify me. I then learned we would be swimming with nurse sharks, which I
firmly said I would just sit back and watch Scott do. Feeding the pigs sounded
good - until I found out they were feral and sometimes bite.
What a Debbie Downer I was! But I did agree to the whole thing because
it really meant a lot to my boyfriend. I planned to tighten up during the six
weeks I had to prepare and embrace the adventure.
We boarded the eight-seater plane piloted by a fairly young guy wearing flip
flops, and that was when I started to really become scared. I didn't want to look
out the window, but I had to do something to ease the claustrophobia. First we
were over land, then sooo much water, and then it was just clouds.We touched
down safe and sound, and first on the agenda was to visit with the sharks.
I had been nervous about wading around with apex predators, but once
out of the plane my attitude totally changed. Our guides told us not to pull
the sharks'tails or tickle them under the chin (who does that?), and we would

Scott and I are holding a baby
pig on Staniel Cay, and a photo
from my unexpected visit with
Rose Dostal at her showroom in
Hudson, Ohio.

be fine. It was so amazing to have them brush up
against us like a softer version of sandpaper - totally
used to humans.
Next was swimming with pigs, which also carried a warning. We were to only feed them from
the boat because once we were on land with them,
they had a tendency to ambush the person with
the food - and we saw this happen! No one got
hurt, but these are wild animals, and there is a level
of respect they command.We jumped off the boat
to visit with some of the smaller pigs, and we even
held some!
The vacation to Staniel Cay was a blessing because this year has not been an easy one for me.I lost
my aunt last month, and I am still reeling from the
blow. But something remarkable happened while
I was recently in Ohio getting her affairs in order.
I had just come out of a meeting with her lawyer
in a small town called Hudson. I was sitting in my
parked car checking emails and was just about to
drive away when I happened to look up.There was
a kitchen and bath showroom beckoning me, and
as I was glancing at the storefront, I knew I had
seen it before.
It was none other than RMD Designs - the
showroom of our very own Editorial Advisory
Board member, Rose Dostal. I had seen her sign
and showroom in a video she posted on social media, and I couldn't believe I was right outside. I
stepped in to say hello, and the visit made an otherwise gloomy trip shine a little brighter.
So remember to smell the roses, embrace the
adventures, and know that life often does have a
few nice surprises in store.

CHELSIE BUTLER
Executive Editor
chelsie.butler@emeraldexpo.com
Twitter: @kbbchelsie

/ JULY-AUG. 2019 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

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Kitchen & Bath Business - July/August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - July/August 2019