FAVORITE THINGS Ellin Goetz moved to Naples in 1984 after earning a masters degree in landscape architecture at the University of Massachusetts. She joined her thenboyfriend (now husband) Mike Watkins, who’d just started running his family business, The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club. Goetz grew up in Staten Island, New York, went to Vassar College, and was pretty much a Northeast gal until she was bit by the love bug. Currently, she works with all sorts of bugs, flowers, and plants as the president of Goetz + Stropes Landscape Architects Inc. in Naples and interacts with residential clients, neighborhoods, and businesses. “I work creatively with wonderful people who care about their outdoor environments,” she says. “I try to enlighten them on living more lightly on the land and respecting the natural rhythms all around us.” These values are put into action through her volunteer work with The Everglades Foundation, where she’s focused on healthy bodies of water. Below, Goetz’s top spots in town to…
MICHAEL OWENS
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Cheers to girls’ night out: “I love my beach at Third Avenue North; it’s a solid group of neighbors who congregate.”
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Bleu Provence
1. Enjoy a date: “Love the porch at Ridgway Bar and Grill, and Bleu Provence is great.” 2. Experience art: The Naples Botanical Garden. “I had a hand in designing it and in getting Naples curious about their environment.” 3. Be sporty: “I have ridden horses my whole life. In my summers in southern Vermont, near Woodstock, I enjoy carriage driving, a sport that takes you across country obstacles under a timing sequence.” 4. Eat with family: Kelly’s Fish House. “The beams inside are encrusted with shells and the servers have been there for 49 years. It’s fun to sit outside and feed the catfish.” 5. Have a business coffee: Tony’s Off Third 6. Get away from it all: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary 7. Get takeout: Siam Thai 8. Splurge on clothes: “J. McLaughlin is a corporate partner with The Everglades Foundation, and they have a line of merch designed to benefit it.” 9. Shop for gifts: Summerfields. “It’s owned by my good friend.” 10. Chill in the spa: “I used to love the spa at the Naples Beach Hotel, but that’s closing. So, I have to find a new place. Until then, beach walks will give me a natural pedicure.” —Christina Cush Siam Thai
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Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Grocery shop: “Wynn’s Market is so convenient and I also love Publix.”
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