CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Thanks to all of you who entered, as well as our return customers! We will be running the contest again, so if you haven’t already entered, do so today at www.thecabanasguesthouse.com

Needless to say, the bears (as well as the leather men, muscle boys, etc..) have come out of hibernation. The tourist season (among other things, if you know what we mean) is back in full swing and the forecast is sunny and warm from here on out…. Well at least for South Florida.

While the rest of the country is enjoying arctic winds, freezing temperatures and piles of dirty, dirty snow, sadly the coldest thing available in South Florida is a frozen Margarita on the beach. Just terrible isn’t it?

So, for those of you in the rest of the country who are suffering from cabin fever, it’s time to exchange your snow shoveling, sidewalk salting, windshield-ice-chipping-duties for a relaxing, rejuvenating, tropical getaway.

If you can make it down before the end of January, consider taking advantage of our weekday stay at The Cabanas Guesthouse and Spa with rates starting at only $119 per night. For more information, reservations or availability, call toll free (866) 564-7764 or (954) 564-7764.

We even checked flights from most major airports in all the cold areas and found prices as low as $180 round trip with little advance notification. Visit www.kayak.com to find flights from your area.

If you’re planning a trip down after this month, now is the time to make your reservations. Rooms are booking fast at this premeir winter getaway and are expected to fill quickly.

The Cabanas sits on a secluded waterfront property in the Wilton Manors area of Fort Lauderdale. Famous for its private and friendly gay clothing-optional setting, The Cabanas offers unique hospitality and service that is unmatched in comparison to other gay mens resorts. Perfectly located between the Wilton Manors Strip and Fort Lauderdale Beach, there’s nothing that can’t be easily accessed. Dining, nightlife, shopping and more, Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors have everything and anything you need for a perfect winter getaway. If you’ve never stayed at The Cabanas, we’re confident that you’ll come as a visitor and return as a friend. Visit us at www.thecabanasguesthouse.com and take a tour, or CLICK HERE to make reservations now.

We would like to thank everyone who participated by registering to win. We are also proud to announce that the FREE STAY SWEEPSTAKES will continue and we will be drawing another winner on April 30, 2010. If you are already in our database or have registered to win the previous sweepstakes, you will automatically be entered in the April 3oth sweepstakes.

If you have not registered, follow the link below and enter to win.

This is how it went recently for Caroline Leto and Venera Magazzu as they sipped lemonade on their couch in Dania Beach: “We’re not going to have a party,” said Magazzu, 97, insisting they are too old for such things.

“Oh, yes we are,” responded Leto, 96, who noted the two can still polka. “This is a big one.”

Indeed. A party celebrating 70 years together is a big deal for any pair. But a celebration of this couple’s love takes on special meaning, considering they had to keep silent about it for decades.

“You just couldn’t tell everyone we were lovers,” said Leto. “You tell people we’re friends, and some thought we were sisters.”

Leto and Magazzu downplay their pioneering role in the gay and community. But many of their friends and relatives talk it up anyway, marveling at how their love was able to transcend a lifetime’s worth of obstacles.

To mark their Aug. 17 milestone, members of Etz Chaim, a gay and congregation in Wilton Manors, are planning a party. They hope Leto and Magazzu will attend and show everyone how to do the polka.

“Honestly, I think they are more in love with each other than they were back then,” said longtime close friend and congregation member Gayle Scott. “Look at straight couples. You are lucky if you are married after seven years. … That is an amazing love story.”

In 1939 Leto and Magazzu met at a party in New York. Leto thought Magazzu was stylish. Magazzu thought Leto was funny.

After a courtship of about a year, Magazzu, a teacher, and Leto, a telegraph operator, moved into a tiny house in New York. They spent most of their lives there, with only close family members and closer friends knowing about their relationship.

Magazzu, a former Army medic, said she often fought the urge to tell others, and feared what “outsiders” would think. She believes society back then was more receptive to two women living together than two men — or at least less inquisitive.

“I think most people had their suions, but they didn’t really make a big deal about it because it was just two women,” she said. “They didn’t ask, and we just didn’t talk about it.”

Leto’s niece, Patricia Dillion, said she grew up believing the two were sisters and referred to them as aunts. One day, at a family party, an apparently tipsy Leto let Dillion in on a secret.

“She mentioned they got married,” said Dillion. “I was so happy, but then I got sad thinking that all that time they really couldn’t be upfront about it.”

In 1996, the couple registered as domestic partners in New York City. They said they did it because they felt the need to tell everyone about their life together.

Years later they moved to Florida, where they got more active in the gay and community, attending rallies and galas and recounting their story. They led the life of any Florida retiree couple, going on cruises, playing poker on Tuesday nights with friends. At one point, they adopted a pet monkey named Chi-Chi.

In 2006, as age slowed them down a bit, Magazzu put their story in a self-published book called “An Unadulterated Story: Young and Gay at 90.”

During a reporter’s recent visit, the two quibbled over where they had last seen a copy. Magazzu insisted it was in a bedroom. Leto said she saw it in the trunk of their car.

“OK, so if you know where everything is, then you look for it,” Magazzu huffed as she turned her head toward the kitchen.

Leto smiled. “Cute, isn’t she?”

If you’d like to celebrate an anniversary with your special someone, or just spend a weekend in style, book reservations at Fort Lauderdales best Gay Clothing Optional Resort – The Cabanas Guesthouse and Spa! With luxurious amenities, rich landscape and a refreshing saltwater pool, you cant go wrong at The Cabanas.  Visit  The Cabanas Website  today  and see for yourself.