~~~ Mele Kalikimaka: Reflections on Family, Friends & Beaches ~~~ Vero Vine ~~~ Vero Beach, FL

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Mele Kalikimaka! This morning, as so many of my early mornings, I greeted the sunrise on the beach. The Christmas sunrise did not disappoint.

For reasons I cannot fully explain, the Hawaiian Merry Christmas speaks to my heart and soul more than any other tongue’s Christmas greeting. I have spent Christmases in China: “Sheng Dan Quai le”; Germany: “Frohe Weihnachten”; Mexico: “Feliz Navidad” but never in Hawaii. I may love Mele Kalikimaka because I fondly remember Don Ho’s AND Bing Crosby’s versions of “Mele Kalikimaka” sung in so many of those corny Christmas Specials on television in the 60s and 70s. “Mele Kalikimaka speaks to me even more than Bing’s infamous “White Christmas”. It is a song that brings a smile to my face and visions of ALL the happy, cozy and magical memories of family Christmas traditions. (And, lets face it, dreaming of a “White Christmas” is simply a dream; especially in Florida!)

More recently, Mele Kalikimaka has become my theme song for the Treasure Coast, Vero Beach and the Beach Lifestyle. It is one of my most played songs in iTunes ANY time of the year and happens to be blasting from my iPad at this very moment. The Beach Lifestyle is as much a part of my family traditions and legacies as Christmas. Beaches are what I envision when I recall the fondest memories of grandparents, parents, siblings, children, friends and dogs. The recollection of fun times with these beings on beaches around the world warms my heart and soul.

As we wrap up the “Old Year” of 2014 and open the door to 2015, Vero Vine wishes ALL of you a VERY MERRY MELE KALIKIMAKA!

Happy New Year too and look for Vero Vine to kickoff 2015 with it’s MOST EXCITING Contest yet: Vero’s Beach Lifestyle Photo Contest.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSUT8Inl14

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Sherry Nist

Sherry Nist joined VeroVine.com as a writer, strategizer and promoter of Vero Beach's first and only digital grapevine in August 2014.In 2011 she founded eMedia Connections, a social media marketing & public relations consultancy while living in Charlottesville, Virginia.She is a "serial" entrepreneur who grew up outside Washington, DC, surrounded by technology and mainframe punch cards as the daughter of an IBM Systems Engineer.

Born in Huntsville, Alabama, Sherry lived in Mexico City for two of her elementary school years; this began her love for language, culture, Spanish and the adventures of living abroad.Sherry graduated with a BA from the University of South Carolina Honors College in Columbia, South Carolina with a double-major in Economics & International Studies.After graduation, her wanderlust took her to Steamboat, CO;San Francisco, CA; Beijing, China; Washington, DC; Nyack, NY and both Fredericksburg & Charlottesville, VA for the last 15 years.She moved to Vero Beach to stick her toes, permanently in the sand in early 2014.

Sherry's professional work experience has been in the Finance & Wireless Telecom worlds.Her skills include training/teaching, writing/editing/publishing, strategic planning, regulatory affairs, technical & consumer marketing and foreign languages.Spanish and Mandarin Chinese are her specialties.

When not creating, writing and roaming online, Sherry enjoys her two teen daughters:Josephine, 21 & Camille, 18; surf fishing for the "big one"; greens & beach golf; walking Vero's beaches; biking & swimming; shooting photos on her smart phone; hanging at Waldo's & Dario's and socializing/exploring all over Central & South Beach.