Remember how your heart fluttered when you first drove across the John Ringling Bridge and saw aquamarine waves dancing under a bright blue sky? Remember your first bite of stone crab claws at The Colony? Or standing barefoot on the cool, soft sand of Siesta Beach at twilight and watching the setting sun paint the sky in shifting shades of pink, gold and purple? We’ll never forget what sparked our passion for this place; and, as in any great romance, we keep discovering enchanting new reasons, some rational, some sentimental, and some just delightfully quirky, to fall in love all over again.

Because it’s the perfect car town.

We know it’s politically incorrect, but we just can’t help it. We love our cars. Our new Lexus LS 480, our BMW ragtop, our C-note Mercedes. Even our beat-up old Toyota Corolla. Is it our fault we live in the perfect car town?

Yes, we agree we need better mass transit. And we’ll fight to get it. But what could be more exhilarating than coming back from St. Armands, with the Beach Boys blasting on the stereo, and cresting the bridge to suddenly see our fabulous new skyline laid out before us? It’s a real “this is my town” kind of moment. We always feel a lump in our throats.

We bitch about the traffic, but in all honesty it’s much more manageable than in most Florida cities. Have you been to Orlando lately? Or Naples?

And what wonderful blessing has given us perfect automotive geography? Everything is 15 minutes away. And even the longer trips—out to the south end of Siesta for a sunset dinner at Ophelia’s, or up Gulf of Mexico Drive to the Colony—become magic journeys of astonishing postcard views. The turquoise water, the gorgeous homes, the Season of Sculpture whizzing past . . .

Anyone for a drive?

Because real estate is suddenly dirt cheap.

Our beautiful real estate boom may be over, but Sarasota always finds a silver lining. Bargains are everywhere.

High-end homes are seeing million-dollar reductions, both on the keys and inland. Those high-rises downtown are suddenly affordable, and for the first time in years, you can get a real nice house in a real nice neighborhood for under $200,000.

And what do you get for your money? You get much more than a piece of real estate. You get a share in Sarasota, with an amenity package that puts any other town to shame. Thirty-five miles of white sand beaches, world-class culture and social life, year-round golf, tennis and boating, the best dining in Florida and a sophisticated lifestyle no matter what your income.

The Europeans have already started arriving, driven by a weak dollar and offers they can’t refuse. And smart locals are upgrading. We personally plan to watch the economic return from our new penthouse overlooking our new urban downtown. It was a steal at $599,000.

And we don’t even care that a similar unit went just last week for $549,000.

Because the most popular girl in town is 95 years old.

With her ever-present dark glasses, imperious bearing and husky European accent, Ulla Searing has a Garbo-like aura. But unlike the reclusive actress, this Sarasota philanthropist definitely doesn’t want to be alone.

The 95-year-old Searing, a Swedish native who says her Viking heritage accounts for her remarkable stamina, is out on the town every night, at performances, concerts, art openings and gala affairs, many of them thrown in her honor. Her face appears regularly in society-column photo spreads, often with beaming arts leaders by her side.

It’s no wonder they’re her biggest fans. In the last few years, Searing has donated millions in legacy gifts to Sarasota cultural organizations and educational institutions.

She pledged $9 million in endowment funds to the Ringling Museum of Art, which named its new wing for her and her late husband, Arthur. Her generosity also encompasses a $2 million gift to New College, $4 million to the Ringling College of Art and Design (both of those institutions have named buildings for her, too), $2 million to the Asolo Repertory Theatre and $1 million to Circus Sarasota.

But as a smiling Searing stresses, “They’re not getting the money until I’m dead, and they’re going to have to wait a long time.”

That spunky attitude endears Searing to people like Michael Edwards, the Asolo’s producing artistic director.

“Ulla has such vitality, such a passion for life, at an age when many people have retreated from life,” Edwards says. “She’s got a wicked sense of humor, and she’s so engaged. At intermission of a show, she’ll tell me exactly what she thinks.”