A sunny day in Cape Haze, and a producer with a Seinfeld idea
“You think you can keep Staycation out of Florida? We're moving in, lock, stock and barrel.” — Evan Michael, host of Staycation, opening the episode
It was a bright, wind-off-the-Gulf day in Cape Haze — the kind Southwest Florida hands out in the spring and everyone else pays airfare for. The crew rolled in, the palms did their thing, and the producer pitched something that had nothing to do with the usual property tour. He wanted the episode to feel like a sitcom. Specifically, he wanted it to feel like Seinfeld. So the title card came up in that unmistakable yellow oval with red script over the front of the house, and the show opened cold — on a phone call.
He arrives by golf cart. There is a running bit about the pronunciation of “golf cart.” There is a tea that is handed over specifically so that someone can say they'd like to tee it up on the mini-golf course later. And when Evan finally sees the whole property, he lands the joke the whole thing was built toward: “Seaside Boca — it feels like I'm at Boca Vista.” If you know, you know. Del Boca Vista, Phase One. That was the day.
