my tiny voice in this big world: Key West

Waiting for Sunset - Ft. Zachary Taylor

Readjusting to reality is tiring.... especially returning from an island adventure! Here are some pictoral highlights with some extra *highlighted* memorable tidbits.

American came through as far as our flight not being canceled or even late, but

*NO COMPLIMENTARY SNACKS on AMERICAN AIRLINES*

are served, just a beverage and the option to buy snacks. This was a bit... unexpected, so we were starved when we arrived in Miami!

We made our first Florida stop in South Beach, at the same time as some big beach festival... wish we'd known! No parking, lots of people - very cool scene but we opted for the Lincoln "mall". It is an interesting outdoor, several blocks long mall and

*EVERYONE WALKS THEIR DOGS, SNAKES, ALLIGATORS AND SKUNKS!*

Wish we had more pictures of that, but I think seeing these creatures among The Gap and Starbucks was slightly shocking. And fun! We likely would have had several days of entertainment had we just stayed in South Beach!

Me Behind a Plexiglass fountain at Lincoln Center Mall, Miami Beach

Our first meal in Florida we decided to try to stick with food items we would not ordinarily eat or were regionally popular or at least sounded that way!! We started off with a tomato, cucumber, cilantro, raw tuna and salmon tartar appetizer drenched in wasabi. Just for the record, we pretty much never eat fish, and when we do it's never raw. Anyway, we loved it!

*DESPITE BEING PREPARED FOR WONDERFUL KEY WEST SUNSETS, OUR BEST SUNSET WAS WITNESSED IN SOUTH BEACH!*

We spent the night in a Comfort Inn in Florida City.

*NO COMMENT*

Early Sunday, after a bit of messing with that dang convertible, we drove off South on Route 1, 120+ miles from our exotic destination. The weather was phenomenal and we were really excited to be driving. Once we made it out onto Key Largo we began to take in the multiply blue hued waterways, island pelicans and hot,

*HOT*

T Driving His Convertible (wishing it was a Corvette, not a Sebring!)

Florida sun. So happy we rented that convertible.

T at Seven Mile Bridge

We saw.... The Seven Mile Bridge, sailboats, many keys, lighthouses, sunscreen, one unknown sea creature, old bridges, silly tourists, all the places we want to bring our girls back to visit and smooth sailing (or cruising) straight to Key West. Once on KW, we decided to drive down Route 1 through the old town. I had printed a map of old KW off google before we went, so we used that to navigate around. It was adorable upon first sight. I can't say that I ever mastered my way around, but I certainly can find all the things we wanted to see.

Can You Find T? Our Hotel Pool

We checked into the Sheraton (more on that later) and spent the day at the pool, tried a Mojito

*YUMMO*

Mojito - lime, mint, rum, soda.... delicious!

and went to Fort Zachary Taylor for our first Keys sunset. This would have been a great venue for snorkeling had we known AND we probably should have visited the Fort. Instead, we lounged by the windy shore waiting, and waiting, and waiting... for a sunset that was, well, mediocre. But it was fun! We figured out that the brilliant colors I was seeing had a lot to do with my sunglasses, so we took a few pictures with my sunglasses in front the lens.

Sunset (booze cruise) at Ft. Zachary, compliments of my sunglasses!

*EVERYTHING LOOKS BETTER THROUGH UV FILTER SUNGLASSES! ;-)*

That evening, we found a little restaurant called Duffy's - one of the oldest on the island, and enjoyed an excellent dinner - T had Salmon and I had Chicken Alfredo (which I don't normally order - too buttery) and then took some Key Lime Pie back to our room.

*I NOW RANK KEY LIME PIE RIGHT UP THERE WITH CHOCOLATE!*

Monday morning we got ourselves up early, had a great breakfast at our hotel and went straight downtown to take one of those Old Time Trolley's everywhere. We spent all day with people mostly older than us (LOL) but learned many interesting facts about Key West that we would never had learned on scooters. Although,

*WE WILL RENT SCOOTERS NEXT TIME WE GO*

Some interesting Key West facts learned from Old Town Trolleys: most KW buildings have tin roofs to keep fires from spreading quickly, the last direct hit from a hurricane was in 1919, they used to harvest salt in old salt ponds that are now, well, just ponds, there are no natural beaches on Key West - all sand is brought in from the Bahamas, old KW is the original island - new KW is the section added by the Navy when they dredged up and nearly ruined the coral reef, Casa Marina is the first resort destination in KW - built by Flagler to attract tourists who now make up most of the revenue on the island, KW has heavy Bahamian and Cuban influences, making it extremely diverse in many ways - especially when all the white tourists show up! hehe Oh, and T!

*OLD TOWN TROLLEYS ONLY OPERATE DURING THE DAY - MAKE NO MISTAKE, LIKE WE DID, AND ASSUME THEY WILL BE THERE AFTER SUNSET TO TAKE YOU HOME!*

KW is the "2 x 4" island - 2 miles by 4 miles. The "Gold Coast" of KW likes in the center, where the one and only waterway where you can dock your own personal yacht in your backyard is home to KW's wealthiest citizens.

Kind of Self Explanatory!

On Monday we say Hemingway's house, the Southernmost Point (open to the public!), The Shipwrecker's Museum, The Little White House, Duval Street and all it has to offer and Mallory Square. We also ate at a Cuban Restaurant on Mallory Square.

At the Top of the Shipwrecker's Tower

*PLANTAIN CHIPS ARE AWESOME, AS ARE CUBAN BREAD DIPS, PULLED MEATS AND RICE*

We hung around Mallory Square for the sunset celebration, street performers and a bit of a better sunset. In general, it was just pure fun!!

When we got back to our hotel, we felt completely old, even though that trolley guy who sold us tickets said we looked to young to have children. (I didn't dare tell him I had a 10 year old after that compliment!) Our plan to try the jacuzzi never materialized in part due to the approaching stormy weather and our total exhaustion.

*WITH BETTER SHOES, WE COULD HAVE EASILY WALKED TO ALMOST EVERYTHING WE DID DOWNTOWN. THE TOUR WAS MORE FUN, THOUGH!*

We got some good sleep, then got up early to give snorkeling a try. We started out on a cold, blustery morning across the street from our hotel to Smathers Beach. There were seriously 3 other people on the beach, oh, and the sea grass rake machine operator. The rental booth had an "OPEN" sign flying but was clearly closed and I'm pretty sure nobody was even awake and getting ready to arrive. I guess when it's only in the low 60's and 40 mph wind gusts, beach life takes a break!! So, instead of snorkeling, T took a quick dip? saunter? knee high visit?? into the ocean. It was record breakingly short, but he did it! We then decided to try the pool again. We were again alone, but I found the pool water to be quite warm, especially when finished off by a visit to the jacuzzi.

After showering a packing, we had sadly our last breakfast at the Sheraton before heading out. It was really too short a visit, and we knew that, but we are both so glad we went. On our ride home, we stopped to walk the 7 mile bridge but the water was so choppy and the wind so gusty we didn't make it far. We also checked out the Dolphin Research Center in Islamorada. Very cool place, we will try that when we take the girls back someday.

Some lucky people who swam with dolpins (in 62 degree weather!) Brr!

*THOSE DOLPHINS WERE THE FIRST MARINE LIFE WE SAW, OTHER THAN THE UNIDENTIFIED SEA CREATURE OUR FIRST DAY!*

T was quite motivated to find the airport on our own, so we ended up arriving 4 hours early for our flight and sitting around for a long, long time in Miami International Airport. I would have preferred more shopping or another trip down South Beach, but instead we enjoyed yet another piece of Key Lime Pie (our third!). Then home.

*BRUSHING UP ON THAT SPANISH WOULD BE HIGHLY USEFUL IF HEADING TO MIAMI!!!*

Now, we're home... and I want to go back!