Back from the Keys

Well, we are back from vacation and back to the real world. Here are a few highlights from the trip...

**The food was awesome and I don't think there was ever a time either of us were hungry. A typical day started with a yummy breakfast. Our favorite place was Blue Heaven; we could have eaten here every morning and gotten something different or gotten pineapple pancakes every day (they were awesome!!). During the day we would snack or eat an appetizer for lunch and we would do the same at dinner (maybe a couple of appetizers instead of just one). We were never hungry enough for a full meal - so sad because I am sure there were great items on the dinner menus. One thing I would like to point out is that most of the dining is outside in Key West. They try to make it bearable by having lots of fans and umbrellas but that didn't always help the heat index of 104 with 75% humidity. Brad and I decided that this must be what it feels like to be out and about in Mobile.

Breakfast at Blue Heaven, the first time.

On top of the La Concha Hotel, the tallest building in Key West (6 stories high)

**Because of the heat and humidity water activities are a must. One day we took a snorkel/kayak trip out the reef. It was very relaxing and so much fun seeing all the pretty fish. Kayaking was really neat too. Brad and I were in the kayak together and would have made a kick-butt race team but this was a tour around an island and together we were just too powerful for the guide - so Brad did most of the paddling, or should I say all of the paddling - ha! We spent another day on a private island just relaxing. Our beach chairs were under one of the straw umbrellas. We just need a corona and we could have made a commercial.

A view of the beach at Sunset Key as we leave on the ferry

**Sunsets in Key West are beautiful!! Every evening there is a Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square. There are street performers (like the crazy cat man) to watch and lots of vendors get snacks and souviners from while you are watching the sun set. We actually never made it to the real celebration because the balcony from our room over looked the street perfomers. Our room was the perfect place for a sunset. Well, really second best. The best place to watch the sun set was on a boat. One evening we took one of the sunset cruises and it was magically to watch the sunset into the ocean - just beautiful!

Going...

Going...

Gone.

**Driving Highway 1 - we flew into Miami and drove down Highway 1 to Key West. I thought it was going to be a bad drive filled with terrible bridges and it was nothing like that. The longest bridge was 7 miles. That is actually shorter than the bridge we drive every day to work. Also, these bridges were not like the big archy kind (I think of the TN River Bridge). They are flat and straight and there isn't too much too them. I thought we would be able to see a lot of water also but there were too mangrove trees between the road and the water. I am glad I can mark driving to the beginning and end of Highway 1 off my list of things to do.

The beginning and end of Highway 1

**Flying to and from Huntsville - if you are from Huntsville I am sure you have experienced this, but I feel like you always see someone you know at the Huntsville airport. Leaving Huntsville was no different for us. We ran into one of my former coworkers, John Hughes, before our 5 am flight. It was too early to be thinking about a camera so I didn't get a picture. We also almost ran into Brett, Elizabeth, Wheeler and Everett on our way back. Our flight was delayed in Atlanta so we missed them as they were headed to DC to see Momma and Bill.

I guess that wraps our trip. We had a great time in Key West and I would recommend it to anyone. Now it is time to get back to the real world...vacation was fun while it lasted!