Key West

Marc and I took a kid-free vacation so I figured it was something worth blogging about! Marc's best friend since 1st grade, Jeff, got married in Key West, FL and Marc was the best man. I know we wouldn't have just planned a random beach vacation without kids, so I'm very glad Marc had the honor of being in Jeff's wedding so that we could make a vacation out of it.

We left early Thursday morning and arrived in The Conch Republic (yes, we did eat some conch fritters while we were there) in the early afternoon. I had planned to sit my very white self in a beach chair that afternoon, but apparently, most luggage from Miami to Key West doesn't show up. So after spending an extra hour at the airport to file a report for Marc's lost suitcase (I had everything I needed in my carry-on... I mean, how big does a bag have to be for a few swimming suits and a couple dresses??) we were off to the hotel. We checked in at our beautiful beach resort and quickly headed out to the beach... just not in our swim suits because Marc didn't have his. So we settled for a mojito at the bar on the beach. Not too shabby!

After relaxing a bit, we headed to Duval street for some dinner. The best way for me to describe Duval street, or Key West for that matter, is that it's a more laid back version of Austin (6th street) just set on an island. Wouldn't college have been so much better if it was on an island in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico?? The whole town is care-free and casual. I LOVED it!

We ate some delicious fried food, included the conch fritters I mentioned above, and just walked up and down the street for a while. We ended up back at the hotel and sat out by the pool just talking with Jeff and his family before calling it a night.

In the morning, we stuffed ourselves with a delicious breakfast on the beach and then parked our rumps in beach chairs for the day. We didn't even eat lunch that day! Who would complain about this hotel? Check out the scenery! They did beach chair and towel service and even handed out popsicles in the middle of the afternoon! (Our resort fee covered that, I'm sure)

Marc had to go to the room to get ready for the rehearsal, so I took advantage of some free time and had a massage. When that was over, I was just in time to take some pictures of the wedding party rehearsing before we all headed out for the rehearsal dinner.

The rehearsal dinner was at Ernest Hemmingway's house. What a cool place! It was built something like 160 years ago (I don't remember exactly because the hosts of the party kept passing out mojitos during the tour). I guess Hemmingway was a cat fan because he had something like 60-70 cats and some of those had 6 fingers on each paw... freaky! The 44 cats that still live there are descendants of his original cats. We got up close and personal with one of the freaky 6-fingered cats. His house was the first in Key West to have a swimming pool and it cost more than the house did. Again, I don't remember the specifics...

Marc did his Best Man speech which was awesome! He reminisced about the trouble he and Jeff got into as kids while also capturing the great qualities of their friendship. I could tell that Jeff and his family were very honored by Marc's speech and I know Marc was relieved when it was over. After the dinner, we headed back to Duval street and went to Sloppy Joe's Bar, which is a place that Hemmingway would go to often. We figured we should complete the Hemmingway tour!

On Saturday, we basically followed the same routine we had created Friday: Late breakfast and lots of beach time. That evening was the beach wedding that didn't disappoint! It was beautiful and everything went perfectly! I will gladly attend any beach wedding or vow renewal that I'm invited to. :)

I didn't get pictures from the reception because the battery in my camera died. It was actually my sister's camera and I didn't get the charger from her at the time that I stole her camera. Oops. So, I'll leave you with a view from our hotel.

Also, THANK YOU to the grandparents for watching Anna and Joseph so we could enjoy this vacation!! :)