Weekend in Key West

Oh and I WISH we were still there....

We've been wanting to visit the Keys since moving to Florida. It took 6 years, but this weekend, we took advantage of some work Bryan was doing in Miami and extended the trip south to the Keys. Katelyn and I hung out in the hotel pool all day Friday (and I mean ALL DAY..she was in the pool from 9:30am-3pm) while Bryan was working in the hotel (the Wyndam by the Miami Airport...very cool hotel with the most amazing fresh squeezed OJ in the am). While we were being pool rats, we noticed the Gator Baseball Team was staying at our hotel and they were also chilling by the hotel most of the day, then had a team meeting nearby (and they were nice to look at...). The night before, Bryan and I slept terribly with Katelyn in the room. She is miserable to share a room with...very restless and noisy sleeper. We also notice she stops breathing for a short amount of time, then gasps for air. This is what keeps us awake the most. It's so scary. To top it all off, we realized she grinds her teeth in her sleep and this is the worst sound you could imagine!! I probably slept about 3 hrs. and my eyes were feeling very heavy by lunch time at the pool. It was a struggle to stay alert and we couldn't return to the hotel room because we had to check out at noon, so we were homeless. When Bryan finished his meeting just before 5pm, we got intot he car and headed south to Marathon, a 2.5 hr. drive. Traffic wasn't bad at all in Miami. We were getting hungry, but K had fallen asleep (much needed nap!!), so we didn't dare stop and wake her up along the way...just kept driving. As we were getting very close, she awoke screaming. Poor thing was exhausted, very hungry, uncomfortable in the car seat, etc. We had to pull over to calm her down...she was just out of her mind (and so were we!!)

We found our hotel, the Kingsail Inn, and pulled in. We were pleasantly surprised by the location (right on the water) and the amount of space (a separate kitchenette area/living room area and the bedroom/bathroom was closed off). Do you ever smell something and it takes you back to a place you've been before. This hotel room, especially the bathroom, smelled just like my aunt's house in South Africa. I couldn't sniff enough!! I think it's because we were so close to the sea.

Katelyn got her second wind and we were all starving, so we found a nearby restaurant, "The Barracuda," and had the most delicious soup and shrimp and bread. Excellent food!

The next morning, we started our drive to Key West and this is the most gorgeous drive. The futher south you go, the bluer the water gets, similiar to the carribean. We were at our next hotel in Key West by 10am, and caught a free shuttle to nearby downtown Key West. And we walked!!! Bryan sampled Key Lime Wine (not good) and Key Lime Pie (very good) and we strolled around the waterfront, Duval Street, and saw the cruise ships dock. After lunch, we took a trolley tour around the island and stopped the southernmost point and Hemingway's house. The weather was perfect for spending the day outside and Katelyn was a trooper. A few little meltdowns, but did well overall. After watching the sunset celebration at Mallory Square, we went to get dinner. By this time, it was 7pm and Katelyn was unraveling. We went to an Irish Pub and she just couldn't handle dinner. Bryan had to take her outside at one point, then she just sat on my lap like a zombie. We caught the next shuttle back to the hotel (where Katelyn made new friends from Minnesota...you should've heard her chatting away on the quiet shuttle..."mommy has a car, daddy has a car, and I have a bike. Mama Nana got it for me. I go to Sea World. My teddy bear is a baby and you have to be careful with him. I went camping with Grammy, Jenny, Jeff..." etc. The folks from Minn. were very sweet and patient with her!! She is such a motor mouth!!! We actually all fell asleep with the tv on around 9:30...just exhausted. I woke sometime after midnight to use the bathroom and noticed Katelyn had not moved since she fell asleep. I stepped closer to her and couldn't hear her breathing, so I put my hand on her back. Without opening her eyes, she said "sleep with me mommy." and that scared me!! I had no idea she was awake!

Sunday morning, we had a delicious breakfast at our hotel, outside near the pool, then started our long drive home (7 hours). If you haven't been, I HIGHLY recommend a visit to the the Keys, esp. Key West. We loved it!