Reef Snorkeling

This morning, the skies were slightly overcast, but there were pretty significant breakthroughs of sun. We decided to hit the pool, since we hadn't been able to until now. We relaxed, read, swam, and soaked in some sun rays (we wore sunscreen--don't worry!).

By late morning, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel room to gather our things and make the walk (again, alllll the way down Duval) to meet up with our boat for the snorkel trip we registered for. Check-in was at 12:30, and we waited around by the dock for a while before the crew came to get us (and the rest of the crowd) for boarding the boat.

The entire trip lasted about three hours, with time built in at the beginning and end for boarding, leaving the dock, and coming back. The ride out to the reef was probably at least 40 minutes or so. We were able to snag nice seats in the sun, so we sat back and enjoyed the scenery.

Before we knew it, it was time to get a quick safety lecture and short snorkeling lesson (in case people were newbies, of course), get our gear, and jump into the middle of the ocean.

We were snorkeling right on top of the reef, so our guides assured us we were sure to see a lot of colorful fish. At first, right off the boat, the water was pretty deep so we weren't seeing much of anything. So we took a few pics of each other instead. :)

Our attempt at an underwater belly pic. We can show the Little Bugger that he/she went snorkeling in the Gulf of Mexico before he/she was even born!

As we swam out further, we did start to see some pretty cool-looking fish.

I loved this fish (center of frame). I stalked him (her?) for a while.

At one point, I heard Michael make a sound through his snorkel. I immediately started looking all around me, because I wasn't sure if it was a "OMG THERE'S A SHARK!" or a "WOW, LOOK, HOW COOL!" sound. Thankfully, though, it was the latter. He had spotted this school of big, dark blue fish swimming past us.

We swam around out there for about an hour before we were pretty tired and swam back in to the boat. As it turned out, shortly after we got back up on deck, they started calling all of the stragglers in anyway, as it was time to go.

The ride back to shore was equally as relaxing as the ride out, especially if you were able to DRINK! Man, the crew on our boat was determined to get people drunk. Michael wouldn't even be finished with his beer before a crew member was right there, filling it back up again. They had spiked punch, too. I stuck with water, but they had soda available, too.

We snapped a self-portrait as we were nearing the shore.

Everyone was still enjoying themselves as our crew prepared to dock the boat.

A cool photo of a pelican I took as we were pulling into shore.

Shortly thereafter, we got off the boat, but not before the crew poured everyone one last beer for the walks back to their hotels.

For anyone who is curious, we did the snorkel tour with Fury. While the snorkeling was not nearly as awesome as what we experienced in Hawaii (I mean, we swam mere feet away from a sea turtle, C'MON!), we didn't really expect it to be. The crew was great--all really nice guys with great senses of humor. Also, as I mentioned, they certainly were not cheap about the drinks. They served plenty of beer and spiked punch for the money, that's for sure. My only complaints were:

1) The gear was kind of crappy. We rented gear from dive shops during our time in Maui and Kauai, and I never felt grossed out by the gear. Although I felt confident that everything from Fury had been sanitized, there were bite marks in my snorkel and the masks just seemed... cheap. Although there was nothing that was literally disgusting about the gear (like I said, it was clean), it just didn't feel very good to use.

2) Our concierge told us that there would be chips and salsa, and may have mentioned "snacks." As a result, I didn't worry about eating anything too significant before leaving for the tour, because I thought I would be held over by whatever they served on the boat. It turned out that the chips and salsa were non-existant, and the "snack" was a bag of Mrs. Vicker's potato chips, passed out within the last half hour of the trip. This wasn't Fury's fault, it's just that my expectations had been set higher by the concierge. If I did it over, I'd definitely eat before the trip, as I was starving.

All in all, though, a good excursion.

After it was over, we made our way back down Duval. Michael immediately headed off to "Beer School," offered by our hotel. I would've loved to do it with him, but ya know how it goes! Anyway, "Beer School" is a fun activity they offer two days a week where you get to learn about and taste four different brews.

While Michael was taste testing, I went back to the room to shower, gobble some food, and take it easy. An hour later, Michael was back, with his "diploma" from Beer School. :)

I'm so proud.

After Michael showered and cleaned up nicely, we walked down to have dinner at Sloppy Joe's. A few Heather Drive readers had suggested this place to us, and we had passed by it numerous times on our walks up and down Duval.

Ever since we arrived in Key West, I've been looking for virgin frozen drinks. I've wanted a strawberry daquiri SO BADLY, it's ridiculous. Unfortunately, most of the places we've been pre-mix the drinks and put them in these big frozen drink machines, so you can't really order a virgin version. Well, Sloppy Joe's came to the rescue. Not only could they make a virgin daquiri, but they also had it LISTED PLAINLY ON THE MENU. Ahhh, hassle free. *LOVE*

Forget the crappy O'Douls from the other night... this is the way to go. I was quite happy!

For dinner, I had a pulled pork sandwich with Sloppy Joe's signature BBQ sauce. Michael had the sloppy joe, of course. Although the pulled pork was excellent, if I had to do it over again, I'd order the sloppy joe, too, because it was an AMAZING sloppy joe, people. Also, a tip if you ever eat here--order ONE side order of fries or onion rings or whatever. The sides don't come with the meal, you order and pay for them separately, and well, at least you get your money's worth. When they brought out a BASKET of onion rings and a BASKET of fries for me, I didn't know if we'd be able to fit everything on our table! Crazy amounts of food. One side for two people would be sufficient.

After we were both stuffed full of sandwiches and fries/onion rings, we wandered back down Duval, chilled out in our hotel room for a bit (long day!), and then, once again, ended the night lying in a hammock. Now, we're off to crash in the big, comfy bed.

I love vacation!

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Hemingway & Mallory

Unfortunately, we woke up to not-so-fantastic weather this morning. We had plans to spend the morning by the pool, but because it was pretty overcast, we had to change our minds.

We decided to get dressed and head over to the Southernmost Beach Cafe, which is right on hotel property, for breakfast. It's open air and situated right on the beach and since it wasn't miserable and rainy (yet), we wanted to take advantage. As soon as we left the air conditioned room, we knew it would rain today. The humidity was over 90%, and you could feel it, that's for sure. It was tremendously sticky and the air felt heavy. Still, there was a nice breeze at the cafe, so we were able to sit outdoors comfortably. We both had pancakes--strawberry for me, blueberry for Michael--and took in the scenery.

After breakfast, we were pretty sure it was about to rain at any moment, so we decided to go over to Hemingway House, since we could take cover indoors if need be.

We felt a few drops of rain on our walk over, but the weather was still holding when we arrived, so we decided to wander the grounds outside first.

The yard is full of trees, plants and flowers, so it is pretty beautiful.

There are cats EVERYWHERE. They have free reign of the property, and for the most part, don't seem to mind all of the tourists passing through.

They book weddings at the Hemingway House; the ceremonies take place out here in the garden gazebo. Pretty.

Surprisingly, it never started raining while we were outdoors. Once we had made our way around the house, it was time to go inside.

They have turned Hemingway's old house into a museum of sorts, so there are photos and artifacts situated throughout. You can take a guided tour, or wander through on your own. We decided to go it alone, but being there, I think you'd find out a lot more about Hemingway if you take the guided tour. There aren't a lot of resources (plaques, information to read, etc.) for the self-guided folks. Still, it's neat to walk through and see everything.

This cat was sleeping soundly on top of one of the displays. Most of the cats didn't care if tourists stopped to pet them, but this one hissed and tried to scratch a lady who dared to touch him/her. Yowzers! Cat lovers beware!

Check out the two cats snoozing on the bed. I'm not a cat person at all, but even I thought that some of them were pretty cute!

The wrap-around porch on the second floor.

Views from the porch upstairs.

Some of Hemingway's books on display.

On the second floor of the guest house/poolhouse, there is a room in which Hemingway used to write.

Overall, Hemingway House was a neat place to visit.

After we were done, we were surprised that it had STILL not started raining! We walked around Duval a little bit, then went back to the hotel. Shortly after we got there, the water finally started falling from the sky. Because we couldn't go outside and hang out by the pool or in any of the hammocks like we originally planned, I curled up in the air conditioning and read for a while. Michael decided to take a run in the rain.

By mid- to late-afternoon, the rain had subsided and although it was still overcast, we decided to get outdoors again. We found that the rain had helped to significantly lower the humidity outside, which was nice. We went out onto the hotel's deck, grabbed a couple of lounge chairs, and both spent some time reading our books. Our hotel is seriously the BEST place to relax. Everything is so beautiful and tranquil.

Since we hadn't really eaten anything since breakfast, we decided to do an earlier dinner. We were in the mood for Italian, so we again asked our concierge for a recommendation. She suggested Abbondanza, which just so happened to be only a few blocks from our hotel. Perfect. We showered and got ready to head out.

The atmosphere at Abbondanza was nice and authentic, and the food was fantastic. Our concierge again gave us a coupon--this time for free key lime pie for dessert. We asked for it to go, since the dinner portions were so filling. I just didn't have room! But I have to say--I'm not a fan of key lime pie. I know, I know! But I'm not a big pie person to begin with, nor am I a big "fruit in my dessert" person, so it kind of made sense.

Because we were done with dinner so early, we had time to drop off our leftovers in our fridge back in the room, then head down to Mallory Square for the sunset! Again, we had to walk allll the way down Duval Street, but the overcast and rainy day had given way to a beautiful, comfortable, sunny evening, so we weren't complaining.

Although there were plenty of people in Mallory Square, we still arrived before the big crowds, so we were able to grab a prime spot, right up on the water, from which to watch the sunset.

We took pictures of the different stages of the sun setting, and in between, we were entertained by a nearby street performer.

Me, in action. :) Reviewing my sunset photos!

Before we knew it, the sun had disappeared, leaving behind a beautiful orange sky.

Before walking all the back to the hotel, I wanted to give my feet a little rest. I underestimated how hard it would be for me to get up on this thing with my little belly. Sheesh!

We ended the night in a hammock at the hotel, staring at the moon. Perfection.

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