Key West Adventure-Day 1

I am assuming by the lack of e-mails in my in-box that no one even noticed I took a brief hiatus from blogging. But for those who did notice, the good news is - I'm back! Jamie and I were on an anniversary adventure to Key West. Those who know me well know that I do not plan a trip lightly so know when I tell you that TONS of work went into this vacation. And I'm happy to report that all the hard work paid off and it was the best trip ever.

We really wanted a destination that was new to the both of us. Part of the fun of vacationing with your partner is exploring new things together so we felt like we wanted a place where one of us didn't have an advantage.

Our flight was scheduled to leave Knoxville at 5:50 a.m. on Wednesday, but we arrived at the airport to learn it was delayed until 6:37 a.m. Which is all well and good except it meant we could have had a little more sleep. We finally took off though and enjoyed a spectacular sunrise over the mountains.

We arrived in Atlanta on a "remote pad" (translation: You people are from a podunk airport in TN so we here in the big city are just too busy to actually land your plane at a real gate) and had to be bused to the terminal. When we finally arrived up in the terminal we were immediately surrounded by hundreds of people in a hurry to make it to their next destination. As we walked up the concourse I started reading the boards at each gate and some were for flights to cities I had never even heard of. It renewed my sense of adventure. I used to have more of that. I had it by the truckloads, but years of terror attacks and parenthood have left me overly cautious. This trip reawakened those feelings in me. I assure you it is a good feeling.

Our flight to Key West was a quick one. I passed the time watching TV (Spongebob anyone?) and watching Jamie try to wallop the other passengers in the trivia game playing on our seat backs. We also were able to follow our flight's progress on the screen. It was fascinating to keep up with the outside temperature, altitude and our exact location above the Gulf.

The Key West Airport may bear an international designation but it is a tiny airport. As a result, you climb off the plane out on the tarmac. A giant sign above the building proclaims "Welcome to the Conch Republic."

We took a taxi to our hotel where we dropped our bags and set out on foot for a nearby Cuban restaurant. The order of the trip was to explore new things, including new foods! We dined on fresh snapper and Cuban pork. We tried fried plantains and their amazing rice. If you're ever in the Keys, you need to eat at El Siboney. It's a must!

After lunch we did what every self-respecting person does on vacation, we took a nap! After our 4 a.m. wake-up call it was a much needed break. After nap we wandered down Truman and over to the Ernest Hemingway home.

Hemingway is one of my favorite authors, so finally seeing his home in Key West was at the top of my Clipboard of Fun. We also had to take pictures of all those six-toed kitties for the girls.

The highlight though (freaky felines aside) was seeing Hemingway's typewriter. It was one of those vacation "moments."

After Hemingway's house, we basically just wandered around on foot. It really is the best way to explore a new place and get your bearings. We trotted out to Fort Taylor and to the beach there.

After our trek out to the water we wandered back up to Duval and found ourselves at Sloppy Joe's. We ordered drinks and had dinner while listening to live music and people-watching. Wednesday evening brought us to Mallory Square for the sunset celebration.

It's a Key West tradition filled with dozens of street performers and gastronomical temptations.

And of course, sunset.

The perfect way to end our first day in paradise.