Adventures in Key West, Florida: Day 3

Key West. The Florida Keys.

I have heard so many amazing things about the Keys. It took me until I was 34 years old to finally get there. I must say, it is all that I have heard about.

My main thing, the one goal I had in mind, was to get a family photo at the southernmost point of the United States. I got it!

First off, the port is lovely.

We ran to get Key Lime Pie on a stick because we heard it was a must. Delicious!

The shops, museums, and just overall vibe of the area is amazing. We walked and walked and walked, and then finally hailed a cab to get us to the southernmost point. WORTH IT!

Jansen really wanted to try coconut water and bought some with his own money he had been saving. He was not impressed.

Dad to the rescue. He drank the rest.

Jansen then bought himself and me a snow cone. We were happy campers walking to the Ernest Hemingway house.

I mean, it was very cool to be in his home, see his inspiration, and try to imagine what it was like in his day. But it was super hot, and the kids were not impressed, and the place was covered in cats. Did I mention we are all allergic to cats?

Anyway, we began the long walk back to the pier, taking a few pictures along the way.

Getting back on the boat was a piece of cake. When we are on vacations, we pair up using the buddy system. In Key West, Jansen was my buddy and Caleb was Josh's buddy. Jansen and I ended up getting back on the boat first, since Josh and Caleb wanted to do a bit more walking around.

Once back on the boat, Jansen and I sat on our balcony watching all the parasailers, boaters, and jet skiers. We even got to see a pirate ship come perilously close to the Magic. :)

 

 

The evening ended with more eating, gambling, kids' clubbing, and followed with snoring. It was a great day!

Family New Year's Cruise: Days 1 and 2

While we are all off for break, we took a cruise to places we have never been: Key West, Florida, and Freeport and Nassau, The Bahamas.

 

 

We had a great time! It was cold and rainy here in Texas so we were really looking forward to spending some time in some nice, warm weather!

 

The first couple of days we spent at sea. Of course, it was lunch time by the time we finally boarded the ship, so we headed to the lido deck to eat and start the vacation right.

 

Carnival has a new kid's program called Seuss at Sea, and when we arrived at our stateroom, we found it had been decorated.

 

The boys were excited and quickly chose their beds on the bunk beds.

 

We spent the next two days at sea, playing trivia games, gambling, watching shows, trying to sleep in, and just enjoying the relaxation that comes with vacation!

 

Josh and I even got to go on a really nice date, just the two of us on the second night. We got dressed up a bit and made reservations at the steakhouse on board. I must say, it was wonderful to get out with my husband and enjoy each other. And the food was amazing. I even ate escargot. Won't do it again, but I can at least say I tried it.

 

 

We ended the first few days with anxious anticipation about what we would experience on Tuesday in Key West, Florida. Caleb was probably the most nervous, but that is to be expected.