2010.1.8 Travels with C - Day 3

C slept all night and woke at about 6:30am, ready for food. We once again lolled in bed for half an hour, giggling and rolling with the man. Breakfast saw him chowing scrambled eggs, banana and English muffin. He is so wound up and interested in all that is going on that he really doesn't want to nap here. He finally fell asleep around 10am while I was out on a run. W had to walk him up and down the hall until he was sleepy.

Once he woke up, we all got on Butch & Raye's boat for a cruise out to Picnic Island. It's a teeny tiny island in the Atlantic that offers a few feet of beach, some greenery and a nice place to park a boat. We stopped so that C could dip his butt in the ocean, eat some sand and watch dogs play in the water. We snacked on cheese and crackers and cracked a bevvie. C's favorite part was sitting in Butch's lap and pretending to 'drive' the boat. While he didn't mind it on the way there, the slightly-oversized life preserver bugged him to no end on the way back. Raye kept him occupied, as did some multi-grain cheerios!

He was exhausted by the time we arrived home and fell asleep feeding. ;)

2010.1.7 Travels with C - Day 2

C slept all night last night! Thank heaven for small favors. It wasn't really expected as he only took about two hours of his normal four hours of nap yesterday. But he woke us up at 6am with a hungry belly. I fed him and we lolled about in bed for forty-five minutes before getting up and greeting the family for breakfast. C amused everyone with his banana eating (or demolishing.) Then W took off with Butch for a round of golf at the Key West Golf Course and I went out with C in the Bob for a 3 mile jaunt. He stayed awake for the entire run around Summerland Key, as well as the mini-mart stop for some refreshments. (No caffeine-free diet coke...rats.)

Despite the lull of the stroller and the overlong period between sleeps, the man would NOT go to sleep this morning. Grandma had to sit on the porch to stop herself from going in to get him. Finally after a feeding, he fell asleep.

It's about 70 and partly sunny here. Can't wait to get outside again. Must see things on this visit (limited time and options with C - but we'll find a way)...

• Shopping at Summerland Sandal
• Dinner at Parrotdise
• Drink a 'green thing' or two! from Jimmy at the truck bar at Sunset Ceremony (see photo)
• Lunch at Hurricane Hole
• Lunch or Dinner at No Name Pub - Try to see some of the elusive Key Deer on the way to or from
• Open some Christmas presents! The tree is exploding with gifts!!!

After some good napping for C and some time on the front porch, Raye and I took off to meet the guys at Hurricane Hole in Key West. (Wendy had a job interview.) C downed some mahi-mahi fish bites while we waited for the boys to finish their golf game. Then he proceeded to eat half of my quesadilla and a couple of sweet potatoe fries from Raye's plate. Butch took him on a tour of the marina so he could look at the pelicans. Then we went back home for more nap time.

After C's nap, we loaded up two cars and headed up to Little Torch Key and Parrotdise. C was once again the man for protein, eating a bunch of W's fish, as well as veggies and pasta. Parrotdise has a great happy hour so we had a few beverages and enjoyed watching the water, the people and the little man. Back at home we finally opened Christmas presents! Raye finally discovered the joys of online shopping this year and had completely outdone herself. C got his new carseat, TONS of baby Patriots gear, a Patriots hat and some onesies. W was given a bunch of nice shirts and a set of cuff-links from Charles Tyrwitt. And I have some great stuff coming to the house from Boden!

Off to bed for more adventures in the morning!

2010.1.6 Travels with C - Part 1

Each January for the past ten or so years, we've journeyed from wherever we are living to visit W's parents in the Florida Keys. They live in Summerland Key, which is at Mile Marker 25. For those who haven't visited the Keys before, MM 0 is in Key West and the mile markers ascend the further you go up towards Miami. So when you tell someone you live at MM 25, they know you live about a half an hour up the Keys from Key West.

Last year when we were here at this time, I was about thirty weeks pregnant with C. And although I enjoyed the visit, it was rough not being able to enjoy the Key West lifestyle. Kayaking was awkward, running was a chore and the Duval 'crawl' was...well....dry. I did get a lot of great pictures last year, including one of the 'Southernmost preggie lady.' And W always had a designated driver!

Yesterday we took off from home at about 8:30am to take C to the airport for his first plane ride and visit to the Keys! We were armed with a bottle, paci, toys, blankets, the Bob, the Ergo, and with wild hope that all would go smoothly. Getting through security was a breeze and the Southwest terminal was calm. C played on the floor and flirted with ladies and other little kids. When we boarded, their were enough empty seats to give C and his carseat a space with us. He was happy while we waited to taxi. Then the captain announced that there was a sensor going off. About an hour later and a bad alternator later, we had to deplane back to the terminal. The Southwest team did right by us and got us all on another plane in under forty-five minutes. Still all calm from the C man!

We took off about two hours after our original departure. C was happily munching on a banana and some O's. Then with a little coaxing he fell asleep for an hour and fifteen minutes. He played in our laps while we descended and never let out a peep. No ear issues. No crying. Wow - I hope it's always that easy!

We landed in Fort Lauderdale, changed the man while waiting for luggage and scooted out to the rental car area. Then into the SUV for a three or so hour drive down the Keys. The man ate O's and some cheese and chilled out for 90% of the ride. The sunset over Marathon was gorgeous. It looked like someone was painting rivulets of pink and orange water in the sky. C started getting fussy at about 20 miles to go. It didn't help that I gave him a bottle of water that was not closed correctly; he was soaked when we arrived! Poor baby.

But eventually we reached the house on First Street and got lots of hugs from Grandma and Pop and Aunt Wendy. C got cleaned up and then we all ate spaghetti dinner. Raye rented a highchair and a crib from a local outfit in the Keys, which worked out great! C is sleeping in the laundry room and so far it works!

Key West - Day 5 & 6

Day 5


On this trip to the Keys, we tried to focus on doing a few 'new things' like eating at new restaurants, trying new touristy type stuff, etc. So today we went on a kayaking and snorkeling trip with Lazy Dog Outfitters out of Hurricane Hole. This is not snorkeling in the Carribean with giant fish and wide open ocean. It is like snorkeling in a rain forest that is two feet deep, where you are looking for little fish among the coral, sea grass and mangroves, when suddenly a channel about ten to fifteen feet deep opens up below you to reveal schools of rainbow fish and a huge grouper or two. It can be quite unsettling when a hole opens below you that is about 3 feet across but an unknown amount of feet deep. Some run down and then turn under the mangroves. We eventually reasoned that my discomfort with them was due to my fear of heights. There is a definite ledge and what can be perceived as a 'fall' down into the hole. Odd but understandable once our guide, Robin, explained it to us. Along the way, we learned about the three different types of mangroves, played with starfish, sea cucumbers and anemones, saw a nurse shark and tried to avoid stepping on coral. We even saw a sea turtle observing us from his underwater perch as we kayaked by!

In the late afternoon, we returned to the site of the 'hot iguana lovin' to try and go fishing on Butch's boat. We succeeded in getting out of the Summerland Key channels but some problems with the engine stopped us from getting out into the deeper areas. We headed back in and cleaned up before our trip back to No Name Pub.

A trip to the Keys is not complete without a visit to this local's pizza place and pub. Decorated entirely with news stories about the former brothel, bait shop and general store, as well as at least 30,000 single and five dollar bills, this restaurant serves the best pizza in the Keys. (Plus it's fun to drive through Big Pine looking for Key deer sitting on the front lawns of homes. We saw three on this drive.) Great pizza, cold beer, and good company with Raye & Butch and our trip to the Keys came to an end.

Day 6 - Travel Day
On our final day in Key West, we tried to get a little exercise before our hours of airline travel. W and I ran down to the end of Summerland and back for a little under a mile and a half. Then we headed next door for a swim at a neighbor's pool. Unfortunately a mama crab got a little lost looking for the ocean and ended up in the pool, with all of her babies on her back. W spent about a half an hour fishing them all out!!! We swam around a little, gathered our belongings and said farewell to Summerland Key.

Butch, W and I met up with Raye downtown and had a leisurely lunch at Hurricane Hole. Much of the conversation at lunch centered around the prospect of opening and running various businesses in the Keys, bars, health clubs, marinas, etc. Raye is planning a wedding for a friend of the family in April and is looking for a photographer....hmmmmmmmm. Maybe we'll be back in Key West sooner than we thought!

A little shopping downtown on a slightly rainy Duval Street and then we headed to the airport as the wind and cold moved in. We left Key West as Fight Night and Boat Week were beginning, which our usual time to visit. Our trip boasted the warmest and most sunny weather we have ever had on a January trip. Perhaps it was the timing in coming down a week earlier? The forecast for Boat Week is cloudy, windy and high of barely 65....brrrrr!

The Key West airport is under major renovation and we sat in the Conch Flyer restaurant for perhaps the last time, talking with the local bartender Mike, a New England native and HUGE Patriots / Sox fan.

It was a painless trip home to Greensboro, except for the 20 degree weather that greeted us!!!!

Send us an email if you plan to go to the Keys - we can definitely give you some referrals on restaurants, bars, activities and places to stay!

Key West: Days 3 & 4

Day 3 - Key West Shorthand (hey, we're on vacation!)

• worked out at the gym


• walked around trying to find a donut...went to Bad Ass Coffee instead for a bagel sandwich


• rented bikes


• went to Camille's for lunch (thanks Lisa & Tim!)


• rode to South Beach


• rode by Southernmost Point (super crowded)


• got vertigo climbing up into the Key West Lighthouse, saw all the way around the island, dropped W's sunglasses off of the top, found them at the bottom (unscathed),


• decided NOT to go into Hemingway House for about the 10th time...I love Hemingway but the house just doesn't look that interesting


• rode past Higgs Beach to Smather's Beach - took photos of kiteboarders at the beach...decided to ride all the way around the island...then did. Odd to ride bicycles where the brakes are just rotating the pedals backward!


• had a drink at the Conch Republic Seafood Company


• went back to Sunset Ceremony at Mallory Square...took LOTS of photos, had more 'Green Things' from Jimmy and a pretzel


• ate dinner at Half-Shell Raw Bar, had drinks at Island Dogs Bar, finished up the night at Irish Kevin's
  

Day 4
Sunday morning we woke up early to take some pictures. We rode the bikes down a completely empty Duval Street (with the exception of the streetcleaners) down to South Beach to watch the sunrise. We weren't alone! About 5 different photographers were out to take in the gorgeous sunrise. We took in Duval Street, Southernmost Point and several other attractions on the very quiet morning. W and I did a little shopping at Montage for some new signs to add to our Key West collection on the second floor. Then we met W's parents at the Bistro for brunch.

After checking out and heading back to Summerland, Raye, W and I headed to Bahia Honda State Park for a little beach time. We explored part of the old bridge, spent a little time in the water and on the beach. When we were done at the park, we travelled south to Big Pine and searched for Key Deer. Success! We caught two in front lawns and two out in the wild! I feel like a staffer for National Geographic!!!

Annual Trip to the Keys 2009 - Day 1 & 2

Each year in January, W and I make a pilgrimage through Miami down to the Florida Keys to visit W's parents for a late holiday celebration. Part family visit, party holiday recovery, part vacation, it has become a tradition. This year, we will stay at the Bixby's home on Summerland Key for two nights, then head downtown for two nights, and then finish up our stay on Summerland.

Travel Day
Not bad actually. We left the house at about 5:45am when it was a balmy 60 degrees. Fast forward 35 minutes and it was about 35 degrees and pouring rain in Greensboro. An uneventful flight brought us to Miami where we sat for a few hours listening to New Yorkers argue with the American Eagle staff about the injustice of their missing their flight to Nassau due to airline regulations and flight 'closure times.' Karma is always ready for you...shortly after we got on our plane, the pilot realized that the number two engine wouldn't turn over. We deplaned, took the bus back to the gate and sat around for another 45 minutes until they found us a new plane. This time the blender worked and we took off for Key West at around 4pm. We landed safely and got our first taste of 80 degree weather. Finally, after years of being told that I brought bad weather (cold, rainy, crappy, you name it) to the Keys, we might get lucky!


We spent a relaxing evening at the house and had some fun getting caught in a brief rain shower. We giggled through Tropic Thunder with the Bixbys and headed to bed early.


Day 1
Our first full day in Key West was about 75 and sunny! We visited an old standby on Summerland Key, Summerland Sandal. I found a great new swimsuit and matching shorts. W picked up some new hiking / water shoes. We headed down to Hurricane Hole to rent kayaks, a frequent activity during our trips to the Keys. This was the first time we kayaked this far south in the Keys, and we were rewarded with a very interesting trip through a maze of mangroves, a visit to a saltwater pond behind the airport, and several specimens of wildlife, including a great blue heron and two rather grumpy iguanas.

Afterwards we relaxed at the house and then took a walk down to the end of Summerland Key. It's great to just check out the styles, sizes, prices and colors of homes in the Keys.


That night we had dinner at Parrotdise (home of Big Pecker Wines and some fervent Ohio State fans) with Raye & Butch. Tomorrow we head into Key West!





Day 2
On the second day of our visit, we spent the morning tooling around Summerland Key and its canals on the Bixby's pontoon boat. W and Butch spent 20 minutes trimming a tree that overhung the canal at our put-in point. It belongs to Claire, a friend of the family.

Once out of the water, it was low tide, which presented some challenges navigating the coral. Towards the end of our trip, we passed a tree that contained about five iguanas of different age, color and size. This was nothing compared to what awaited us back at the put-in point, the home of the Bixby's friend Claire. There we found two grown iguanas sunning themselves on the sea wall. Shortly after we put the boat up, one started to bite the other's tail. We expected a fight to ensue.....wow, were we wrong! As W's sister said later upon viewing the photos....hot iguana love! Nature day continued when we stopped at a small salt pond to feed some tarpon that had been trapped there during recent hurricanes. There are now at least a dozen living in a little impromptu wildlife preserve, along with pelicans, iguanas and turtles.

We had lunch at Sugarloaf Food Company (best sandwiches and bakery north of Key West) and prepared to head into town. We checked into the Hyatt Sunset Harbor. Raye was able to secure us rooms thanks to her connections. Our first stop after arrival? Two 'green things' from Jimmy at the Bistro, a pretzel from the Key West Pretzel Man, and Sunset ceremony at Mallory Square. It was a weekend for both new and old traditions, so we tried out a new location for dinner, Caroline's on Duval Street. Mark the bartender introduced us to the Mark-a-Rita and his mangorita...yummy! The sandwiches and salads were huge and affordable, a great combination in a location that offers plenty of people watching.

In Key West, you do the 'Duval Crawl'...a long, leisurely and typically inebriated walk up and down Duval Street, the main drag that runs across the bottom third of the island from an area around Mallory Square and the cruiseship drop-off point down about two miles to South Beach. Along the way are t-shirt shops, restaurants, bars, galleries and more. As our next bartender Gigs said when we inquired as to the quiet night at Bogart's Irish Pub, most cruise ship passengers and tourists get about halfway down Duval, see less crowds or a rainbow flag, and think 'oh crap...I don't belong here' and turn around (or they just tire of walking). Unfortunately they miss many of the treasures of Key West, including places like Bogart's and bartenders like Gigs, a Brit and an ardent Red Sox fan! They also miss the 'girls' outside of 801 Bourbon, advertising the 9 and 11pm drag shows. (If you talk to Gigs, he'll tell you the tall girl in the really short skirt, Inge, is really a baseball hat wearing bloke named Brian.) We finished up the night in typical style at Irish Kevin's, drinking beer and listening to JMH and New York Pauly.