Key West

Tobie and I went on a wonderful "kid free" (Thanks Mom and Dad) vacation to Key West. We packed in a ton of activities into the time we were there and were exhausted when we got home. That is how trips are supposed to be right:-) I put just a fraction of the pictures we took here. We had a blast and would definitely go back. It was hot, but not as hot as Houston. I think we felt the heat more because we walked or rode a bike everywhere we went. So we ended up spending more time then we ever would in the heat. Luckily where we were staying was centrally located, so we could keep stopping in to cool off.

We took a trip to the local cemetery were there were lots of "famous" Key West people buried. But what we went looking for was this head stone. If you ask me it sums up the whole Key West attitude, in that nothing is taken too seriously. One stone next to it said "I'm just resting my eyes".
This is the fort that was built on the Dry Tortugas. It never served as a working fort, and at one time they used it for a prison. It was quite a strange site to see this pop up in the middle of the ocean. It was 75 miles west of Key West, so the trip there took over 2 hours. When you were there you were closer to Cuba than you were to the U.S. It was worth it, but next time I would find a different way there, then on a tourist boat. Maybe charter a boat out, because it is a national park, so you can camp.

We made two snorkeling trips. One off of a beach in Key West and another we went to the Dry Tortugas. We managed to see some wonderful wildlife and were actually able to get some good shots, using our new camera. The barracuda was a little off putting. His stare made you think that at anytime he would turn and bite. Off the beach, I am pretty sure I saw three black tip sharks, no photo though because Tobie had the camera. At the same time I saw a sting ray swim by.
Tobie and I went to tons of restaurants that ranged from shacks to fine dining. We really put a lot of thought into where we went, because we did not want to just go to any old tourist trap. We thought we would actually lose weight while we were there because we walked, biked or snorkeled everywhere. But as always, the food won:-) This picture of Tobie was taken at BO's Fish Wagon. Wonderful food! I had a cracked conch sandwich. Yum, Yum.
Hemingway's house was only one block from where we stayed, so it was an easy trip to make on foot. Which was lucky because the parking was a nightmare in front and all around the house. It was a beautiful house with equally beautiful gardens. Tons of history. Very interesting life. I really went because I wanted to see the six toed cats. Turns out not every cat there has 6 toes but they all carry the gene. Each cat is allowed only one litter of cats and then is "retired" from the breeding life. The cats were all over, but not as bad as I thought it would be. The cat pictured did have six toes, so if you click on the picture you could probably get a better look. Now I am on the hunt for a 6 toed cat, so if anyone knows of one, let me know!

The place that we stayed in Key West was perfectly placed. We were one block off of Duval Street (the main drag) and 7 to 8 blocks in each direction to most attractions that we were interested in. The walk to the southern most point was just that, 7 or 8 blocks.