Key West

I have been behind in posting, but I also have had another sinus infection, and honestly the last thing I have wanted to do when I get home is tackle the tons of photos in my camera.

Anyway, el hombre and I went to Key West for Thanksgiving, which despite the start of said sinus infection, was a much needed break. We stayed with friends in a pink shotgun house in the heart of Key West and were able to walk around and scope the weirdness of Key West.

We got there Thanksgiving Day, and after a short break at the house, we hit Fort Zachary Taylor State Park for dinner until sunset:

after eating like pigs, we decided to wander around. I have been to the park but never to the fort, so we wandered the path over and found these guys:

The random skelator statues=ultimate awesome. Of course I took cheesy photos, but will spare you all from that.

We all gathered around to watch the sunset before we got kicked out of the park:


Those of you who know Key West, know that it is home to all sorts of winged creatures:



(monkeys are my favorite, ok?)

The next day we wandered around and saw many awesome people dressed as pirates (I didn't take pictures because I didn't want to deal with them asking for money)
Pirates have a strong hold on Key West tourism, and nerds like me totally fall for it.


And of course we scoped another sunset, this time at Mallory Square:

Mallory Square hosts a sunset festival every night. People gather around to watch the sun sink into the water. Then people wander around because there are street performers everywhere, from bagpipes to animals, you see the full spectrum. These were some of the ones that stood out:



(I had to put two of this guy because he is an absolute wackjob. The Key West Cat Man has been around forever, and he trains/bribes his cats with ham. Cats will do anything for ham. He is also almost completely incomprehensible.

This dog is awesome.

As are these

On our last day we went to the Hemingway house. I have always been a big reader, and my mom introduced me to Hemingway when I was young, and I have always loved to read his stuff. I also like cats.

Our guide was much better than the first time I went, with NerdInChicago. There was also some slightly different details. I suspect some is lore.
Regardless, this is where much of the magic happened:


Key West is a great place. It's laid back and anything goes, and it has the best people watching anywhere. And it's full of randomness:

This guy claims he rode down from the Tampa area. I don't know that I believe him. Especially since he has 3 dogs on his bike.


And this guy told El Hombre that I was too pretty for him. He didn't get a dollar, but we (and by "we," I really mean "I") have had a few laughs over the comment since.

Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better trip. And if I haven't mentioned it yet, our hosts were fantastic, they fed us, educated us and threw down with us. What more can you ask for?

Vacation Holiday

So I am finally recovered (well, as much as possible) from my trip to Tampa this weekend. I tend to go to our neighbor to the northwest once a year for karate-related purposes, and on the way back, El Hombre and I stopped in Clearwater for the afternoon, my first time there, in fact.

There are some marked differences between Tampa and Miami. Gas is cheaper, for one. There is also an abundance of pirate references, which thrills me (and I am dying to go to Gasparilla this year.)



But I have to say, while I still love Miami beaches, Clearwater beach is very family friendly and the sand is really really soft, not ground up cement and coral like in SoBe.





Although you can definitely go swimming in mid-October in both Miami and Tampa.



The turtles that decorate every block of the beach boardwalk are adorable!



Who doesn't love a random Elvis cooler outside of a bait and tackle shop, right off the highway?



A sign that I still love living in Miami more (and not just because we get less hurricanes).... rainbow on the way home, over Alligator Alley.

Keys photos to tide you over

So it's been crazy because I've been moving. But I was in the keys for an event a few weeks back and have a couple pics to share....



This guy is great. He is holding a one-winged, one-eyed, one-footed parrot (he looked at me like I was an idiot for exclaiming that the parrot was a pirate.) He works for the wildlife conservatory, and this is a great example of a true conch.




And what's a day in the sun without a turtle on a leash? Really

Check out this Hotness

Tonight I went out to dinner and was wandering around the bustling up and coming Mary Brickell Village area and what do I see? This piece of hotness parked on the street. Wow! And the more you look at it the more you see. It's got a Roman-Viking-Tribal-Pirate motif. It reminds me of the car I saw in Hollywood, Fla last year all decked out in dragons. If only I had a camera. Check out the pirate ship on the back door!