Going Home

Well, our time at Key West is ending. As usual we head toward home, where we face an uncertain future - that is the human condition. 

We do mourn the passing of these care free days but there is excitement in the air as we anticipate hugging and kissing on our three little girls.

We leave Key West a little closer than we were when we came. I leave more certain than ever that I want to spend all of my days with Megan Davis. She is the pride of my heart and the joy of my life. She challenges me, she grows me, and she loves me too.

We have shared  great experiences here. We have taken opportunities to reconnect. We talked about our family, our children, and our future, as well as our past 10 years together. We have touched one another's soul. I always say it to her, and it seems like a cliche but today, without a doubt, I can say to my beautiful  wife: I love you more - than I ever did before.

Key West Architecture

We stayed in Old Key West. It has a particular look and style to it. At some point they decided that no building could be taken down or significantly altered. Everything has to be preserved and renovated. It makes for some significant adjustments on the part of many businesses.

This old gas station is the Denny's around the corner from us.

This old market is now a Wendy's

This historic theatre is now Walgreen's.

There is no point here - just interesting to me.

Exploring the Keys

Today we decided to see just where we are on the earth by exploring some more of the keys.

We rented a car and drove to Marathon, about an hour away.

We stopped for lunch. This was the restaurant view.

And this was lunch

Next we went to Sombrero Beach. It was just beautiful.

There are no waves to speak of on the Keys so sand has to be brought in from the Bahamas.

This is a sea turtle nest.

Next we went to a free aviation museum. Another good experience - mostly because of the personal attention from the old guys who are the guides for everything here.

These planes still fly, by the way.

After rest time, we had pizza for dinner in our own courtyard. Finally things began to cool off.

We planned to go on a haunted tour, only to find that they were sold out. So, we took one last walk around town.

We encountered street performers and one of them had a a dog that picked up tips. Who could resist that? - Not Megan.

We saw the sunset.

And the first world headquarters for Pan-Am Airlines.

A great last night in Key West.

 

 

Key West Adventure

Today we had plans of being a little more adventurous. We will begin the day with snorkeling.

It's like skiing (to my surprise) it takes a little time and practice to get the hang of it and like skiing Megan got it and I never really did - although what I did see was beautiful.

We came home and took a quick dip in the pool and then to lunch. We had so much seafood lately that we decided to dine with some guys that we know very well indeed.

We decided to visit the Little White House where President Truman spent nearly 200 days of his presidency. It now stands as an official Truman Presidential Museum, having been completely restored to the state that it was in during the Truman Presidency.

It took us a wile to get there because we got lost - which is a little more frustrating on bikes.

We did find it and it was very cool and interesting.

We went to Dairy Queen for dinner only to find that they only sold ice cream and drink, so it was ice cream for dinner. Next  we had a great bike ride in the cool sea breeze.

Good day.

Key Tourist

Today we are like any tourist - trying to get the lay of the land. First we went on a tour of the island which is only 2x4 miles. So it was not a long tour.

Then lunch

The view from the restaurant.

Then we went to Mel fisher's museum. He is the guy who found the Atochia - a Spanish galleon that became the largest treasure ever found.  It was amazing.  They had great souvenirs, some costing $200,000.00 and more. We bought T-shirts instead ($14.00 each).

Next, we went to another shipwreck museum that came highly recommended but ultimately disappointed . It did, however, have a tower with great views.

More touring around And then dinner.

We ate dinner at Blue Heaven. It came highly recommended - especially for the key lime pie. It was long on atmosphere.

These chickens were everywhere, including on our table.

It was cool in many ways - but all-in-all it was quite pricey and the "world famous" key lime pie was not good to either of us - we did not finish it.

A little daylight allowed for a few more sights.

A huge Banyan Tree:

This one is self-explanatory:

Dessert at Hagan-Daas  and home. A great day In Key West.

  

Key West

Every year or so Megan and I take a few days to celebrate our anniversary. It is a discipline because it is always very difficult to leave our children. We love them and somewhere down deep we want to share every experience with them.

The reason that we do this get-away is because it is important for us to re-connect as a couple, to know one another better, to talk uninterrupted, and to rekindle our relationship. Our marriage and thus our family is better for it.

This is our 10th anniversary and thus we are taking 4 days together.

So, we arrived in Key West

We checked into the quaintest studio apartment you have ever seen.

The courtyard is awesome.

Then to dinner on Duval Street.

Conversation with the love of my life - some worries about our children until we face-timed them - good food and a great night.