Feeling like we needed a break from real life for a day or so because of all that has happened to us, we planned a quick getaway from Rachie’s place in Port Charlotte to Key West.
Our getaway to Key West got off to a rough start, literally. First getting up at 5:30 to drive to Fort Myers was tough but it was the Key West High Speed Express boat ride that was rough. We know refer to it as the “barf barge.” The Gulf was still angry from Tropical Storm Fay that went through two days ago. I started out in the cabin of the boat but spent most of the time up top on the outside deck (aka the Vomit Veranda)because the winds and spray seemed to help keep me from throwing up. But many around me had a different fate. I have never been around so many sick people. The ride was a nightmare, and due to heavy waves the trip took an extra hour to get down there.
Sharon and I somehow weathered the ride without losing our breakfast. I actually felt quite good by the time we docked and was ready to explore and get lunch.
We walk several blocks down to Duval and over, finally settling on Jack’s Flats to eat. Which after spending some time on the island we realized could not have been a better choice as the price was cheap ($7.50 for grouper sandwich and fries) and the food was excellent. We highly recommend it. We then continued our trek down to our B&B. Which had we just gone straight there from the docks it would have been half the distance, instead I treked several extra blocks out our way, lugging two heavy bags in heat that was “Africa Hot.”
Upon arriving at the Alligator & the Mermaid B&B we were met with a gorgeous restored mansion with rainforest-like gardens. It was more than we imagined. The host was great, and the room (The Audubon Room) was great! We then went down to the Southernmost Point and took the obligatory photo for our scrapbook and proceeded to have a coupe of frozen drinks at a bar on the water. The drinks were great, just hate to spend $8 each on Pina Coladas served in plastic picnic cups without even so much as a garnish to spruce them up. We learned pretty quick that you have to look around to find the good deals on drinks, and they are out there, just gotta be savvy, and carry your bar guide :)
The rest of the day was spent at the B&B just relaxing by the pool and taking a nap. It was a wonderful afternoon.
We woke up and slowly got ready to head out for dinner. We decided that instead of eating at just one place we would do appetizers and drinks up and down Duval St. We hit several places, with Kelly’s Brewery and Grill being a highlight because it had been a while since we had visited a new brewpub. Although I do not have rave reviews for it, it was an average brewery. The Red Ale was not a typical red ale, but more like a stout or porter. So if you like those types of ales, you should try it. The other beer we tried was the wheat and again, an average brew, nothing special, but we were having it in Key West so it tasted a lot better than if we were in Des Moines. It came time to head back. But on the way back we got stopped by a “Vacation-Ownership” representative who offered us $150 in gift certificates for food, shopping or ativities. How could we pass it up? :) :)
The following morning after a great night’s sleep, we awoke to a fresh breakfast served out in the garden. Belgian Waffles with strawberry sauce, mmmmmmmm….
We would have hung out and soaked up the morning longer but we had to go to work, so to speak. Because if you have been following our blog, you know we are pros at this. The timeshare shuttle picked us up and took us to a Hyatt Resort for the presentation. We had a female representative with an English accent that was on a mission to size us up. We went for the usual tour of the property, ooohhh, ahhhhh, pretty :) Then finally to where she walks us through the walk of fame I call it. As usual, it was a hallway with big beautiful posters of all the properties in the system, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then comes the pitch. She tells us why their system is superior, and all the options to travel the world. She followed the standard checklist of questions along with pros and cons.
I played a different role this time. I was not going to be in awe and amazement. Normally I act so interested and naive until it comes to the money. This time it was all business. I let her know I was interviewing and evaluating them. I got us off the hook because we want a pet-friendly system and they had ZERO resorts that are. So deal-breaker, no way around it. It worked like a charm, we were out of there and on our way in less than 2 hours. A new record. Thinking back i wish we would have timed all of them and made a game out of it. We did get a bonus, instead of $150 in certificates, we got $200!!
As we drove back in the shuttle, I spotted a lone shoe! I asked our driver, Rick, if he would mind turning around and let me get a photo of it? He was cool. “Anything for Art” he replied. It was perfect shoe. And get this, it was a little boys croc! AGAIN! I tried to play it off as coincidence.
We got back to the B&B and packed our stuff and got heading to lunch. We went to a restaurant that the B&B staff recommended and it was perfect (and it was on the list that accepts our gift certificates :) The food was heavenly and the view on the water was so soothing. We got a couch table. Such a nice lunch in paradise.
One thing did happen out of the ordinary I guess you could say. My friend Priya, who does Angel work, has a website RoosterCroaks.com where she sells her artwork. She is guided by her angel who just so happens to be a dead rooster. Not sure how all this other world stuff works so bear with me. Either way, if you think that is nuts or entirely believable, stay with me. As I grabbed the local newspaper at the restaurant, shortly after getting the croc photo which I blew off as coincidence, I saw the lead story on the cover. It was accompanied by a large photo of a proud rooster with the Headline “Red Rover Dies”. Red Rover being the rooster pictured. How odd to see something about a rooster dying right after doubting a shoe sighting. Just more things that make you go …. hmmmmmm. Has it been the rooster spirit that has been contacting us???? I digress.
After lunch we went on a mission to spend our remaining $150 shopping since the seas were still a little too rough to snorkel. We thought about a plane ride, but the winds were too high as well. So shopping it was. I wanted sunglasses and Sharon was wanting jewelry. It was actually harder than it sounds. The store on the list were all higher end stores where we would have to spend all the certificates on one object. I found sunglasses for $16 which were cheapos, and nice ones at the stores all were over $100! Eventually time was running out, we HAD to spend them somewhere!
We remembered seeing a winery on the list, we found the location and off we went. 2 bottles of wine later and a nice bamboo cutting board, we still had $100! Finally at our last shop we hit something Sharon had been talking about the day before. She mentioned that she wanted a more casual purse, like a backpack purse for when we were traveling and such. This store had the perfect ones, ones she read about before but were too expensive. But within our $100 range :)
We bought the purse and boarded the “Barf Barge.” We popped two dramamine and hoped for the best. This boat was bigger and much more comfortable, we got a nice leather booth on the window. The ride was just about as rough, but not as many people seemed sick, we got a little green, but weathered it just fine. It was a quicker ride this time as well.
Overall as usual we packed a lot of stuff into a short span of time. We were exhausted and looking forward to getting some sleep to rest up from our vacation. Thanks to the many people who helped us be able to afford a night’s getaway to paradise where we could somewhat be happy again. We still miss our Noah so deeply, but are getting through each day thanks to the help of each other and our friends and family.