No Fleece, No Socks, No Problem

After six days of sunshine and temps chasing 80 - we are rejuvenated - hence the happy feet. The Casa Marina in Key West was great. The hotel looks just like the pictures, the rooms are spacious and modern, and the service was fantastic. The staff is about 95% European, which made for fun conversation. Some of our daily treats included: Bacon every day for breakfast (room service, of course), a Cabana Boy poolside - who supplied a constant flow of water, lemonade and Coronas, The Drink of the Day (interestingly served at 10:45), yummy lunches (I still think there's something wrong with eating in a bathing suit!) our favorite was the Mahi Mahi Wrap, and popsicles at 1:00, which we rarely missed. The boys swam like fish all day and slept like logs all night. It was totally relaxing, utterly decadent and we loved every minute.

Thanks to some nice people we met by the pool, we had an extensive restaurant list by the end of day one. Our favorite was El Siboney; authentic Cuban food - nothing fancy, but WOW, yummy. Blue Heaven - delicous food, but I couldn't get past the cats wandering around - you might not mind that, but I did. Lunch at the Banana Cafe was surprisingly good - it's French and served delicious crepes. Another was El Meson de Pepe (more Cuban, get the theme here), which is just on the edge of Mallory Square; the must-go-at-sunset place. Complete with street performers, crafty crap, 'Pretty Good Popcorn' (no, it's really called that), and wafting smells of sea salt and urine - it's kinda gross if you ask me, but I guess you gotta see it once!

Apologies y'all, but Key West, the town, is manically hedonistic, full of bumbling beach bums, sneak peeks of skin, and gobs of gay men; that's cool, doesn't bother me - just didn't think about it. Duvall Street, although famous, is a little tacky. I especially liked the t-shirt that says "I (heart) to Fart" (although I didn't buy it). We laughed a lot, and more so because we were driving around in an electric car and looked like total tourists! The boys thought it was so cool; we were just happy not to hear them whining. After a thwarted attempt to rent bikes with 3rd wheels, and walking 12 blocks (it was really hot); we caved and got the car. It worked out great, we went to the Southern Most Point (Mile 0) from which Cuba is only 90 miles ("I can see Cuba from my house"), the Butterfly Conservatory (really peaceful and beautiful), the port with the big cruise ships (including the "Mickey" Ship), and just tootled all around.

We played with the kids, lazed in hammocks, watched numerous sunsets, talked a lot and laughed even more. Despite the oddities of the town, Key West gave us exactly what we needed: warmth, relaxation, time together. Although, we were missing one pair of feet (his in California for a visit), we deemed it one of our better vacations; we would definitely return. It was hard to put socks on again. But there's something very New Jersey about being tan in the middle of winter!

xoxo P