Key West and the Florida Keys

I met Alicia, Aimee, and Laurie when we lived in North Carolina in 2002. After we moved to Illinois, they invited me to meet up in Miami with them in 2003...and we've been traveling together ever since!

(Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Belize should have gotten a writeup for sure. The time the bridge detour was driving on two planks over a ravine...trusting a guide will catch you before you plunge down a waterfall...riding a galloping horse when you have zero experience...)

This time we decided to explore Key West. Alicia and Laurie had been there long ago, but Aimee and I never had.

Day one
We all met up in Fort Lauderdale. The car rental line Aimee and Laurie had to wait in for Budget at the airport was so long, but I don’t know how to make the car rental process any better. They are still expensive and the lines are horribly slow, because there’s only ever one person working. I thought by now there would be a better option, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Aimee and Laurie were a couple of hours behind us, so Alicia and I took an Uber to the Fort Lauderdale boardwalk, where we walked a long way in the warm sunshine, people watched, and put our toes in the water. It is a beautiful beach and there are many choices for eating – I had my first blackened mahi sandwich, which I then ate at almost every place we went on the trip. So good!

Aimee and Laurie picked us up and we headed to Key West, stopping along the way at Mile Marker 88 for dinner and sunset. It’s right on the water, they have a serene, picturesque spot, and it was super pretty and popular.

We made it to Key West in the dark, wishing that we had the two hours back they waited in line for the car so we could see the drive but – not to worry! We’d be back the same way in the light.

Alicia found a rental house right off Duval Sreet (the main strip) on Petronia, and it had a back yard and pool! We hung out in the backyard and were surprised by a possum, but hey – that’s a city. Everybody wants to be there.

Day Two

I got up early and ran to the southernmost point, noting that there were chickens and roosters and chicks the entire way, the roosters crowing so enthusiastically! I then realized they were everywhere, and a lot of people put out feed for them. I thought it was super charming.

Alicia got us croissants from Croissants de France, and I ate my first chocolate croissant.   

We rented bikes at Blue Sky Rentals, which were $10 a day, because it was within walking distance of our place. We rode to Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, and it was fantastic! Name any facts you can about Zachary Taylor. Done? Didn't take long? You will have MORE when you leave! We walked all around, rode our bikes on the trails, and then went to the beach there. It was picture perfect. White sand, blue sky, rocks, a little concession stand - and warm! Looked like paradise. Definitely a great spot.

Riding bikes around Key West is great if you aren't afraid of traffic. Even though you're riding a vintage bike, no helmet, right with cars...I still felt safe since it's the city, so no one can go very fast, and there are bikers and walkers everywhere so people are always watching for them. There are also lots of bike racks for locking up.

We rode to Schooners Wharf and ate right by the water, where a couple of charter boats were coming back with their fish. The pelicans gathered around and hoped for scraps, and the people all admired the fish. There were giant tarpons and nurse sharks in the water too. The pelicans were so tame! I've never gotten that close to them.

We rode to South Beach because Alicia said it had great people watching, and it did! Real characters there.

We walked to Mallory Square for the sunset, and there was a big crowd there to applaud it and watch street performers. On the way we stopped at the Mile 0 sign and then the Mile 222 sign - my favorite number!

We stopped by the Green Parrot for a drink and to watch the MSU basketball game, and then we went to Blue Heaven for ping pong (yay!) in their outer spot and dinner across the street. I love outdoor ping pong, even though you spend most of the time chasing the ball.

Day Three

Another run to see the sunrise...but this time as I started down the block, a rooster started chasing me! He was fast and chased me so long that I even took a video while running! This was a definite first.

We had booked paddleboards the day before with Lazy Dog in Cow Key. We drove the six miles there. The guide gave us a map and a suggested route, which we tried to follow but have no idea if we actually did. Do you know how alike mangroves look? THEY ALL LOOK ALIKE. So you're paddling and turning, pulling yourself through mangrove tunnels, looking at a map that basically is meaningless to you, and just hoping you make it back in time because maybe one of you has a work meeting you can't miss! (Yes, me.)

Alicia: I should have told you I wasn't listening to the directions.

Laurie: This is not the direction we came.

Aimee: The salt pond might be this way.

Me: This mangrove has a rope tied to it for people just like me.

Right as we were heading back, we saw manatees! One came right up beside my paddleboards and it was so cool! We were all so happy we saw them. Then a man in a kayak with a child leaned over to look, fell out, then jumped back in when he realized his phone had been in his pocket. He did not find it. Meanwhile, while on the trip my waterproof phone case somehow broke, so I was really careful on the way back so I didn't end up like him.

Near the end, we also saw many, many nurse sharks below us in the water. They were huge! Even though they don't bite people, it is a little bit of a thrill to see them waiting for you under your board to fall off.

Alicia picked up key lime pie from the Southernmost Key Lime Shop on Duval. It was frozen and covered in chocolate and perhaps the best food I ate all vacation. I'm not even a huge fan of pie, but this was more to me in the cheesecake family.

We swam in the pool, and then Aimee and I biked to Higgs Beach and see amazing kite surfers and some sort of other surfers with butterfly-shaped sails. They were doing tricks, there's a long pier to walk out on, and it was a cool spot.

We then had to get back in time to return our bikes and shower before we had to leave for the sunset sail. It took us longer than we planned, since we thought we knew the way and did not, but it turned into a nice little 50 minute bike ride!

We walked to Schooners Wharf dock to go on the Schooner Spirit of Independence sail boat. As soon as we got on, they asked it there were any volunteers to help, and I was so excited! I thought it would be pretend help, but I had to pull on ropes to lift the sail the same speed as the girl beside me, and it really did take some work. The skipper (is that the right word? It feels right. Or ...starboard.) said that when no one volunteers it's a real pain.

It was a beautiful sail! The weather was so warm, the water was so pretty, and we sailed for about two hours and watched the sun set.

We went to Caroline's, Irish Kevin's, and then to my favorite place Sloppy Joe's, because they had a live band and everyone was dancing! The band was the Lima Bean Riot,  and they were so fun to dance to - they hit the highlights of cover songs, so you didn't even have time to get tired of the repetitive parts!

Day Four

I ran to Higgs Beach to watch the sunrise and to figure out the way home. Unfortunately, it was hard to watch, because when Aimee and I went on our bike ride, I forgot my sunglasses and sunburnt my eyes. Can you tell I don't live close to the equator?

We left Key West and stopped in Marathon to eat at a waterfront restaurant called Key Fisheries. We drove on to Long Key State Park and went on their nature trail and through the park. Very secluded, very serene, and very hot if you went away from the water.

We drove over the Seven Mile Bridge and admired the view all the way to Islamorada Key. We stayed at Chesapeake Resort and went right out to their very open and pretty beach, pool, and hot tub.

We ate at Lazy Days, which was really popular, but it was right on the water so we didn't mind waiting - and saw more tarpon and nurse sharks. We ended the night by going to Florida Keys Brewing Company in their beer garden, where - this doesn't get old - it was so warm we didn't even need a jacket.

So! Key West was different than other places I've been in Florida, and I liked it and can see why it's popular. Hot, nice beaches, tourist town feel, and everything is open to the outside. I particularly liked biking and running around, the urban chickens, paddleboarding, and sailing. And of course - the company. Here's to lifelong travel partners!

And finally ... our first trip in Miami in 2003:

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

                                 

Our friends Matt and Kate invited us to go to Cabo with them. Friends Greg, Adrienne, Betsy, and Chris went too!

We flew American to Cabo. Matt hooked us up with a driver. (You can also book one online ahead of time. I strongly suggest this because there are a ton of taxi drivers when you get there, trying to get your business. Ours was Rael at Brown's Private Services Transportation and I told him I’d recommend him, so here you go!

Matt and Kate rented an Airbnb in Ventanas de Cabo Sur, and it was a really nice place and neighborhood. As soon as we got there, they told us we were going out to eat by the marina.

They rented a car, so we drove there and parked in the parking garage by the mall and marina. We ate at a restaurant there and met up with some people – Chef Lenny and his friend Pamela Salinas. Matt owns a business that sells fishing forecasting analysis (Roff’s) so he knew some people. We went with Lenny to a market and bought fish for him to cook at the house.

We went back and gathered materials from a vacant lot for Kate to make a beautiful floral arrangement. I went running, and quickly found there were dirt roads to go on.

I got completely lost. I took one and tried to come back the same way I came, but I didn’t know where that was, my phone battery was at 19%, and I got a little nervous. Just lost in a foreign country with no GPS! However! I eventually found my way back. (Totally fine – I didn’t know how safe it was yet.)

We watched the beautiful sunset. Lenny came over and cooked us dinner, and Pamela came to drop off sushi. My job was to peel the asparagus. I’d never seen that before!

We ate a delicious meal of snook, mahi. Some people had octopus salad and sushi – not me, but they loved it.

Day 2

The boys chartered a fishing boat – Blue Sky Cabo. I offered to drive them at 5:30 a.m. There was no traffic on my way back, which was a great way to drive a Suburban for the first time in another country. My GPS tried to misdirect me, but I made it back fine. This time, I went running right back to where I got lost but with a full battery charge! I took what sort of seemed like a path up a mountain, but it sort of ended at some big rocks, so I was content with my pretty view and scratched up skin. Betsy texted, and I headed back and went for a walk in the hills with them – cactus! Views! All pretty! All the dirt roads in this area were pleasant for recreation.

Pamela came and did a yoga class right by the pool! I did my first headstand (since I was a kid) and it was great. You can contact her through her sushi restaurant, Sakow Sushi. 

We hung out by the pool until it was time to meet up with the guys downtown. This time I drove in traffic. No problem, but seems like a big vehicle on the narrow roads, and often when there’s two lanes people make it three, and sometimes a moped drives in between you. But really, mostly just regular city driving, but with more speed bumps. There were a lot of them.

We met up with the guys by the marina – they had a great fishing day! Four marlins and one mahi mahi, which is the only one you could keep and eat.

We went on the sunset cruise with Blue Sky Cabo, and it was truly amazing. We went out to Arch Rock and admired it and took a million pictures. The mountains along the water were beautiful. Then we saw WHALES. This was an unexpected treat. We followed them around and marveled at them. On the way back – sea lions, and then one was right by our boat in the marina! It looked just like a dog. This is my first must do in Cabo – it was magical.

We went to Misiones De Kino where they will cook up your fish for you, and we ate Kris’ mahi mahi! It was delicious, there were great musicians, and we all loved it there.

Day 3

Up for another run! I took a different dirt path and made it to more paths through the woods – high for an awesome view of ocean and mountains! I also found a machete in the woods. No, I didn’t take it with me. But a fun discovery!

We went to Cannery Beach and parked in an open lot. Parking was very cheap everywhere. This beach was at the foot of the rocks! We climbed up them, but couldn’t get far because it ended in a cliff.

Niles and Matt started going along the rocks and in the water, and Kris and I decided to go with them. We had to climb along rocks and in the water, so I didn’t bring my camera, which I will forever regret!

It was so fun – we really had to scramble along the rocks, and then we would go in the water when it was easier to go in the water. After rocks it would open up to beaches, each more beautiful and deserted than the last. We just kept going to see how far we could go, until we reached the last beach. There was one guy, and he disappeared behind a rock.

It looked like Star Wars – giant mountains of rock on either side of us, completely white sand at our feet, and gorgeous, wild crashing waves in front of us. Everything was glittering in the sun – and it was just us!

We kicked sand and splashed around and spun around, taking it all in. We thought about going through the water to arch rock, but it was too wild and deep to make it.

I searched for the guy behind the rock, asked him to take our picture and send it to me. He didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Spanish, and I didn’t get the pictures. Oh well … go here and bring your camera! It was truly beautiful, and my favorite activity.

On the way I slipped on a rock, plus I cut my foot open on a barnacle, and I like both of those things because that means ... it was a more challenging hike.

The tide was lower on the way back, so it seemed like it didn’t take us much time at all to return. We were probably gone an hour and 45 minutes total.

The boys helped the neighbors move a washer, dryer, and furniture into their house AS YOU DO, we watched the sunset from the roof and ate, and then we went to the marina area to see all the wild Cabo nightlife. If you don’t like peddlers, don’t go to this area.

Day 4

We hiked Cerro de la Z! We followed the GPS to get there, which took us through some sketchy neighborhoods, but on the way back we just took the main roads we normally took. We parked at the bottom of the hill by other cars – not really a parking lot, but plenty of room to pull off. It starts with just a cement road, and then you come to a big fence that looks like you shouldn’t pass it, but everyone just sidestepped it. 

The people on this path were almost all locals. Families, people with dogs, runners, people working out – huge shoutout to the woman wearing ankle weights and holding a boulder, stepping up and down a wall. It was a quick and steep walk up to the giant weather station that looked like a huge soccer ball (you can see it from Cabo) and then some amazing views. We could see whales from here, too! The boats following them cued us in. Perfect blue sky, bluer ocean, mountains, just picturesque all around.

We went for a walk and saw more interesting cactus, and then all took Covid tests! Such a fun part of international travel.

We ate lunch at La Taquiza T-zal, and while we were there, Matt needed to get to the marina before the food came, so I offered to drop him off and drive back. On the way back, I was paying attention so hard, basically just thinking – don’t get in an accident and screw this up for everyone! But it was easy and I was back in no time. 

We parked to go to Cachet Beach – also called Corazon. We paid to park in a public lot, and then we walked into a completely different beach than the day before! Lots of people, bars and restaurants on the water, great views, and people selling stuff. We were all offered bracelets, necklaces, and trinkets, and if you said no to those, weed and cocaine. Really full service. 

The view on this beach was great, and we had a drink at the Baja Brewing Company and then walked down to the marina to meet up with Matt. We had dinner at Agua Salada (giant burrito, my second of the day) and it was so delicious I was full the next day. We walked around downtown a little bit more and headed home.

Day 5

Kris and I ran and walked up in the hills. We got our same driver as the way there and enjoyed talking to him about Mexican politics. We had the same flight as Chris and Betsy – flight cancelled. (Second trip in a row this has happened - this one was due to bad weather in Arizona and Texas.) 

The app booked us on a flight two days later. I freaked out because my kids were staying with friends I didn’t want to burden. We ran to a desk and tried to get on another flight that was leaving right then. They said no. We tried with another airline. They said no. I tried to go through my brother to get on standby to get on a United flight. They herded us through a hall and said we had to go there to get our bags (we didn’t check any bags) and get rebooked. 

We walked that way and realized we were leaving the airport. We begged a customs agent to not make us leave the airport because we were trying to fly out. He kindly told us how to get back in, and we went to the American Airlines line (again) and tried just to get back into the country, because our covid test was only good for one day. (We could get another one but we didn’t have one and didn’t know how we would get one in the airport.) 

A kindly agent booked us on a flight with Alaska Air, United, and American Airlines that took us through San Francisco, a redeye to Chicago, then to Detroit the next day. Betsy and Chris ended up with an equally odd flight path, and Kate and Matt had trouble leaving too. But - after a lot of jockeying around, we all eventually made it back. 

Views on Cabo – beautiful. Loved the cruise, the hiking, the weather, and the views. Service was spectacular and friendly all around. So many people working. This is my third time to Mexico, and it was different than both other places (Puerto Vallarta and Cozumel.) Always felt safe. Cons – Getting out.

Special thanks to the Uptons and Roff's, without whom this trip would not have been possible!