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I was lucky enough to attend another out of state conference for work this year so I decided to do what I did last year and mix a little business with pleasure. It was actually a super interesting conference, but all the same, I was happy for Sunday to arrive and my vacation could start! Turn off the nerd side of the brain and just chill. I met Michelle and Rachel at the Miami airport mid-afternoon; the temp was maybe 80 but felt like 120. That humidity really sucks any life out of you, it is amazing to be standing, in shade, and just sweating. We hopped the shuttle to the rental car location and cozied up to a kiosk to slickly check-in and get our car voucher. We were then told to walk to the "mid-size" car corral and pick any mid-size in the lot. There was one lone car left, but it was shiny and white and held our luggage so it was a perfect fit! (keep that in mind, more about the car later) Then off we go to SoBe.
We found the Ocean Five Hotel with no problem. The hotels in SoBe are old and tired so you never know what you are going to get when you are looking in my price range. This hotel was fine -- not sure I would want to stay more than 1 night, but it worked for what we needed it to. However, the TV didn't work, the air conditioner was like a airplane and the bathroom was the size of my kitchen pantry. But like I said, it worked for the night.
After checking in, we headed off to find food. Ocean Drive is an interesting place. Lots of people and lots of vultures. Most restaurants have hostesses that try to get you to stop by sharing their "best" deals. We fell for it - half priced food, free glass of wine and 2 for 1 drinks. Worst pizza I had, but great deal on drinks! After dinner we had to get our feet wet so headed to the beach for a stroll.
The next morning, after having a little continental breakfast at the hotel we packed up the car and headed to the Keys. Once we rolled into Key Largo, I stopped the car at the Visitor Center. It is pretty rare for me to do that, but last time I was at the Keys we did that and got some good tips. Bob (or was it Jim?), the Visitor Center worker helped us with a great lunch tip and snorkel outfit. Ah...The Big Chill and Key West Ale. The Big Chill was probably on the same level as say Champp's, but it sure didn't have Champp's view! I quickly became use to deck eating and staring at the water. Sadly I didn't appreciate Key West Ale as much as I should have, I can't find a distributor back here! Such the perfect beer for an excessively hot day.
After full tummies we left to find our snorkel shop and head out to open water. We went through, http://www.snorkelingisfun.com/reefs.htm, which brought us to Garret's Reef in Pennekamp State Park. Sadly, the snorkeling wasn't the highlight that I wanted it to be. I got pretty nauseous on the boat (and in the choppy water), it was cloudy so the coral didn't really pop and my brand new snorkel I bought did not block the rush of salt water directly into my mouth. However, maybe once I get my underwater pics developed I will remember it differently. After snorkeling we remained on the benches for a bit til I could get my land legs and the captain of the boat asked us,"is that your MN tags" and pointed to the parking lot. After stuttering and much blonde-like confusion we said we are from MN, but have a rental car. After he left we ran to the rental car only to see MN license plates staring back at us. WHAT!? We were in FLORIDA! We rented a car in FL! It only took us 2 days to figure it out.
Onward to Key Colony Beach where our next hotel waited for us: Ocean Beach Club Resort. So in retrospect, it might have been more exciting to stay right in the heart of Key West, but the nice thing about Key Colony Beach was that it was out of the way (off of Hwy 1) and our resort did have a private beach area. For all the water that surrounded us it was like a sick joke that our shower produced no more than a sprinkle of water. Although visiting with the check-in guy made everything all better. :) For our first night he recommended The Island. It was great, I think we hung out for hours - of course at one point we were scared to leave because of the massive rain storm.
The next morning we had breakfast at the restaurant next door - it was nice! Beautiful view and our gay waiter was adorable. After breakfast we had a little walk and then thought we would try some beach time. Nature wasn't that cooperative. The rain clouds moved in so back to the room to change and get a pedi. Well, I had to get a mani since earlier in the week I had tore up my feet from (cute) sandals. After getting pampered for an hour we needed a break so we took a nap and then we were ready for dinner. A recommendation for sushi sent us to Castaways. The worst view ever - especially considering what we had gotten use to, but the food was good even though we had to sit next to a refrigerator truck.
Last day in the Keys are we were going to do it up big and travel to Key West. I really barely remember it - I was so hungry and so overheated I don't know where I was. I think we went to Hemingway's House and saw his poor cats also nearly past out from the heat. We did some shopping, but it was more tourist/tacky shops then my last trip there. We ended the evening with dinner on another deck staring at the water and watching the storm (that would ultimately cancel the Sunset Celebration for that evening) roll in.
So after sweating through all my clothes, I was ready to head home, oh but no, Northwest had different plans for me. The airline thought it would be fun if I got drunk at the Budweiser Brew House and waited 3 1/2 hours til I could board the plane. Not cool. Especially since I had a MN Wine Trip to repack for...
