For Spring break we decided to hit the road and travel down to the Florida Keys. It was kind of a last minute decision, as in the day before. Which was kind of nice because I didn't stress too much about packing. The drive felt like an eternity -as if we we were literally driving to the edge of the Earth. The kids did awesome in the car though.
We planned to be driving during General Conference, so we struck a deal with the kids. We got to listen to ALL 5 sessions of conference on the radio and between sessions they got to watch movies. It worked out wonderfully, with no complaining. And the kids were a captive audience and "heard" every word of conference. And I maybe only fell asleep during a few talks.
We only got stuck in bad traffic once and were at a total stand still due to an accident. It was a long wait in the car with nothing in sight for miles. Here David is showing Charlotte how much farther we had to go until we were at the hotel. It was actually VERY close, but there is only one road in and out of those islands, and we were stuck on it!
Finally arrived and checking out our hotel
The kids were fascinated by the banana trees.
The tiny beach at our hotel
We settled in for the night and got ready for a full fun day of exploring. We had brought our bikes, so we all saddled up and rode off to find some breakfast.
It was at this point that David started to not feel so well. He had an upset stomach and managed to leave his mark on the sidewalk a few times.... it was rather embarrassing, but we got him into a cab to head back to our hotel. And I was left with the kids and all these bikes in an area I had been in only long enough to eat breakfast. I had no idea where we were or where we wanted to go. I felt a little overwhelmed and scared. I'm really not this adventurous. But we grabbed a map and started biking.
Poor Aliza still needs training wheels, and those brick lined streets were pretty tough to maneuver through. At one point I told her to leave her bike near a dumpster and she would never see it again. She could ride in the trailer with Dallin. We quickly realized that was too heavy of a load and she agreed to keep riding her bike, although she was in tears because she couldn't keep up. Carmen and Charlotte were the leaders and Dallin and I the caboose, following Aliza ever so slowly through the streets of Key West. I really had no clue where we were going. We didn't have any water because we had used it all to clean up David after he got sick... we also had no sunscreen or hats. I was totally that under prepared naive mother all alone in a touristy town.
We decided to head towards the Southern Most Point, because that was the one place I knew I wanted to see. But I could quickly tell that we weren't going to make it far without any water. It was really hot! We stopped and got some coconut water from a street vendor and asked her how much father was the point. We pointed it out to us at the very end of the street... maybe 5 more blocks to go. I tried to rally the kids into finishing the ride, but there was no such luck. I asked where the nearest drug store was so we could get some sunscreen and other necessities. It happened to be around the corner.
After the cool air conditioning of the CVS, we pretty much knew we were through and ready to head back to the hotel to hit up the pool. Now, I just had to remember where we had parked our car. After riding our bikes for several hours, it felt as if our car must have been miles away. We back tracked a lot and started recognizing familiar places until we were able to find our car. (Lesson learned: Don't rely too heavily on your husband for knowing his way around a place. I just assumed all along he we would get us where we needed and I really didn't pay any attention to how we got there) The parking lot only accepted cash... I had spent our cash on the coconut water! The CVS didn't give cash back either.... so I ventured off to a sketchy bar to find an ATM. I was nervous about bringing the kids in with me, so I told them to wait outside on the sidewalk and DO NOT MOVE. I quickly got the cash and ran out of the bar and back to the car. Now, all those bikes needed to be put back on the bike rack... thankfully, Carmen was always David's helper when he did the bike rack, so she totally knew what to do. She was my hero in that moment! And thankfully, the GPS had our hotels address in it already. David slept most of the day and I prayed most of the day that he would feel better the next day! While I was impressed with myself for getting through that ordeal, I didn't want to do it again the next day.
Here we are after that adventurous day, where we rode a lot, but never really saw anything! I love my girls and how they were so adventurous with me.
The next day was BOAT DAY!
The day was really windy and the boat rental guys felt best that we took a driver/guide with us. I think David was pretty disappointed with this, but I think it turned out to be an advantage. This local guy took us to places no tourist would even know about. It was absolutely gorgeous and such a fun day!
He took us up a little channel for some snorkeling. I am totally terrified of deep water.... there was no way I was going to jump in there! I originally thought we would snorkel in shallow water, like we had done in Hawaii. But he took us to this old submarine channel where it was pretty deep. No thank you, I'll just be the photographer. The kids seemed to buy it and jumped right in! Aliza was the most adventurous.
There was also and rope swing up the channel, but no one was brave enough to actually try it... the boat guide kind of scared us off when we pulled into to snorkel and the first thing he saw a jellyfish in the water....
But what a fabulous day it was! I was so grateful that David was feeling better and the boat ride was fun and relaxing, and the snorkeling was just the adventure the kids were looking for.
That night we went to the main square where everyone goes to watch the sunset. There were a lot of street performers that were entertaining to watch. We got some ice cream and walked around a little while, waiting for sunset time.
This kid was exhausted...
We watched the sunset two different nights. Most were in a better mood the second night.
We had a fun time goofing off and just being silly while waiting for the shuttle back to our hotel. (that's right.... no more bikes!)
The next day was our last day in Key West. We found this big guy right out our hotel door. Apparently he lives on the hotel grounds.
Despite all my efforts, we still hadn't made it to the Southern most point. This is as far south as you can go in the continental US. I was NOT leaving without going there. Everyone was so thrilled about taking a family picture here, Dallin was even asleep... But we went, and so I was happy.
Then we headed north to Bahia State Park for some beach swimming. This spot was gorgeous! But the beach is very narrow and crowded. We stayed a few hours and then needed to hit the road to make it home.
My toes in the sand!
I was the only one interested in walking across that old bridge. So everyone else waited in the car while I took a quick stroll across the bridge. And boy am I glad I did. It was so beautiful up there!
Overall, it was a such a fun trip. Lots of driving, warm sandy beaches and adventures galore. What more could you ask for?!
No comments:
Post a Comment