Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Key West vacation, day 2

9 a.m. -- Woke up to this glorious view...
I am feeling a bit cracked out from drinking a triple espresso since the rooms didn't have a regular coffee maker. Lesson learned: an espresso is not a regular cup of coffee.

10 a.m. -- I have made my way down to the hotel's private beach. Just want to say how glad I am that they have fruit-infused water... It's the little things that make for big luxury!
When you first walk out of the lobby:
Love the sand sculpture.
Found the shadiest hammock, you can see our room balcony from here.
Looking left from my hammock.
Get it, Jetski Man!
I'm reading this February 2015 O magazine, and it has a wonderful deep thought.
It says, in Martha Beck's column, the following:
"If you're hungry and you eat a square meal, you'll feel better. But you won't feel ten times better if you eat ten square meals. Our culture instills in us an unfettered lust for more, more, more. Like a cancer, that lust doesn't know when to stop. Consider asking, How can I make do with less? You'll find yourself headed for the even-keeled moderation that leads to real happiness."


1 p.m. -- I was so busy working in my hotel room (yes, unfortunately I have been spending a chunk of time daily having to keep up with my job)... I almost missed my planned snorkel trip! I didn't realize the time was 12:30, and I was supposed to already BE AT THE MARINA!!

I flew out of the door and raced in my car, parked and ran there. I was out of breath by the time I made it onto the catamaran, and the captain was like, "Slow your roll!" But I had made it!
 Notice the LSU flag on this mega-yacht. Geaux Tigers, even in Key West! :)

The ocean conditions were decent with clear visibility, although winds were high and there was chop. It made the snorkeling a little rough because I was fighting the waves. I think this mag be my final snorkel excursion for quite a while. The Blue Heron bridge snorkel trail in Riviera Beach has me so spoiled, nothing really compares.

The only things of note today that I sighted were huge barracuda, and a sting ray. Of course my camera battery was dead by the time I saw the sting ray. But it wasn't a big deal since I see them all the time at the Blue Heron bridge.

Yellowtail snapper...
 Brain coral...
 I think this is some kind of boxfish...
 The big, bad barracuda. This picture doesn't convey how large they were.
 Check out dem teefs!
 #SnorkelSelfie
The catamaran, from Key West Sebago. The company offers snorkeling, sunset cruises and sailing. The crew members were perky and helpful. Highly recommend.

On the way back in, I admired what was allegedly Oprah's vacation home (one of them) until she sold it a couple of years ago. The internet confirms she did rent out all of Sunset Key cottages to celebrate her 44th birthday with a few of her celebrity BFF's... 
I love Sunset Key -- it's this little island with fancy homes and bungalows, only accessible by boat right off of Key West's shores. No cars are allowed on it so people just drive golf carts.

There it is, the distant island...


4 p.m. -- Best slice of pizza ever at Duetto's, a delightful, small cafe-type spot right between the marina and Sloppy Joe's Bar on Duval. It bills itself as "A Taste of Italy in Key West." 

Totally gave them a glowing review on Trip Advisor because they were so hospitable, the pizza was so crazy-good and inexpensive, and another customer suggested it. I literally said "Wow!" as soon as I bit into the garlicky goodness, and the fellow customer heard it and said to me, "Best pizza ever. Give it a good review online." So I did!

7 p.m. -- Awesome dinner with Kelly Aline's work posse at the Casa Cayo Hueso. This spot is cool! I wish it had a secret passageway I could explore. It looks as if it would have one.

10 p.m. -- Shenanigans ensue on Duval Street. 
Angela Street!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Disney World! Vacay photos! Oh, and my OOTD

I'll just start with a quick post about my OOTD... it's a shirt I think of as my "dressy zookeeper" or "safari" type shirt, because of the color and front pockets. The fabric is silky, so it's dressier than a real zookeeper would wear (and I ought'a know, since I work at a zoo).
My jeans and the shirt are both from Old Navy, my favorite place to shop. Shoes are animal-print flats from Payless.

Now, on to more fun stuff-- THREE DAYS OF DISNEY WORLD!!! My husband and I took advantage of the Florida Resident Special Offer of three different theme parks for $129 each. So worth it! 

We did the Magic Kingdom first, on Thursday. 
It was amazing! I love riding Space Mountain. My favorite part was visiting the new FantasyLand expansion. We rode "Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid," and visited Maurice' Cottage in "Enchanted Tales with Belle." 

 
The grand ballroom in Beast's Castle, and the stained glass window from the movie's ending

Beast's ripped portrait

Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid

The character "Gaston" had huge biceps, and the "swagger" to match :) 

Belle and Lumiere... the character sounded just like Belle from the movie!

I also loved the evening electric parade and the night shows, "Celebrate the Magic" and "Wishes Nighttime Spectacular" when they put all the animated stuff on the castle and do fireworks to music. DISNEY DOES IT BIG!!

The only downside to the day-- it was super-hard to eat healthfully. I know it was a vacation... but someone needs to alert Disney dining officials that this is 2014, and people want nutritious food, even on trips. I gave up after the first day... plus I had been looking forward to chowing down in Epcot. :)

So Friday, yes, we did Epcot. I was most looking forward to the World Showcase! We had done DisneyWorld with a park hopper pass in 2012, so we had already hit up a bunch of rides then. This was taking our time, being leisurely, and enjoying the day doing the quality things that we wanted to do on the last trip... plus eating and drinking our way around the world, ya heard?!

Here are some photos from Epcot, where I only took video of the IllumiNations nighttime fireworks show (which was amazing):

Chevrolet's Test Track, and the fun green screen at the end of the ride

Mexico

 
Norway, where characters Anna and Elsa from "Frozen" stay... did you know the movie was based on the museum in Epcot's Norway?! 

China (with my new peacock umbrella that has my name written on it in Chinese)

The Jeweled Dragons acrobatic troupe, and Mulan!! (love that movie)

Germany! Spot the hidden Mickey :) 

Werther's caramel place (Karamell-Küche shop), with chocolate-covered pineapple spears and a candied apple

Morocco... rub that lamp, Aladdin

Italy

 
America

 
Japan, where I wanted to buy a bunch of Hello Kitty stuff... but didn't, 'cuz I'm an adult, albeit one that goes to Disney without any kids.

  
France (where we had a yummy, non-nutritious and pastry-filled dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day)

England, Mary Poppins, Pooh and Tigger

Canada

On Saturday, we visited the Animal Kingdom for the first time ever. It was like Zoo Disney. 

Giraffes on the safari ride

Mount Everest. I hated that coaster! Steep drops are bad, mm-kay?

I'm not ashamed to say this musical made me cry. Three times.

The last day, we had lunch with my bestie, Rikki. It was also awesome to watch her live shots on tv in realtime. :) She is an Orlando reporter. 


All in all, a very successful, fun-filled trip! I am SO GLAD we went. I felt like I earned that vacation, after two solid months of late nights working from home, stress-filled days, etc. It was exactly what I needed! :) :) :)