June 10, 2011

Where the Chickens & Parrotheads Roam...

Key West, baby!

Monday, also Memorial Day, was our first port of call in the beautiful Key West, Florida. We booked a low-key excursion through Carnival for the hop on-hop off trolley tour. We learned some really neat things about Key West, and got to see quite a bit of the island.

It felt pretty good to step off the ship, even though I did feel the sea legs just a bit! All the excursion tours were ready and waiting to whisk everyone away!



I took my first chance to get a picture of the ship from land. It really is impressive, standing next to that thing!



We took in all the trolley had to offer. We saw the wild chickens and chicks that Key West is home to- so cute! We learned about the history of Key West, aka The Conch Republic, and saw many of its famous sites. We checked out the Ernest Hemingway House and made our way to the southernmost point in the US- 90 miles to Cuba!



The southernmost point was quite the tourist attraction, so we found someone willing to snap a group picture of us... lovely! In turn, I took approximately 73 pictures of other groups. I kid, I kid. Sort of.



I snapped this from a moving trolley, so forgive me. But, I found it fascinating that the cemetery housed their burials above ground. I believe we were told that it was due to hurricane forces that unearthed bodies originally buried underground. Upon some further research from home, I've also read that it's merely due to lack of remaining space. In any case, it was an interesting sight to see.



We traipsed up and down Duval Street, did plenty of souvenir shopping, and checked out all of Key West's natural beauty!



Sadly, one of the only pictures taken of Lynzee and I all trip. That's totally what happens when you're the photographer. Story of my life...



Naturally, we stopped at Kermit's Key Lime Shoppe for some key lime treats!



They had such a nice little secluded back patio to sit and chill, which was exactly what I did!



Later, we stopped at the original Margaritaville for a namesake beverage and some conch. The first was great; the latter, well...



We returned to our ship and found what we had been waiting for all along (besides our adjoining balcony)... a folded towel critter!



We squeezed onto our balcony {bitter} and enjoyed some adult beverages. Lynzee and I discovered our FAVORITE drink, which we enjoyed time and time again as the week went on, appropriately named The Cruiser. I can't wait to try and make it at home. We gazed at the sun casting over the ocean and just chilled.



All in all, it was a great day. In retrospect, we wished we had chosen a more active, adventurous excursion for Key West, but we enjoyed ourselves still. ♥

Needed some rest to prep for our first full day at sea Tuesday!

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