Surprise! It’s Key West!
Nothing excites me more than when a friend or family member reaches out and asks if we want to go on a trip with them. In this case, our friend Brandon wanted to go on a trip to celebrate turning 40. It was a quick yes from us and also from our friends Leah and Ross. Brandon had given his wife Kristin a list of 5 or so places he wanted to go, but he wanted her to pick and keep it a surprise from him. She did a great job keeping the secret, but with two days to go Brandon received an email from American Airlines asking if he was ready for his trip to Key West! Kristin had entered his frequent flyer number in the reservation which is why he received the email. Needless to say it was still a surprise and he was pumped to go.
We had a super early morning flight and I had already pre-determined that we would park in the attached parking garage at the airport. It only cost $7/day more than the Super Saver lot but since it was such an early morning start I didn’t want to deal with having to wait for a shuttle to take us to the terminal and I really didn’t want to leave any early than 5:00. Now my intent was to leave our house no later than 5:00 as well, but by the time we headed out the door it was 5:07. What Tom and I didn’t take into account was the time need to circle the airport to get into the daily parking area of the garage and the longer walk to the terminal. I have parked in the garage before but that was always in hourly parking when we were seeing somebody off or greeting them back. In my head I was thinking it would be a quick park and walk into the terminal. Needless to say we made it the gate with about 20 minutes to spare before boarding began (thanks again TSA Pre-Check). We cut this one a little close and Tom will admittedly say this time it made him a little nervous. Lesson learned.
We had a couple hour layover in Charlotte that provided enough time to take our time to the gate, get a bite to eat, and spin a wheel for some free CLT (Charlotte’s airplane code) swag. Ross got himself a pair of socks, Leah a cooling towel, Kristin a cinch bag, and myself a pen (Brandon and Tom didn’t play). That cinch bag came in real handy for Kristin on this trip. Soon we were on our way to Key West!
Once landed in Key West Kristin ordered us up an Uber to take us to our accommodations, the Lighthouse Hotel (https://www.keywesthistoricinns.com/the-inns/lighthouse-hotel/accommodations/). When Kristin, Leah, and I got together to plan the trip and found this hotel we decided to pay for a small upgrade to have a room with a patio. At the time we were making the reservation there were only two King rooms available and one queen. Since Tom and I sleep on a Queen at home I had no problem selecting that room. As we were getting settled into our rooms, Brandon sent a text and asked if we were meeting up at the pool or the Presidential suite. Leah replied for us to come check out her room. It turns out that she had been upgraded (for free) to the hotel’s best room, the Hemingway Suite! Per the hotel website the suite is “A two-story loft fit for a legend, with 900 square feet of impressive architecture with stunning exposed wood beams. A self-contained oasis, complete with a full kitchen, living and dining areas, a wrap-around balcony, luxurious soaking tub, and kitchen.” It was impressive! Brandon and Kristin had the room next door to them and I think their room was an upgraded space as well since they had a little sitting area and more space. Our little room was kind of funny when compared to theirs, but we had no complaints.
After taking the tour of rooms we headed to the pool bar for our free welcome drink. Since Leah and Ross don’t drink they kindly gave us their token so we could use it for the more expensive alcoholic drinks. With our drinks gone we ventured out to find the Walgreens to pick up some snacks and wine. The snacks were perfect but we should have never bought the bottle of wine. We never did get around to drinking it, but hopefully the maid will enjoy it since we left it for her along with a cash tip.
Leah had smartly researched and made dinner reservations in advance of us leaving for Key West at the Southernmost Beach Resort Cafe (https://www.southernmostbeachresort.com/dine/southernmost-beach-cafe/menu/dinner/) for 6:30. I was torn between ordering the mahi mahi or the swordfish, but in the end went with the mahi mahi since Brandon was getting the swordfish. We each tried a bite of the others and I think the swordfish was better. Don’t get me wrong, the mahi mahi was very good, I just think the swordfish was even better. Tom and Kristin both had the Shrimp Alfredo, while Leah had a salad, and Ross had the Garden Pasta. I personally really enjoyed this meal.
After dinner we headed down Duval St to find a bar to watch the Tyson vs Paul fight. I Googled places that would be showing it and found two bars relatively close to each other a mile away. It felt good to walk after dinner. We got to Pickles Pub and found that the bar was quite large, but already crowded. They had a TV everywhere you could possibly hang one, so seeing the fight wasn’t going to be a problem. We got a drink and found a corner to watch the first bout. Since we knew there would be a few bouts before the main event we decided to leave and check out the other bar that we knew was showing the fights. That bar was even smaller and just as crowded. We ultimately decided to go back to the hotel and watch the fight in Leah and Ross’s enormous living room. The couch was certainly big enough. I could have easily fit 10 people. Unfortunately the TV wasn’t a smart TV so we were unable to pull up Netflix on the TV, but Tom’s tablet was a suitable replacement. I’m so glad we decided to go back o the hotel to watch it since the main event didn’t end up starting until after 11:3O. The main event ended up being somewhat boring and uneventful, but the females who boxed before the main event put on a much better show. At the end of the day, it was a very good first afternoon/evening in Key West.
Stats of the Day
Steps: 14,607
Number of New Tattoos or Piercings: 0 (but in my drunken state I certainly was temped)
Avg Rate for the Hemingway Suite: $1,395/night (Leah and Ross got a steal!)
