Key West...a week in heaven!

This will be out of sequence with the next few postings, but I HAVE to jump ahead to the best part...vacation!
A week of pure heaven. Truly. We had the best time in Key West. Key West was a fun place to vacation, but it was absolutely the property and staff that made it divine. We took a ton of pics (shocker) so I'll keep it brief. It's not where you are, it's who you are with...that's what we always say at the Darby house. I had the best time with Nathan. It's nice because we were on the same page the entire time. I love that! The expectation was just to have fun and relax...and that's exactly what we did. I did cry when I left the kids but as soon as we arrived, I realized how brilliant Nathan was to get me away from home...I SO needed the sleep and downtime. For me, the lack of chaos was the biggest perk. Oh and no baby monitor. Or was it the sound of the ocean at night while we slept? :)
A few highlights:
*We rented a brand new red mustang convertible. We had a blast exploring the island. We hit the local grocery store so we had several PB&J meals in our room to save $$.
*We saw "The Hangover" -- funniest movie I've seen in a LONG time. Hilarious!!! So inappropriate-- it was greatness.
*Oceanside candlelight dinner. Hands down the most romantic meal I've ever had in my life. It was one of those moments I will remember forever. It was so special. And the filet was perfect.
*"Pridefest 2009"-- Key West hosted a "rainbow parade" as I was trying to explain to Alex when she wanted to see pictures. Holy moly...we sat right up front and didn't miss any of the action. Took tons of video, but I will spare you from that. It was so dang funny! Lots of pride in Key West, that's for sure. During the parade a really handsome guy came up to me and said, "Ohhh, he's cute. Hang on to that one." AHHH!!!!!!
*Pumping on the airplane-- that was a ONE time experience for me. Awful!
*We ate at a Brazilian steakhouse. We both ate so much we literally had to race home because we both were sick to our stomach. I've never consumed so much filet in my life!
*Bean bag toss-- our favorite afternoon activity. Very similar to washers or horseshoes. We had a fierce competition going on and I held my own!
*We are 95% sure we swam right next to a nurse shark. They aren't aggressive, but it was still a freak out to see a large fin coming toward us.
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My favorite picture,"Soul mates." We were having fun playing with the camera.

Famous sculpture in the lobby of Casa Marina

The t-shirt says it all. I know, so mature :)Perfect form!

Mel's victory photo after a heated bean bag toss competition

Dirty pirate. Ewww. You can't see where the gun is pointing, but it was NOT OK! He wanted Nathan out of the picture.

Snorkeling adventure! We went with a group out to a beautiful reef and saw all kinds of exotic fish. The water was like glass. It was a perfect day.Wild dolphins at play. So amazing to see!
Mel's favorite reading spot.
Mel's birthday slice of Key Lime Pie. YUM!

Our view from the balcony. It looks like a postcard!

The "Stang" in front of our hotel

The Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps in the parade. They took this VERY seriously.

"Miss" Jessica. Ewww.

Picture at the 'Southernmost Point' of the continental US. Just 90 miles from Cuba.

Enjoying our time at the ocean. I can see why Nathan got hit on! :)

Sunset beach walks

Nathan reading his "mystery book." You'll have to ask him about that one!

The beautiful beach

View from the patio

Room 190 is where it's at!

Lobby pic

Paraside Found.

The pier just after sunset

Dinner on the beach. Pictures can't begin to explain how intimate and special this was.

Mel taking it all in.

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Who wants to go next time?? :)