our trip began in miami - we had a TERRIBLE time getting the hotel figured out (we think the deal we got was somewhat of a scam because it was so difficult to get them to book us in a hotel, and then the hotel we got was pretty nasty instead of the 3+star - like a doubletree or wyndham - we were promised). loved getting to see miami though. we ate lunch and walked around coconut grove, which i thought was really cute. then we headed to south beach, where our hotel was. great location, not so nice hotel.
our hotel, the seagull hotel, is the white one on the right of the high-rise (which was an awesome hotel apparently - minimum $900/night!)
wide beach
view from our room (she upgraded us to oceanfront to try and appease us - haha)
the hotel next door had three sweet pools and a nice cabana area
leaving miami
biscayne bay
after a fun night in miami, we boarded the cruise ship and headed to key west!
very pink bathroom
our room was pretty spacious - even had a little sitting area - and the balcony (we paid extra for) was definitely worth it!!
my sweet husband surprised me with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in our room :)
before dinner the first night
first night of towel animals - a seal
our first port was key west. i loved going there and wish we had had a little more time to hang out in the town. it's a cute beach town with lots of fun places to go out (even though our cocktails had to be consumed during the daytime :)). we were originally supposed to go snorkeling in key west, but because of the super windy weather, they cancelled. then, we signed up to do a jet ski tour but changed our minds and went with a scooter rental instead. we definitely made the right decision with that, though, because the water was super cold, and neither snorkeling nor jet skiing would've been fun that day. we rode the scooter to smathers beach, the southern most point, up duval street, and to a great little local place for a cuban sandwich. after dropping off the scooter, we walked up duval street and grabbed a frozen drink at fat tuesdays, a slice of chocolate covered key lime pie (and an ornament for our collection), and a beer at sloppy joes, and by then, it was time to get back on the boat.
oldest bar
we did not want to wait in line for our picture at this tourist spot, so we got these people in our picture instead :)
sloppy joes
formal night on the cruise - i think i could only wear this dress on a cruise or in vegas!
second night of towel animals - an elephant (billy's favorite :))
after leaving key west, we headed to cozumel. not long after leaving key west, though, apparently someone on the boat fell and broke their leg, so we had to slow way down while a coast guard helicopter came to air-lift the person back to shore. it meant a little less time in cozumel, but we still enjoyed going there very much! we went on a snorkeling excursion there (next time, we'll be sure to go to the big reef though - we thought we were going there, but our trip ended up just going somewhere near the port - still fun though). then, we showered and headed to downtown cozumel, where the "real" senor frogs is (versus the one at the port). apparently, not many other people had gotten the memo about the larger place being downtown, so it was pretty dead. we both got tall frozen drinks, walked around the downtown area, and then headed back to the port area. that's where the party was the whole time apparently. we had a drink (free from our snorkeling trip!) at three amigos, went to fat tuesdays for a few minutes, and then got back on the ship. our brief time in cozumel was fun and also good confirmation that next time we go back to mexico, we'll do playa del carmen again with a day trip to cozumel (for awhile, we had thought about going to cozumel exclusively, but i don't think that would be as good).
mexican military boats
billy's new friend
port in cozumel
the destiny :)
three amigos - don't know how this guy carried those drinks like that!
all light up at night
we don't exactly know what our towel animal was that night...
...but it apparently liked the giants
sunday was a "fun day at sea" - aka hustling to get back to miami in time to debark before the next group arrives. it was super windy on the boat, so we spent a little time laying out and reading, but it wasn't great weather for getting a lot of sun. that was superbowl sunday, and we ended up ordering room service so we could watch the first half of the game in the room (a storm was rolling in, so watching on the pool deck was not optimal at that time), and then we watched the second half in the big theater area. billy was so excited that the giants won - especially after they had a mediocre season!
after we got back to miami, we headed down to the keys because the weather in miami was cloudy and rainy. by the time we got to key largo and islamorada, the weather was sunny, warm, and perfect! we enjoyed lunch outside and even saw a nurse shark in the water right behind where we're standing below.
"beach" area outside the islamorada fish company restaurant
had to include this picture of our hotel lobby - there's a bridge with a little pond under it. and a mural. and a mexican tile roof indoors. classy.
we thought this picture was appropriate as well...the trash truck driving down the beach right in front of our trashy hotel. nice.
when we got back to miami, we went for a run and then got ready for dinner. after walking around awhile, we wound up on espanola way and went to this good cuban restaurant there. would definitely recommend walking around that cute little area! and, the next day, we headed home to the terriers :) another fun trip - glad i have such a fun traveling partner!
