Running & Wine-ing: key lime dream

Scot turned 31 earlier this month (I know, I'm next, shut up) so I surprised him with a weekend down in Key Largo. I used my Trip Advisor app on my Kindle to plan the whole thing, from where to stay to where to eat and what to do. He still insisted on driving-there were doubts as to whether or not my car would make the trip and back alive- so I just plugged the hotel into the GPS and we were off. 6.5 hours later, after an unintentional scenic route through Miami (stupid construction!) we made it.

The first evening of our stay, I'd booked us a sunset sailing trip on a pirate ship. Turns out, no one else had booked that evening so we got a private cruise for ourselves! We got to help hoist the sails and steer the boat and maneuver all the sails and lines around-it was so cool! It was interesting to get back in to "learning mode" because learning to sail a boat is what I think about when I get a little burnt out on flight instructing-when I think about how my students know just as much about flying as I do about boating, it reminds me to take care in my instruction and explain everything simply and clearly.

As the sun set, we got to blow the conch shell (pronounced KONK). Traditionally, you blow it to signify the end of the day and to drive away any bad spirits, similar to the way you'd blow a trumpet. It sounds a lot like a boat horn, low and loud. Youtube it sometime, it's pretty cool.

The next day, we set out for some snorkeling. At the same dock our boat left from, the actual boat used in the move "The African Queen" was being kept and refurbished. I had to grab some pictures, because I adore that movie, starring Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. The African Queen herself looked amazing- I remembered that pesky boiler that Charlie Allnutt fought with the whole way through the movie, the tiller that Rose handled to steer them through the rapids and falls, and the newly replaced canopy, no longer tattered but a pretty red stripe. I was in heaven!

Snorkeling was fun, of course. The water was a chilly 77 degrees but we managed to hit 3 sites along America's only coral barrier reef. We were 10 miles off shore and saw tons of amazing tropical fish and beautiful corals. We also saw what's known as the "Christ of the Abyss"-a Jesus statue about 20 feet underwater, intentionally sunk for your diving pleasure. So cool! We got seriously sunburned on the hour-long ride back to shore because we, uh, kinda forgot about the need to reapply sunscreen after swimming in the ocean. My legs are burnt so bad I can't even bend them to put socks on. It's pathetic.

Upon arriving back at the hotel, all I wanted was a shower to get all the saltwater off. Not happening, since the water pressure was gone! Apparently the hotel was working on the pipes so we just went down to the pool to trade seawater for chlorine. By the time we got back, water pressure was back up and we were able to get ready for dinner.

After a delicious meal followed by the best key lime pie EVER at Mrs. Mac's, we headed to a bar called the Pilot House, which has a glass floor. You can totally see the water below and even feed the fish through a hole in the floor! I had a key lime martini which was basically pie in a glass. Freakin' awesome ya'll.
Sad to say we had to leave the next morning but we managed to purchase some key lime chocolate and a baby key lime tree on our way out of town. I officially have a new favorite vacation spot, though. And soon I'll have the homemade pie to take me back...at least for a brain-cation when I need it! Enjoy some pics :)