This truly was a last minute vacation. We booked the hotel, flights and rental car three weeks in advance. I thrive in warmer weather and this spring was such a downer for me, most likely a combo of everything going on plus the cold, rainy weather. I was feeling really caged in during May and when Rich mentioned taking the last week of June off from work, my mind couldn't stop dreaming of getting away.
This all went down the last week in May. My mom was starting four weeks of radiation and, thankfully, she was feeling better and regaining some energy and strength. Her last chemo treatment was at the beginning of May and that one was simply nasty and completely wiped her out. I was making plans assuming I would need to be around for the first part of that last week of June in case my mom needed help with her appointments. Well, she said she was okay, and after confirming my youngest brother would be around to help out in my absence, Rich and I began discussing a quick getaway.
The girls mentioned Maine because they've never been and so that's where we initially planned to go for two-three days. So, yeah, two to three days in Maine turned into a week in Florida. The weather up here had been crap and we mostly planned to spend our time in Maine outdoors. What if it rained? What if it was chilly? Also, I knew the girls would want to swim and the ocean water up there is always much colder than our water.
Check out the water temperature. That was down in Newport, RI on June 1st.
I wanted summer. I wanted to walk out of an airport and feel a wall of heat and humidity. I wanted to sit by the pool/water and feel the sun on my face.
My texts to Rich while he's at work:
How many Hyatt points do we have?
How much are you willing to spend on airfare?
I pulled the hotel and airfare together one day while the girls were at school. It didn't take much for Rich and the girls to agree to a Florida vacation. Maine is close by and easier to fit in and we will get the girls up there one day.
Why the Florida Keys?
If you've been reading here for awhile, you know I have a thing for the Florida Keys. When I was in the sixth grade my dad was stationed in Key West for two weeks with the Navy and my family stayed down there on the base. Rich and I traveled through the Keys in 2003 and I've been trying to get back ever since. The world's third largest coral reef barrier is located off of the Keys, making it a great place for diving, snorkeling, fishing and boating. We don't do any of these things (ha ha) but I love the tropical feeling down there. These are tropical islands and the best part is that you don't have to leave the U.S.
Even though the Keys aren't known for their beaches (there aren't many), we were looking for a laid back (warm!) place with swimming and some other activities. I wanted the girls to see someplace new and I wanted the location to be somewhat convenient.
Our Travel Itinerary
You can fly to Key West (with a layover, for us) but most people, especially if you aren't staying in Key West, fly into either Fort Lauderdale or Miami and drive down. It's approximately a three hour drive from Fort Lauderdale to Marathon, which is where we stayed. Key West is another hour away. The drive down through the Keys is super interesting. There are water views and little motels, luxurious homes and ramshackle living spaces, all right next to each other. Some keys are so narrow, you can see the water on both sides of the roadway.
Jet Blue has one flight a day from Providence to Fort Lauderdale. It's a direct flight, lasting three hours. Basically, they have a plane that flies up from Fort Lauderdale at noon and returns to Fort Lauderdale in the late afternoon. We were supposed to land at 7:00 pm Saturday night but the plane was delayed on the flight up and then when we finally boarded, there was another delay because of a dog wedged under a seat in a carrier that was too big. And the dog was technically too big for that carrier to begin with. By the time we got off the plane in Fort Lauderdale, it was after 8:00.
We stayed at a hotel near the airport and Sunday morning, after breakfast and a swimming break, we drove down to Marathon. We stayed in the Keys for five nights and then drove back up to Fort Lauderdale on Friday. Our flight home was Saturday at noon. We ended up sitting on the plane for three hours while they fixed a technical issue with the computers. At least the pilot told us in detail what was happening but I don't know that I really wanted to hear that the plane's computer thought we had lost an engine and was telling him the emergency procedures for flying with one engine. The best part was about 45 minutes or so into the flight when the pilot came on to tell us that everything seemed to be working well with the computers. Well, I hope so!
Where We Stayed
I've noticed that there seem to be extremes when it comes to travel blogging. On one hand, you have bloggers who will tell you everything you want to know, how to save money, what to do and where to eat, and then there are the ones who simply brag and post the envy-inducing photos from 5 star luxury resorts. I've always tried to be real here and I'm going to keep it real. We picked both of our hotels because we had a free night and Hyatt points to use. For our first and last nights, we stayed at a Hyatt Place right near the airport. (It's actually called Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Airport and Cruise Port.)
In the Keys, we stayed at the Hyatt Place in Marathon. It's a 3 star hotel but it worked fine for us, especially seeing as we didn't pay anything to stay there. Over the past several years, we've been staying at Hyatt Place hotels because they accommodate the five of us in one room - 2 beds and a pull out sofa. I'm not sure how much longer all of us in one room will work. We had five suitcases and space was tight. Also, having only one bathroom isn't exactly ideal. (At one point, Allie commented that if we were on a reality TV show, half of it would be someone saying they needed to go to the bathroom, or someone in the bathroom. Yup, that is 100% accurate.) I'll give you all a more detailed review of the hotel in another post, otherwise, this post will be huge and take two weeks to finish.
Instead of writing out a travel diary, I'm going to group things together, like everywhere we ate, and all the Key lime pies we tasted, etc. More to come. . .
1 comment:
I love last minute trips! We rented a house in Key West for spring break this year but I originally looked at some condos in Marathon so I'm looking forward to hearing your review of that area.
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