Playing Catch Up

Finally back home from a very wonderful vacation, and even better, we managed to beat the snow! Nicholas and The Girlfriend were TOTAL troopers at the airport, especially considering we woke up at 7 am, spent 6 hours in the airport, another 4 hours on the plane, no breakfast, minimal lunch and a very late dinner; they were both fantastic… and as you can see, they even had some fun passing the time.

And now to backtrack a bit. First, I owe you the pictures from the Gala Buffet from our cruise. I ended up staying awake for it (can’t touch the food until 12:30 am, after a 45-minute viewing/photo op), so The Neighbor Husband gets the credit for the great photos. Grab a cup of coffee, here we go:

Now for our second Key West visit. This time, we visited another part of town, stops that we missed when the ship was there on Monday. First stop was the Key West Lime ‘n More, where they stock every Key West gourmet food imaginable, in a friendly and colorful store. The kids enjoyed their ice cream and I got a chance to taste authentic Key Lime Pie. A quick tang in the first bite, it was finished in mere minutes … delicious. Funny, if you order here in the Northeast, it’s green. Down there, the authentic version is pale yellow. Learn something new every day! Do stop in there when you’re in the area. Their mascot, Mallory, celebrated her birthday yesterday, and if you tune in tomorrow, you can see her in my Weekend Dog Blogging round-up.

While hanging out in the front, enjoying our treats, we caught a glimpse of Key West Elvis entertaining the visitors. Cruise ships usually aren’t in port in Key West at night, so we had the unique opporutnity to participate in all the activities that happen at sunset. There are entertainers, art vendors (more beach prints for me!), and then this discovery:

A creation of the vendor, these are Sunset Cakes and they are absolutely delicious. A flaky, yet firm outer shell, between these and the Key Lime Pie, this was a great precursor to dinner! ;) Stuffed and rolled with whatever you choose, we got ours stuffed with whipped cream and sliced bananas and strawberries, and then rolled in cinnamon sugar and topped with chocolate syrup. It was nothing short of delectable. If you’re in the area, stop by and get one — you won’t be disappointed; and if you mention that you heard about them here, they’ll give you a dollar off. Go get ’em!


After that, we ended up going back to the Cuban restaurant we hit on Monday, El Meson de Pepe, for some dinner. A very lively place at night, with great music and atmosphere, it was a nice end to a relaxing day.

When we got back on the ship, Nicholas and The Husband took in the last show for the cruise (Nicholas LOVES the shows!) and The Neighbor and I grabbed one last drink at the bar.

All in all, it had mishaps and misadventures along the way, but it was a great vacation. And it’s always good to be home…

Tune in tomorrow for the Weekend Dog Blogging round-up, including pups I snapped from Key West and Cozumel. Until then…