The Amazing Keys

So I've just posted some pictures from our holiday that I thought were either random or cool. For those you that don't know, I'm rubbish at taking photos. I'm in the don't-wreck-the-moment-by-taking-photos-and-oh-I-hate-being-held up-by-a-group-of-people-all-taking-the-same-shot-from-different-angles camp. Consequently, my photos are all a bit inconsequently, but you get the gist that I had a good time.

Confusion reigned at Tampa airport when the woman at the gate told us that we would be making a pitstop in Fort Meyers, which is a three hour drive from Tampa. So when the captain announced that we would be landing shortly, we weren't certain whether it was Fort Meyers or Key West, as we had been travelling for over an hour. I was desperately hoping it was Fort Meyers, as it was lashing it down with rain and grey as the UK. Alas, it was our holiday destination of sunny Florida keys.

We went to get our hire car and seeing my forlorn face, the rental guy gave us a complimentary upgrade to a Mustang convertible. Great except the forcast for the rest of the week was for thunderstorms and more rain.

Everything was grey and rainy. Key West was grey and rainy. The Seven Mile Bridge was grey and rainy and Islamorada was grey and rainy when we arrived, an hour and a half later. As we were leaving our 'efficiency' - I have no idea where that comes from, but it was essentially a studio with kitchen facilities - to go for dinner, I noticed that it had stopped raining and that there was a pink hue to the sky. I walked down to the waterfront and saw the most amazing sunset and view. Our 'resort' (consisting of 15 rooms or so) had a cute dock and waterfront with tidal pool and tiki bar, beyond which, the clouds, sun and sky were putting on quite a show. It was all pretty breath-taking.

We went to Ma's Fish Camp for dinner and had delicious mangrove snapper and our first of many key lime pies. Yum yum.

Day two's forecast was the same as the day before, though Key West seemed to be dry whilst overcast. We drove back the 75 miles to Key West and got caught in Marathon in the most almighty storm. The Boy and I were properly petrified, much as we were when we tried to drive to the Grand Canyon and the snow descended on us.

We pushed on through and arrived at a beautifully sunny and dry Key West. And boy is it quaint. The houses are lovely old style conch ones, with upstairs verandahs and wooden shutters. Against a crystal blue sky. palm trees and the shining sun, you can't help but be smiley.

The rain had left its toll, however, and the Boy and I had to wade, literally, through about a foot of water in places. As we were walking towards the southernmost point, a school bus driver asked us to stop and pose in the water for a photo of us wading through the streets.

The following two days cleared up beautifully and we were shown what Islamorada had to offer. We visited the mangroves and India Key Island on two kayaking trips, during which, the Boy saw a croc in the water about a foot from our plastic kayak. Fortunately, I had warned him not to tell me if he saw one unless he thought we could make a quick getaway - he did not.

Our last day was spent in Key West where we visited Ernest Hemginway's house and saw his 45 cats. He was a randy bugger. Key West is lovely and is undersold in reviews. It's not just a place to get bevved up, but has a great laidback vibe.

Getting on our flight back to NYC was a great example. I have never had such a pleasant experience at an airport. City in London is easy and quick; Beauvais in Paris is comically small; but Key West was just nice. There was even a motivational poster up in the tat shop by the gates, encouraging folk to give up their boring careers to follow their dreams, or indeed just to jack it all in to move to Key West.

I would very much like that.