31 December 2010: Key West, Florida

We got up a little earlier than we have been getting up (around 9am :)) and went down for the free breakfast. After more of the same, we decided to forgo the morning's run as my SCUBA fins from yesterday had done a number on my ankles (as in, some cuts, located right where my running shoe hits my ankle, that were very ouchy whenever they were touched) and running would be quite painful. So, we opted to walk up to Smathers Beach rather than catching the shuttle (it is about a 2.5mi walk). We did so without any problems and then camped out on some lounge chairs for a number of hours, reading (the new book is Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, which is decent but is not going to give any new insight into this type of topic for someone who has been living it for the past few years; if, however, you're still confused about open source, mass collaboration efforts, crowdsourcing, web service mashups, and other similar topics, it's a great introduction for you), getting some sun, and relaxing on our last full day of vacation.

For lunch, I ended up getting a taco (light lunch, since we were planning for a big dinner) from one of the street food trucks and it was fantastically good. We also discovered that not only did one of the street food trucks have unsweetened iced tea, but two of them did, which is great to know when the first one runs out since you've been buying it all week. :) In case you're new to reading about us traveling, one thing that Cin and I share is a passion for really good, fresh, unsweetened, iced tea. There really is no more perfect beverage in the world. So it is very refreshing that they had this here. My respect for the food served off street food trucks grows with every experience.

We catch the shuttle back (to maximize our beach time) and cleaned up for dinner. Once ready, we boarded the shuttle back to Duvall Street and walked through the old Key West Marina to find our dinner location, Prime 951 Steakhouse (here is their webpage and here is their TripAdvisor page).We arrived early, around 5.30pm for our 6.00pm dinner reservation and they did not look open yet, so we strolled through the marina again before arriving back right at our reservation time. We did find a really cool looking, very small, palm tree nearby.

This place looks very similar to any Ruth's Chris Steakhouse you may have been too...it's fancy and nice, with good decorations on the wall, but it is closed-in and you do not get any views of the wonderful marina from the dining room. The drink selection here is excellent; Cin got a cucumber martini (two, actually) that was very unique and delicious, and I chose an Anchor Steam off their somewhat-limited, but still decent, beer selection. Cin got "The Stack," a tomato/mozzarella caprese salad and I had the Caesar, both of which were quite good. For dinner, Cin got the filet mignon and I got the special, an 8oz buffalo filet (sorry, Anne). This one was a little pricey ($49 for 8oz, as opposed to $39 for the 10oz beef filet), but it did come with mashed potatoes, which I was able to trade for asparagus, unlike the rest of the dishes where all sides were a la carte. We ended up sharing the asparagus and an order of hash browns. The salads were fantastic. The steaks were very tasty but could have been seasoned a bit more (the buffalo steak was VERY tender and quite delicious). The sides were nothing remarkable (steamed asparagus is so less tasty than when it is grilled...). The service was really, really, good. So, if you're looking for a good steakhouse with very good food and excellent service, check out Prime 951. Here is what The Stack looks like...

After dinner, we got the shuttle back to the hotel and changed our clothes before heading back to Duvall, once again, for the New Years Eve celebrations. We picked up some beers from Captain Tony's and then walked down Duvall Street (it was closed to traffic as there as a zillion people, most of which are drunk, on the street during NYE). We saw a whole bunch of crazy looking people (the people watching on Duvall Street is crazy fun on a normal day; New Years Eve is just insanity) and then walked in front of the Bourbon Street Pub where they do a drag show every year and drop a big high-heeled shoe at the stroke of midnight. Passing through here was crazy as everyone is watching the show; it is OK as long as everyone is cooperative but once you get one person shoving or pushing, it can rapidly deteriorate. We made it through OK, but opted to walk around the block on the way back.

We headed back to the top of Duvall, got some more beers from Captain Tony's, and then found a good standing spot outside Sloppy Joe's, where we waited until midnight and the conch shell drop.

We stood next to a couple folks, one of whom had a bare chest with the Batman symbol painted on. He gave me his Happy New Year hat; I'm not about to turn down Batman giving me his hat! After the midnight celebration, we walked back to the shuttle bus and got on right away. Again, the Doubletree shuttle service is wonderful and made the evening. We got back to the hotel and went to bed, exhausted.

What a perfect way to welcome in 2011!

30 December 2010: Key West, Florida

Today, we got up around 9am and got breakfast at the buffet again (we both made waffles today and they were awesome!). We then sat around the room a bit and caught the shuttle to Duvall at noon. From there, we hiked up to the Southpoint Divers shop and checked in for today's adventure, SCUBA diving for me and snorkeling for Cin (she's not a diver). We met up with the other folks (we had a full boat of 18 people, including five other certified divers, four sisters all taking the PADI open water course and using this trip as their final certification dives, and some others that were staying at a local resort and were buddy-diving with instructors) and headed out. The ride out was very choppy. I was buddied up with another diver, Mark, who had not dove for many years but just took a refresher course. We did a 50 minute or so reef dive and then the boat moved to another section and we did another dive of about 40 minutes. Both dives were a lot of fun and I saw some really cool fish, corals, and other things. Mark did great for his first dives in a while. :) Cin did not enjoy her snorkeling too much as the water was very choppy, as was the boat. I'm really glad she went out there with me, however.

Here is me, diving.

We found the dive crew, especially Steve, who served as the Divemaster, and Tropical Mike, who captained the boat, to be excellent and I recommend these guys for dive trips in Key West. I will say that this outfit seems to be very much a FIY outfit, where the dive crew did not try to plan everyone to go around with them but just turned us certified divers loose (they did explain how to dive the site to see everything very clearly onboard the boat). This may be a artifact of how busy the boat was with so much non-certified divers, but other commentary seems to indicate this is SOP throughout Key West. While I really like this approach (I like being able to explore on my own), sometimes it is very helpful to have someone who knows the dive site well leading so that you can see all the good sites without missing any. Just keep this in mind if you're planning a Key West diving trip; if you prefer a hands-on, leading the dives directly, Divemaster, you may need to ask specifically for this.

The Southpoint boats leaves out of a dock behind the Hyatt hotel, on Front Street. This hotel hosts a turtle pond, which has a ridiculous number of turtles that, apparently, spent their days chillin'. We also spotted a momma hen with her little babies walking around the parking lot. Check it out.

After we got back, we both cleaned up a bit and then hiked down to Margaritaville (here is the webpage and the TripAdvisor page) for dinner, where we both got Landshark Lagers and hamburgers (sorry…Cheeseburgers in Paradise, mine without cheese :)). That was a delicious meal and then we headed back up and caught the shuttle back to the hotel, both of us very much in need of a shower! After showering and such, we got the shuttle back to Duvall Street. We checked out some shops that Cin wanted to go into and then headed over to the Hogs Breath Saloon (their webpage is here and their TripAdvisor page is here), where we had a few beers and listened to a great local musician who did all cover music. He had a really good voice and sang every song we listened to very well (and he picked a great song list!). Out of the past three nights, I'd say that this was clearly the best music we've listened to…very nice! We then picked up a Key Lime Pie on a Stick, which was pretty good, and then headed back to the hotel in the shuttle, which was very busy. We ended up talking to a very nice older lady who had some good stories and then, once we got back to the hotel, went right to bed.

I'm really glad that I got to go SCUBA diving today. This is something that I very seldom get to do and I really enjoy it every time I do. Being able to breathe effortlessly underwater is an amazing accomplishment for the human race and I love being down there with the fishes, coral, and other awesome things. Life under the water is amazing and I truly hope that we, as the human race, can understand the importance of protecting this life and this environment. SCUBA has given me the great gift of being able to see the underwater environment firsthand and for that I am forever grateful. Also, Cin didn't have that great of a time today and I'm really happy that she put that effort in so that I could have a good time. Great day today!

29 December 2010: Key West, Florida

We slept in until 10am or so and then went downstairs for our complementary breakfast buffet (love those Hilton HHonors benefits!), which was quite good for a hotel buffet. Then we relaxed a bit and hit the path that runs along A1A for a good 4mi run in the sun. Despite the previous day's coldness, it was quite warm and we sweated quite a bit…good run! After our run, we picked up the shuttle and headed to the beach this time. A new feature this year is that since we are staying at the Doubletree, we get free lounge chairs at Smathers Beach…this is sweet.

At this beach, there is also a collection of food trucks that will serve just about anything you want…and one of them serves delicious unsweetened iced tea, which is the favorite drink for both Cin and myself! We also got a hot dog and a soft pretzel and both were excellent. I finished reading How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe by Charles Yu, which is an excellent read. I loved this book very much and will read it again very soon. Again, the Kindle proved its worth…such an awesome device. After having a great time at the beach, with great sun (it was so much warmer than Tuesday was!), a good book, good food, and great company, we headed back to the hotel on the shuttle.

We cleaned ourselves up from the shower and the run and then caught the shuttle back to Duvall Street. We walked down and did some shopping at both Key West Aloe and Key West Olive Oil Company (we got some really good blood orange olive oil to take home, among other tasties) and then found ourselves at La Trattoria about 30 minutes ahead of schedule (their webpage is here and their TripAdvisor page is here). Luckily, they were able to take us early and we then had an amazingly good pasta dinner. This place is really good as the pasta is fresh, the salads are delicious, and the service is the best part of the entire evening. I had a penne in spicy tomato and garlic sauce and Caesar salad, both of which were as awesome as I remember the food from this place being. Look at how amazing this tomato/mozzarella caprese was!

After our good meal, we hiked up to Captain Tony's Saloon (their webpage is here and their TripAdvisor page is here), remembering to bring our cups from two years ago as drink refills are much cheaper this way, and listened to a solo musician who was pretty good (not as much fun as the band from Sloppy Joe's yesterday). The Last Mango in Paris words were still on the wall in the mens room, but I was unable to locate my business card that I left on the wall two years ago. I did find a new location to put one that is much less likely to get torn down. :)

After a few drinks and some good music, we headed back to the shuttle and the hotel and went right to sleep…exhausted.

28 December 2010: Key West, Florida

Two years ago, Cin and I traveled to the Florida Keys for New Years. That trip started off horribly, as you can read about here. This time, we thought we'd do the same thing as we had an awesome time last time, once we got there. This time, however, we decided to fly out of BWI instead of Dulles and right to Key West, as opposed to Miami. Oh, and on US Airways and not United. Hopefully, the curse of traveling south for New Years would not hit us this year.

We got to BWI nice and early and checked out luggage without much hassle. We then got in the LONG security line and got though quickly and without any issue. Sweet. We got some breakfast at the airport (about the only time I'll eat McDonalds food :)) and waited patiently outside our gate for our flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, and then on to Key West. Then…the curse came back with a vengeance. Our flight was supposed to depart at 6.55am. At about that time, they announced there was some battery issue on the plane and we would be delayed. Time passed, more announcements about upcoming boarding were made and ignored, and then, around 9.15am, we boarded the plane. Our lengthly layover window in Charlotte was gone and we were going to have to run from our gate to the Key West flight. Then we sat on the plane, at BWI, for another thirty minutes, making it impossible to catch our Key West flight. I turned my cell back on to get email updates and, low and behold, I had both a voicemail and email from US Air telling me that they regretted to inform me that my Charlotte to Key West flight was going to be delay for at least an hour. I've never been so happy to hear about a flight delay! We eventually took off and made to to Charlotte. As we walked from our gate to the gate for our Key West flight, we saw a beer-themed restaurant, then a wine bar, then a rum-themed restaurant, and then a tequila-themed restaurant. Wow, these NC folks must love their alcohol! We figured we didn't have enough time to eat at one of the sit-down places, so we got some Sabarro for lunch, picked up some iced teas from Starbucks, and then it was time to board! The flight got off without a hitch (even though it was late…which was fine with us!) and we landed in Key West, Florida, on the same day we were supposed to, only an hour or so late. Awesome.

We got our bag and then walked to the hotel. The Key West International Airport is on the eastern side of the island, right on A1A, and our Hotel, the Doubletree Grand Key Resort (their webpage is here and their TripAdvisor page is here) is very close, resulting in a walk that is a little less than one mile. The luggage made it fun once the sidewalk ended, but we made it OK.

Our room was not ready yet (we arrived at 2pm and check-in is at 3pm), which was odd since I've never had this happen since I hit the higher levels of the Hilton HHonors program. Oh well, can't complain. We found a spot at the poolside bar and had some drinks and lunch. Around 3pm, we checked in and found our room to have a worse view than last time, but the room itself was very nice. We relaxed for a bit; I took a shower; and then we picked up the shuttle to downtown Duvall Street. The shuttle service here is just like it was before, picking up at the hotel on the hour from early morning until 11pm, and stopping at both Smathers Beach (this is the busiest beach on Key West, with lots of watersport activities, tourists and locals, and a great place to spent the day; the TripAdvisor page is here) and then Duvall Street, both at the top of the island and the bottom. This is a wonderful service and makes getting around the island easy as (Key Lime) pie, despite the hotel's distance from the nightlife (which, when you think about it, is ideal as all the craziness is close-by but you still get to stay in a quieter area). We love this shuttle service and this was a big factor in our decision to return to the Doubletree this year. The shuttle dropped us off at the north end of Duvall and off we went.

Ever since we arrived, we noticed it was much colder than expected. The temperature was down to the mid-to-high 50s when we got to Duvall, not quite the vacation we expected, but so much better than back home! The first thing we did was head up to Mallory Square for the evening Sunset Celebration.

We then walked down Duvall, checking out the normal sites, and then tried to figure out where to eat dinner. We kept walking past places we liked, such as Margharitaville and La Trattoria, an excellent Italian joint we ate at last time (more about them to come). None were very crowded so we kept going trying to decide where to eat. Sure enough, as we walked up the street, decided on the Italian place, it was filled, as were all of the other ones. Nuts. We ended up getting an outside table (under heaters!) at Fogarty's, the restaurant part of the Flying Monkeys Saloon, one of Cin's favorite places that has lots of frozen drinks machines going all the time. I had a raspberry and rum combination that was delicious and we both enjoyed our dinners (Cin's salmon was excellent!).  We then walked back up Duvall and went into Sloppy Joe's Bar, where we sat down with beers and listened to the band, Bong Hits for Geezers, which was a trio of (much) older gentlemen who made some really good music. I had a few Key West Sunset Ales (a delicious beer!) and we stayed there for about an hour before leaving and picking up the shuttle back to the hotel. Once back, we hit the bed and collapsed…what a long day!