January in Bethesda - its finally getting pretty cold, was windy and cold this AM on the walk to Metro. Things are quiet in the office, Thankfully. (Although, OK, I'll admit I'm bored.)
It is a good time to reflect a little about December. I didn't have time to think about the trip we took to Key West. That was so much fun, we called it our Mid-life Crisis Vacation. We rented a red Chrysler Sebring convertible and drove from Miami to Key West. We used a guide we found on the Internet, (Cap't. Ron and Pirate John's Guide to the Keys - or something like that!) and a Frommer's guide. It was great fun comparing the two. Cap't Ron is highly irreverent and makes notes of tiki bars along the way.
We stayed a night in Miami prior to the trip -- just enough time to have a wonderful dinner at Emeril's Miami Beach. It was fun and awesome! The night in a suite at the Westin Diplomat was beyond my dreams. What a great place to stay.
In Key West, we stayed at the Sheraton, quite modest by comparison. I think our stay there was tainted because we used Westin points to pay for the trip. They put us in a room with no pictures on the walls, in obvious need of remodeling and updating. (However, the bathroom was updated and quite nice shower.) The rest was drab, unwelcoming and ugly. In particular, they had placed us toward the back side of the buildings on a side that had no carpeting on the outside hallway. Just very uneven boards, peeling paint and rough to wheel luggage on. Our TV barely worked, we had no NBC for the duration of our week there. It was removed from the "action" places in Key West, and we needed to use their shuttle or drive to get anywhere except for walking across the street to Smathers Beech. (Which was nice.)
The staff was good at the Sheraton, the breakfast was also very good. Nice concierge (Dottie) and nice wait staff in the restaurant. Nice helpful shuttle drivers also (Mr. Ed). But, the facility needed help. (and paint.)
We enjoyed the Hemingway house, walking on supposedly decadent Duval Street, seeing the huge cruise ships in harbor, riding the tram around, eating Key Lime Pie. (Found a nude restaurant (!) but didn't go there!)
On the way home, we stopped again in Miami for a night, stayed at the lovely Le Meriden Hotel in Sunny Isles Florida. Very nice, was a condo I think. Interesting. We had dinner there at the Italian restaurant. Good food, if a bit pricey. I forgot to order their signature drink, Le Mojito!
That is about the biggest regret of my vacation though!
Oh yes, we also went 70 miles beyond Key West on a boat and saw Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas. That was great and worth the day. We did a little snorkeling there. That was about all the snorkeling I got to do, unfortunately.
We stopped at John Pennekamp State Park and rode the boat out to view the coral reef...waves 5 feet...I was sick, it was awful, don't do that. (At least not in 5 foot seas.)
The weather was warm, sunny and inviting. (Back in Bethesda they had snow.)
