Leaving Miami

We left Miami, Florida the evening of Friday, February 29th. We had such a great time on our cruise! We took a 10-day southeast Caribbean cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines ship, the Jewel. It was fabulous. Shortly after boarding the boat, we had a lifeboat drill which basically informs the passengers what should be done in case of an evacuation on the boat.

We stayed on the top deck and enjoyed the sun setting over the city of Miami as we were leaving the dock. We were so excited to finally be on the way to the Caribbean.

We spent the evening getting to know the boat and where things were. The boat was much larger than the previous one we had been on. This one featured two dining rooms and about 8 specialty restaurants.

Our stateroom was gorgeous! We had an inside stateroom because we are rarely in our room. I think the boat was built in 2005, so everything is pretty new inside.

Miami, Florida

We left Key West on Thursday, February 28th and drove back to Miami. That evening we went out for dinner in the famous South Beach area of Miami where there were many trendy restaurants with different types of cuisine.

The next morning, we walked along Miami beach. The sand was beautiful white in color and very fine. We were a little intimidated to spend much time in the water because there were quite a few small Portuguese Men-of-War that were washed up on the beach (see picture).

We had a great time walking along the surf as well as the boardwalk that followed the gorgeous beach.

Key West, Florida

We took a red-eye flight to Miami and then rented a car and started driving the 3 1/2 hours down to Key West, Florida. Brandon's parents, Jack and Jan, went with us on our trip and we were all so tired from our flight that we had to pull-over and take a little nap in an amusement park along the way. When we pulled in, there was no one in the parking lot and Brandon put his jacket over his head and fell asleep and I put on my little eye mask and fell asleep. By the time the four of us woke-up an hour later, there were quite a few cars parked around us. I can only wonder what the other guests were thinking when they saw four adults passed out in a car in the parking lot.

We finally arrived in Key West and took a trolley tour around the town. The next day we did some more exploring and enjoyed the long walk.

Key West is full of Caribbean flavor. Some of the old homes are restored to thier original grandeur and Caribbean colors and the water is so blue.

Here is a picture of us at the Southernmost point in the United States and also a picture of us with Brandon's parents getting our morning coffee and pastries at a little French cafe.