Florida Day One - Key West

Tonight I am sitting by a pool in Key West watching my boys swim. It is only 6 but we have the large pool to ourselves. The kids are ecstatic, they've been waiting all day for this!

But I should start at the beginning. Yesterday was a long day, we left the house at five and a, flew to Ft Lauderdale, and drove down to Key West. There were a few delays on the way so we didn't get in until 10pm but it was a pleasant day and the kids were really good. Despite the long day traveling and late night, all the boys woke up early this morning. Still we had a rather relaxed morning. We are staying in a beautiful condo on Stock Island so we drove into Key West to do some sightseeing. 

Our first stop was the Key West Conch Train. It isn't actually a train but is a driving tour of the area. We passed by Hemingway's house, President Truman's Little White House, and a number of other historical sites. We saw beautiful trees and flowers, interesting houses, and lots and lots of chickens. For some reason the island is full of wild chickens. They wander the streets and crow early and often. 

The Conch Train

James and the boys on the "train"

The driver of the "train" told stories and made terrible jokes along the way. He was working for a tough crowd though because the most he got was a snicker or two. One that stood out was when he was talking about the poor condition of the Key West roads and the rather bumpy ride they produced. They were trying to find some to blame but it wasn't the politician's fault, it wasn't the city's fault, it wasn't the tourist's fault, and it wasn't the weather's fault. It was the asphalt. 

Me and Camille on the Conch train

The Southernmost point of the US

The whole Conch Train tour was 90 minutes long but after the first 45 minutes we decided to get out early and grab some lunch. We wandered for a while and while there were a lot of places open, most of them weren't really kid friendly. Key West seems to have a lot of bars. We did finally find a outside cafe were we had a mediocre meal. There were flocks of pigeons wandering under the tables (or maybe one flock split up? How many pigeons are in a flock?) and Christian was quite taken with them. He was both fascinated and freaked out as they searched round our table for food. The biggest excitement though came at the end of the meal when Christian spotted a huge lizard rushing through the restaurant. We followed it and found an iguana (at least that's what I think it is) up in a nearby tree. 

Lunch at the cafe

Playing hangman with Jonny

They found a lizard!

Christian's Iguana

After lunch we did a little shopping. James got some new shoes, Grandma bought the boys shirts, and we got a couple other small things as well. After that we went down to the little Aquarium in Mallory Square. James' family used to come down to Key West all the time when he was little and apparently the aquarium hasn't changed at all since then. We didn't spend a whole lot of time here, but the boys had fun feeding the fish and exploring. 

The boys in front of the aquarium

The Key West Aquarium

James and Christian say hi to the turtle

The turtle

Feeding the fish

The touch tank

Jon at the touch tank

Looking for the gator

 We ended the day early, grabbing some ice cream and leaving town right ahead of a parade of racing boats. On the way out we drove by James' grandparent's old house. They had moved out over 20 years ago but James and Camille have very found memories of the place. Camille got out and started taking pictures of the house and the yard. James and I were mortified but Camille got to talk to an old neighbor she remembered and had a friendly chat with the current owner of the house. 

Tired boys enjoy their ice cream

Christian loves his smoothie

Once we came home the boys regained their energy and excitedly got ready for the pool. Now I'm sitting in the warm evening watching them swim and splash. All too soon it will be time for dinner and then bed. Tomorrow is our last day here and we hope to go snorkeling and catch the sunset. But now it is time to drag some wet and happy boys out of the pool. Goodnight!

Enjoying the pool

James didn't want his picture taken