Key West, Baby!

We sailed all night and were to our first port by Monday. We didn’t have specific plans for the day so we just headed out to see what we could find!

I should also mention – it was raining AGAIN. Seriously, Florida! What is up with morning rain??????

Interesting thing about Key West – we found it was either really nice or really not-nice. We walked through some pretty slummy areas – and we also passed some areas that appeared to be straight from a movie. And sometimes they were all of two blocks apart.

The chickens were EVERYWHERE. Even on mail delivery.

We ran into a woman selling coconut drinks {literally a coconut with a hole drilled in it so you could drink the water out through a straw...}, so Ryan decided to try one. Our thoughts…

As you can see…I was both thrilled by the weather AND the taste of the drink. Please excuse my drowned rat look.

One of our attractions in Key West was visiting the southern-most tip of the US. 90 miles to Cuba, baby! We heard one of the tour guides driving by say we were closer to Cuba than to a Wal-Mart. LOL!! That can’t be a bad day!

And then, y’all, we knocked off one of my bucket list items! I GOT TO SEE {AND GO UP IN} A LIGHTHOUSE!!!!! I’ve wanted to do this forever and I was so excited to have the chance! We saw this one from the cruise ship and went in search of it.

Remember that day I worked a concert in Wauseon, and the cashier at the Arby’s gave me a senior citizen drink? Well the old lady look must live on because Ryan and I got to go up in the lighthouse for the senior citizen price! We would have complained about the principle of the thing, but we were too excited about the discount.

I might take this moment to mention I am PETRIFIED of open heights and closed spaces. So the trip up the 88 steps of the lighthouse was an exercise in quoting Psalm 56:3 over and over. We made it to the top and had a great time taking pictures {Ryan} and walking gingerly around {me} enjoying the view of…well…a long, long way.

This was a huge highlight for me. I was not expecting to be able to cross off a bucket list item, so this was a sweet surprise.

OH! And guess what??? We made a video of that!

We also found out from the coconut lady that there are no natural beaches in Key West. Say WHA???? It’s an ISLAND for crying out loud! But we did enjoy the man-made beach we found between the lighthouse and the ship:

And that was it for us in Key West. A great time together – especially after the rain cleared up!!

The Shafferland Shuffle

And a happy Labor Day Sunday to you!! Did you miss me? {Did you know I was gone?}

Well, remember when last Sunday, I told you I spent the day taking naps and reading a book? I may have forgotten to mention that I did those things in Miami. As in Florida. As in vacation week for the Shaffers! Of course I have much to tell you, but here’s a quick synopsis of our week!

* Last Sunday, we boarded the Carnival Breeze in Miami, and set sail for a week of cruising in the Caribbean. This was Ryan’s 8^th cruise and my first, and we have been eagerly counting down the days to sailing for weeks now! We were up on the 11^th deck of the ship – in a nice room with a balcony, and we got to the ship early that day so we could settle in and explore before it left port shortly before dinner.

* We sailed all night and awakened Monday morning in Key West, Florida – and neither of us had ever been there before, so we enjoyed experiencing that first together. We didn’t sign up for any excursions on shore, so armed with a map and a couple of granola bars, we set out on our own to look around. Among other things that day, a highlight was crossing an item off my bucket list: I got to see a lighthouse in real life…and climb to the top of it, too! This was a big deal for the girl who is both afraid of heights AND claustrophobic.

* Tuesday was one of our at-sea days, so we enjoyed spending the day resting and roaming about the ship – and we took advantage of some of the activities the ship offered for entertainment. One of those was Hasbro the game show, where they did a live game show, and guess which one of the Shaffers crossed off another bucket list item?? NOT THIS ONE!! But Ryan was so excited when he got picked to go on stage and be a contestant!

* Wednesday we watched the sun rise {yes, on vacation…isn’t it WRONG?} over Grand Turk as we pulled into port! This was my first time out of the country {Canada excluded} and I really enjoyed being there, though we were there such a short time. In an event worthy of its own blog post, the highlight of that day was a little activity we like to call The Shaffers Play Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Ride Segways.

* We spent Thursday at sea as well…and while we didn’t attend any shows like we did the first day at sea, we did participate in a digital scavenger hunt and watched an ice sculpture demonstration! We got to be on the big jumbotron for that. This is typical of us: Ryan spends his time waving and I spend my time taking pictures. HA!!

* Friday we docked in Nassau, and we had the BEST TIME on our own private little beach we just happened upon! We got back on the boat about 20 minutes before it POURED, and we just took it easy the rest of the day. Great dinner…met some new friends who were on their honeymoon! And then…sob…we had to pack. We don’t talk about it.

*When we woke up yesterday, we were back in Miami. I was excited to be back in the land of phones and internet – until I logged on and saw all the news…and then I thought it was better when all that was turned off. We had the privilege of spending the entire day in the Miami airport – an activity not on either of our bucket lists!! And there may or may not be MUCH more blog fodder from this day alone!! But until then...