Florida Keys, Day 1

Brian and I went to visit his parents in Marathon, FL from March 14-19th. Of course I'm just now blogging about it because I've been a wee bit behind on my blogging lately.

I decided a couple of weeks ago that the best way for me to approach blogging may be to write a few posts each weekend and then post them throughout the week, since I have very little time during the work week to sit down and type anything. Plus, it would be the perfect excuse to spend a couple of hours at Sola Coffee every weekend, a small hipster cafe near my house that I'm slightly obsessed with.

This weekend turned into the perfect blogging weekend because I have plenty of time on my hands! Last night I attended the Secret Church Bible study from 6:30pm until 1:30 in the morning! It was really good and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing David Platt speak, even though I had my reservations about him. It was neat to think that over 60,000 Christians around the world were all tuning in to participate in the simulcast Bible study at the same time. It was such a nice way to start Easter weekend, even though I was up way past my bedtime.

Brian is at home today setting up the new 220 gallon saltwater aquarium. I decided to leave the house and go for a run before I ended up getting recruited to help with the tanks! The fish tanks stress me out. They also stress Brian out.

My hobbies are running and reading (inexpensive and stress-relieving). Brian's hobbies are aquariums and cars (expensive and stress-inducing).

It's a good thing I have Brian around to keep things interesting.

When we booked our trip to Florida this year, Brian put me in charge of the renting the car and gave me permission to choose whichever company I wanted. He learned his lesson after the previous three rental car disasters. I rented from E-Z and it turned out great!

A little pat on the back for Kelly, please.

We got to the Strawberrys' house around midnight and went straight to bed. On Friday morning, I lounged around reading magazines and drinking coffee.

Pure bliss! Can I please go back now!?


Brian and I ate lunch at Herbie's, which was a quaint little spot, and then we visited the Turtle Hospital. In past years, we've  bypassed many of the Marathon tourist attractions and headed straight for exciting Key West! On this trip, however, we decided to stay closer to home and hit up all of the nearby attractions.


We had heard a lot of good things about the sea turtle hospital. I was a little disappointed because it was very educational and included a 30 minute Powerpoint presentation about sea turtles and the history of the hospital. I think most people would find it enjoyable, but I'm like a 5-year-old when it comes to doing educational things on a vacation. (I think my parents scarred me for life when they once made me spend an entire day at Colonial Williamsburg instead of the Busch Gardens theme park on a family vacation when I was in 4th grade).

Obviously, the best part of the turtle hospital was observing the sea turtles.



Injured sea turtles are pretty fun to watch...for about 5 minutes.

The employees there are extremely passionate about what they do. Our tour guide said his biggest goal in life was to see the rare Leatherback turtle.

I won't lie - I was a little more intrigued by the iguanas than the sea turtles. They're actually considered pests in the Florida Keys. Someone brought them from South America to Florida many years ago and they have no natural predator. Their population just keeps growing. They were everywhere!


After the turtle hospital, Brian and I went to Sombrero beach for a couple of hours. We sat near a bunch of frat guys who were hanging out on their Spring Break. It was kinda fun to eavesdrop on their loud conversations about typical college stuff - parties that got out of control and girls that were puking in their beds. I was grossed out but Brian found it entertaining (go figure).

Seeing these guys on their Spring Break made me feel old. I feel like Brian and I should still be college kids. Are we seriously married adults?! Where did the time go???


The beach was gorgeous and it was a sunny afternoon. Dolphins swam right to the shore, which had everyone in a fit of excitement!

We ended the evening with a happy hour and dinner. Dinner was interesting because I spent a long time trying to figure out if the server was a man or a woman (I'm still undecided). Brian and I stayed out late and went to one of our favorite local bars, the Brass Monkey.

That wraps up Day 1 of our trip.

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