So, as I previously mentioned, my husband forgot to pack a bathing suit for our trip to Florida, where there are pools and beaches and etc. Hahaha. So in order to do what we really wanted to do on our vacation, we had to go get G some trunks. Because, listen: I love the Cupcake, don't get me wrong, but that kid wears my ass out. I can't handle her in the pool by myself, and since she had never seen the ocean before, I had no idea what to expect. This adventure was going to require the ol' double-barrel shotgun of parental supervision. Or something.
We had breakfast first, of course, because isn't that why people go on vacation in the first place? So they can eat at the IHOP on a Thursday morning with impunity? That's what I go for. (That, and the margaritas.) For the record, I split a plate of French toast and bacon with Cupcake, and somewhere on this trip she learned how to "dip" her food in syrup and now we can't get her to eat pancakes, waffles, or French toast without also providing her a side dollop of syrup. I blame my husband for that.
In the parking lot of the IHOP -- which, by the way, love the food, but our service there was terrible, and the waitress was absolutely one of the nastiest, laziest people that you could ever possibly imagine working in a customer-service-oriented position, but I believe in Tipping Karma, so we were decent even though she got part of our order wrong, and ... that's all I have to say about that -- in the parking lot, we saw a feral chicken with a couple of feral chicklets, and it was the weirdest and coolest thing ever. Someone told me about the chickens before we left, and I kind of laughed but didn't believe him. It's true, though: there are, like, gangs of wild chickens running around all over Key West. Gorgeous tropical colors. It's trippy.
We drove downtown, where there is a Ron Jon Surf Shop, which I mention by name only because there are no actual waves on the beaches of Key West. I have genuine photographic evidence. Not sure how many surfers they actually get in those parts -- maybe people surf over from Cuba?
NOTE TO POTENTIAL TRAVELLERS TO KEY WEST: You can probably park somewhere near your hotel and take the trolley into Old Town to do your shopping and stuff, unless you're okay with paying $15 to park for three hours (or $20 for all day). I kind of think that's a lot, but then again, the trolley was $29 per person, so if you're only going to be in the Duval Street metroplex for a little while, it's really not a bad deal to drive. Parking can be scarce, so be prepared to walk. Although you can take lots of breaks and stuff, because every other building is a bar or a tchotchke shop. And there are plenty of pie shops and ice cream stands:
We had breakfast first, of course, because isn't that why people go on vacation in the first place? So they can eat at the IHOP on a Thursday morning with impunity? That's what I go for. (That, and the margaritas.) For the record, I split a plate of French toast and bacon with Cupcake, and somewhere on this trip she learned how to "dip" her food in syrup and now we can't get her to eat pancakes, waffles, or French toast without also providing her a side dollop of syrup. I blame my husband for that.
In the parking lot of the IHOP -- which, by the way, love the food, but our service there was terrible, and the waitress was absolutely one of the nastiest, laziest people that you could ever possibly imagine working in a customer-service-oriented position, but I believe in Tipping Karma, so we were decent even though she got part of our order wrong, and ... that's all I have to say about that -- in the parking lot, we saw a feral chicken with a couple of feral chicklets, and it was the weirdest and coolest thing ever. Someone told me about the chickens before we left, and I kind of laughed but didn't believe him. It's true, though: there are, like, gangs of wild chickens running around all over Key West. Gorgeous tropical colors. It's trippy.
We drove downtown, where there is a Ron Jon Surf Shop, which I mention by name only because there are no actual waves on the beaches of Key West. I have genuine photographic evidence. Not sure how many surfers they actually get in those parts -- maybe people surf over from Cuba?
NOTE TO POTENTIAL TRAVELLERS TO KEY WEST: You can probably park somewhere near your hotel and take the trolley into Old Town to do your shopping and stuff, unless you're okay with paying $15 to park for three hours (or $20 for all day). I kind of think that's a lot, but then again, the trolley was $29 per person, so if you're only going to be in the Duval Street metroplex for a little while, it's really not a bad deal to drive. Parking can be scarce, so be prepared to walk. Although you can take lots of breaks and stuff, because every other building is a bar or a tchotchke shop. And there are plenty of pie shops and ice cream stands:
Or, in our case, frozen custard. But still. (I kind of secretly prefer frozen custard, anyway.)
Bathing suit and souvenirs acquired, we headed back to the hotel to slip into something more comfortable and get with the getting. Cupcake kept hollering "POOOOOOOL!" so we know where she wanted to go first:
Bathing suit and souvenirs acquired, we headed back to the hotel to slip into something more comfortable and get with the getting. Cupcake kept hollering "POOOOOOOL!" so we know where she wanted to go first:
I wanted to get the palm trees in the background to prove that this picture isn't a fake or a shop-job, so I got right into the water with the camera. (That's also how I took yesterday's video.) It's swimming, so you already know how that's going to turn out. You can't really see her bathing suit here, but it's new, and it's really cute. +1.
Anyway, blahblahblah I talk too freaking much, here is what it looked like when Cupcake saw the ocean for the first time:
Anyway, blahblahblah I talk too freaking much, here is what it looked like when Cupcake saw the ocean for the first time:
Of course this picture was taken before she decided that it would be fun to do a Super-Mario-Brothers-style butt-stomp right into the water with her little cover-up on. That was cute, too, but also very wet.
ANOTHER NOTE FOR TRAVELERS: By god, Crocs are some of the ugliest shoes in the world, seriously, but they travel fantastically well and are great for just about every practical application. And after you've been tromping up and down Duval Street, you can just wear them right into the Gulf of Mexico to clean them off.
After the ocean we took a nap, which is pretty much what you would expect, but I include this picture anyway because that is a real, honest, un-self-conscious smile, and also, look at that hair!:
ANOTHER NOTE FOR TRAVELERS: By god, Crocs are some of the ugliest shoes in the world, seriously, but they travel fantastically well and are great for just about every practical application. And after you've been tromping up and down Duval Street, you can just wear them right into the Gulf of Mexico to clean them off.
After the ocean we took a nap, which is pretty much what you would expect, but I include this picture anyway because that is a real, honest, un-self-conscious smile, and also, look at that hair!:
And then we went to Benihana for dinner and Cupcake ate everything we put in front of her, including the lemon wedges that came on the edges of our glasses:
Chicken fried rice -- nom! Then we went to bed. Because we were tired, man. Being cute and having fun is exhausting, yo. And we needed to rest up before we took our trip to the End of the World ... or at least the End of the Island.
cute, cute, cute! and i love the "naptime" picture. all smiles to be with daddy ;-)
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