Key West Getaway

Hello! Meghan and I left Friday morning and went on an adventure. My philosophy is always that the journey is as important as the destination, this trip was no different. I'm not 100%, but I loved getting away from home, being near the water, and just changing my environment!

We started by visiting my mother-in-law in Miami. Great visit, Meghan got her into a wheelchair, the weather was cool, we sat near the open door and visited.

We left Grandma Jackie and went to Schnebly's Winery. If you live near South Florida or come down to visit, we highly recommend! The grounds are beautiful, and it is nice to walk around. There is also Miami Brewing in the back, which was a fun spot to hang out, met a couple from NJ, it was pouring rain, so just sat and visited.

No trip south is complete without a stop at Robert Is Here!!! Their milkshakes are to die for, love their homemade guacamole, and boiled peanuts are great. With our Strawberry Key Lime shakes, chips and guac we hit the road. THE ROAD - the one and only US1...the only way in and out of the keys.

Meghan was driving at this point because I'm still building those muscles and didn't want to overdue it. Best part of having a camper van? We can go to the bathroom anywhere. Literally pull over in a parking lot (if the driver has to pee) and ta da! It is really fantastic. No worries about gross bathrooms, Covid, lines...nope, it's great!

We had a rainy drive down to Boyd's Campground, I took over driving in the upper keys, Meghan took a nap, I really do enjoy driving Natasha, love the elevated view.

Everyone at the campground was extremely efficient, it is so well kept, very safe. Our site was the size of Natasha, but that is all we needed! They had a food truck on site that had Cuban coffee! Huge score for us Saturday. Sunday I used the stove and made coffee inside for the 1st time, way less stressful and complicated than I expected. I was so nervous about using the propane.

After breakfast, we headed over the bridge into Key West.

We found a great spot, it was only 10am, walked, visited the gardens of the Little White House, went to First Flight - Home of the Pan American Airways, had conch fritters at Sloppy Joe's, and ducked into Kevin's Irish Pub in the pouring rain - which turned out to be the #1 party spot...lol...sometimes you just go with it! The green straw drink was ginger ale - don't judge, since my surgery I can't drink much!

My body hit a wall. I couldn't handle another step. Now, I know this is also the result of my extreme iron deficiency. Then, we just thought it was still my surgical recovery. I still get pain under my rib cage, and severe shortness of breath, but my liver functions are poor, too, and it looks like the pains and symptoms are all interconnected.

The best daughter in the universe said I'd done way more than she expected, and we should go back to the campground and relax (it was about 4pm. We stopped at a restaurant Steve suggested (Hogfish Grill) to get shrimp and hogfish. We went to the van, rested, watched movies, walked around after dark by the water. Turned into a beautiful evening.

Sunday morning, up with the sunrise, made coffee IN Natasha for the 1st time (I was nervous about the propane) - easy peasy!!!

We drove into Key West, saw a sign that said chocolate covered Key Lime pie - on a stick. Meghan got excited, I found a parking spot, next thing you know we're having lattes and Meg's pie on a stick on the sidewalk. Great moments are sometimes the most spontaneous!

We were next to a Trolley tour station, so Meghan decided to treat me to a tour - this turned out to be a great time, learned so much with an awesome tour guide. Got off at Mallory Square, looked in shops, walked by the water, then walked to the one bar I've always wanted to go to, just because it's a Key West staple - Hog's Breath! It was 12:30pm, we were able to find stools at the bar, each got a beer from tap - mine was Hog's Breath Lager with Lime and DELICIOUS! Got an order of nachos - we SCARFED down, and just enjoyed hanging out!

We then walked back down towards Natasha, who was quite a few blocks away. Stopped at a New Orleans style bar that had a lot of character!

On our drive out, we toured the island, Meghan split the drive, we stopped at the original Islamorada Fish Company for calamari. Meghan's manager told her about the Blonde Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory on Tavernier Key, so we had to stop. They have gluten free pieces - SCORE!!! Obviously, we were dragging out the return home - vacation is vacation and this Crazy Lady and her Crazy Mija love vacations!!!

One for the books, grateful for the time with Meghan! Stay Crazy and adventure your way!

CrazyLady