Key West

After Miami we took a 5 hour long drive down to the Keys. We were only planning to stay for two nights but ended up staying for three since we liked it so much. Key West is a small island and is the most southern point in the United States. The island is full of fishermen and boat enthusiasts and attracts many rich people that have houses there. It had the feel of a small surf town, however no one surfs there since the water is very calm. However they do get storms in the summer and I can imagine it is not a fun place to be when that occurs. Luckily, the weather was great the whole time we were there. Since the sun was shining we spent most of our time close to water, in water, or on water. There was a great selection of different water sports like jet skiing, parasailing, kayaking, snorkeling, diving etc. The first day we had breakfast at a diner that had a really homey feel and many locals meet before they head out to the water. After bacon, eggs, and French toast we decided to cool down on a boat doing some kayaking and snorkeling. We were a group of about ten people that all got on a boat with two guides. They took us to one of the smaller islands where we loaded of the kayaks and paddled around and through some of the vegetation. The kayaks were made of clear material so we could see the bottom of the ocean underneath us. We saw coral reefs and some fish. Some people were even yelling about seeing a shark, but I tried to ignore that. After kayaking we got back up in the boat to put on snorkeling gear and flippers. By this time I was really nervous but I kept thinking that if I keep close to everyone else a potential shark will eat them first. Joke aside, the snorkeling was really nice and the water was really warm, like a hot tub. It was actually colder above the surface. After getting back up in the boat I felt really proud of myself that I actually did it and it felt like I could do some more water activities. In the evening we had dinner at this really cool waterside pub/restaurant that had great seafood. 

The second day we got breakfast at the same diner and then went to do some tandem parasailing. It is like going parachuting but you're attached to the back of a boat in a long piece of string. They dip you in the water when you take off and then you rise higher and higher up in the air and the boat drives faster and slower to get you higher and lower. The view was amazing but we were both a bit scared while we were up there since I'm scared of falling into the water because of sharks and Josh is scared of heights. Not a great combo in that situation but we tried to enjoy it as much as we could. One of the guides took photos of us that I will upload later. In the evening we had dinner on a pier where we could see the sunset and some Key lime pie for dessert (as it was invented in Key West).

In the campground where we stayed they had a number of big iguanas (big lizards) that could come quite close to you if they thought you had food. They were harmless though but I wouldn't want to cuddle up with any of them. There was a woman from Boston who stayed next to us in the campground who were driving across America on her motorcycle. Very impressive! She was very nice and seemed to be one of few Americans who's actually travelled a bit in the States.