Tell me again why I left Florida?

So, the Keys were amazing.

There were 9 ladies who attended this year's annual "girl's weekend" - Myself, mom, Danusia, Marynia (mom's sisters), Maryann (a sister-in-law), Marilynn, Allison (nieces/cousins) and Krysty (Danusia's daughter) and we had a blast! We all stayed at Ewa and Peter's vacation abode on Islamorada, which is the second large island (just south of Key Largo).

First, let's back up to before we even got to the Keys...

Mom, Maryann, Danusia and I left New Bern at 4:48am Wednesday morning headed south. We stopped in SC to have lunch with a couple who used to live next to Danusia. We ate at a local seafood place; most of us ordered the she-crab soup, which was heavenly. If you ever get the chance to try it, DO! It's creamy, crabby, tasty goodness in a bowl (or cup).

We got back on the road and made it to Orlando for dinner with mom's aunt and uncle, Helen and Bill. Their daughter, Susie-Belle, came over and we feasted on corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and Ciocia Helen's famous strawberry pie.

The next morning, we hit the road again at oh-dark-hundred bound for Boca Raton and lunch at a ridiculously good all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant. My best friend from college, Adria, met us there and we all stuffed ourselves silly before getting back on the road.

Finally, we landed at Islamorada for dinner Thursday evening. We each grabbed a cocktail and went outside to the cabana to watch the sunset. For dinner, Ewa spoiled us with fresh oysters on the half shell and ceviche with scallops, fish (that she caught) and shrimp. Marynia was already there so the 7 of us (Peter included) ate forever and chatted until the other girls (Marilynn, Allison and Krysty) arrived late that evening.

Friday was spent lounging around doing whatever. The early birds got up and went for a bike ride, and the rest of us lazy (and/or jet-lagged) souls slept in a bit. When I finally decided to drag my bum out of bed around 10, I took my book (The Red Tent. Amazing. Everyone should read it) and a patio chair to the backyard to soak up some sun. Krysty and Allison came out to sun, while Maryann swam around off the dock.

When we got bored of reading, Krysty and I headed to the dock to look at the parrot fish and saw the cutest little jellyfish ever. Maryann caught him in a tupperware container for us and we named him Jelly Man. We played with him (well, we rubbed his head so we wouldn't get stung) and fed him fish pieces. He floated around on his head a lot and tried to hide from us, which was hilarious. After that, we decided to break open a coconut.

Have you ever tried to get through the hull around the coconut to the actual coconut?? Allison, Krysty and I decided it would be really fun to try to do it with rocks. Clearly, the fibers of the coconut hull are in the steel fiber family because it took us about an hour to saw through 4 of them. Granted, we were using rocks... The video footage is amazing and pretty hilarious. We're sending it to "Survivor".

For dinner, we all packed up and headed to a private beach across the street. Wicked. We played in the water and had sish kebabs for dinner.

The next day, Maryann, Marynia, Danusia and Krysty headed out on the boat with Ewa and Peter for a fishing adventure. They had a blast and came home with 11 fish. Marilynn, Allison and myself headed down to Key West (the actual island) for lunch and shopping. Lunch was great, and we didn't but a thing... Except for a cupcake.

That night we had a fish fry with what the girls caught that afternoon. Delicious!

Sunday morning mom, Allison, Marilynn and I took our turn on the boat. On the way out we saw a family of manatees floating around in the water. Once we got onto the open ocean, we saw sea turtles, a nurse shark and tons and tons of fish. The fish really started (what do fish do? flock? gather?) schooling (?) when Ewa and Peter chummed the water. I fished for a while... until I started to get seasick. I took a Dramamine, but it was too late. I vomited. Repeatedly. After which, I felt much better and went for a swim with mom. Later, I vomited again. Woohoo. Went for another swim, and tried to hold my guts in until we headed for land. I really had a good time, despite feeding the fish my breakfast. Peter was kind enough to thank me for the extra chum. Anytime, I said.

Sunday night we had a huge feast of fish, chicken, steaks the size of my face, salad, Japanese broccoli and a ton of other yummy stuff.

Monday morning, we drove to PSL and stayed with mom's friend Leona. I also visited with some friends and we left early Tuesday morning for NC. Wednesday, I left at dawn to go back to VA.

It was a wonderful trip, and now that my tan is fading, I only have memories of our fabulous weekend... That, and the 500 pictures everyone took. *Sigh*

Addendum: I totally forgot one teensy insignificant little event... We went swimming with manatees!! After fishing on Sunday, we saw the same family of manatees basking in the warm waters near the house. Ewa and I were swimming near them and though they were a little leery at first, they came right to us, swimming all around us and rolling around in the water. It was amazing! We called to the house and told the other girls to come see the manatees and they headed out in paddle boats and kayaks to see the gentle beasties. Coolest thing ever.