Florida - part 1

Brad and I have been looking forward to this trip for months - the tickets were a Christmas present from Brad's parents, so we've been dreaming of beaches and sunshine all winter.

Well, truthfully, we only expected the one Key West day to be of beaches and sunshine, and didn't really know what else to expect of Mt. Myers for the rest of the time. Was it a beach town? Would we be an hour from the ocean? Would it be a big or small town? No clue.

Well, turns out it was on the beach. A 2 minute walk from the water - awesome! I was able to go for a couple runs in the morning, on the beach, in white sand, to the sound of the surf. Something I wish to do more often - but then, if I could would I still appreciate it as much?

The first full day there, Wes, who just got his pilot's license, flew the five of us to Key West. I was impressed!



He did a great job, so smooth I didn't even get motion sick.


Taking off.


Yes, I'm jealous! Yes, I've flown in a lot of small planes, and even took the controls a few times, but to have a license? That's fantastic. Anyway, here are Brad, Wes, and I.


Unlike the 1950s planes in Alaska, this one was sparkly and new, and we all got headsets to talk to each other. Man, I remember the days in AK as a kid, slowly going deaf since there were only enough headphones for the pilot and one other person, if we were lucky.


It was a clear, warm, gorgeous day, so of course here are a bunch of flying over the water pics, since it was so beautiful:










I love the shadow of this cloud on the water, both below us.


The water was so clear - look how well you can see the bottom of the sea under the shallows.


And how you can see where they've dredged for deeper hulled boats.


We played with our camera zoom - see the little haze in the middle of this picture?


It's actually this little seabar:


Key West was awesome, much more tropical than I'd thought it would be.


We had a fantastic seafood lunch - Wes got a phone call while his hands were all shrimp sauced up, so Sandy held the phone for him while he talked.


We all posed by the beach.




We ate, and walked around, I bought the top of a swimsuit (and had to find a matching bottom later, since they were out of my size), and then flew back. It was practically a perfect day.