Past Travel: Key West, September 2023, Part One

I was able to go on this long-planned trip with friends to Key West last September, as my mother was in rehab after her (first) fall, but just after I got back, she came home, it was fraught (she still wasn't supposed to put weight on that leg), and in less than a week, she fell again and it was hospital and surgery and more rehab and a whirlwind. What I'm getting at is that I never fully wrote up that trip, just teased it, which is a shame as I took a lot of, quite frankly, great pictures! So guess what, I'm going to do it now. Here we go.

We were a group of eight, and six of us were taking the Key West Express ferry out of Fort Myers Beach* To my great relief, one friend's husband was happy to drive three of us up there (the rest of the group went in a rented minibus). Leaving before the crack of dawn is never my favorite, but I was especially grateful not to be driving to an unfamiliar spot in the dark! By the time we were on the boat, the sky was just starting to lighten.
*One was flying from her northern home, and another drove.

Since I was taking these first pictures from inside, there were reflections from the lights, and sometimes streaks on the windows as well. I still like the effect.

Starting to move now.

If you click on these photos to look more closely at the boats, you may be reminded that a year earlier, Hurricane Ian hit Fort Myers Beach directly, and very hard.

Not just the boats, for that matter.

I mean, look where that boat landed!

It was very sobering to look at these as we went by.

The boat then goes south, along the west coast of Florida, and once you're past Naples, there isn't a ton of development, but there's some.

If you zoom in on that one, actually, you can see the bridge and buildings of Marco Island--the last land for a long time!

After that, it's water. Sun and clouds and ripples and water.

(I was, of course, knitting and snacking and talking with my friends, in between getting up to take more pictures.)

I also went out to the back of the boat to see things without a window between.

Getting close now, because look at that cruise ship.

Sooo big.

At the terminal, we gave our bags to the service that will take them to your hotel for you (you do have to pay, but it's so worth it), and walked into town ("town") to find a place for lunch, ending up at Alonzo's Oyster Bar on Front Street.

Let me note this now: it was hot. I was surprised by how much it affected me, since it wasn't really that different from where I live, but then again, I don't often go out and walk around for an hour or two when the weather is hot. So, yeah. I had a great time on the trip, but I was a sweaty mess not infrequently.

The food was good, and sitting with a cold drink was so good! And as it was open-air, there was a bird-watching element to it, surprisingly.

Just walking around. Okay.

After lunch, we walked around a bit.

And finally we got to the hotel, the Opal Key Resort, where happily, we were able to check in early. So glad to get into air conditioning!

This trip was a rare splurge for me--I'm not sure I've ever stayed at a resort in my life--and I further splurged on a room to myself, so that I could recharge my introvert energy as needed. Amusingly, my room would have easily slept 4:

And had multiple places to sit down, both for writing:

And not:

Even though I didn't need this much space, it was nice to have. My stuff and I will always expand to fill the available space.

The closet was behind the sliding door, so I guess you could choose which you wanted to show, clothes or coffee.

And there was a little bitty lanai, looking over the pool. Which was pretty, but not quiet. Ah well.

The bathroom was its own aesthetic.

Including the art, which didn't bother me but would have freaked out one of the group, who had mentioned earlier in the day not liking the reptiles at all. Good thing she didn't get this room!

After doing some unpacking and cooling down a bit, I joined part of the group by the pool. 

I did get into the water, but it was actually warm! Which normally I like, but the air was too hot for me to enjoy warm water. I did hang out for a bit, then went back up to my room to get ready for dinner.

I think I'll stop here for now. This recap is going to be arbitrary anyway, might as well embrace that. To be very much continued...