Our Honeymoon- Key West, Florida

Our Honeymoon- February 14- 23, 2004

We got married at 11:am on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2004. Everything went exactly as planned and we were able to have our closest family and friends share the day with a luncheon reception. We were glad that we decided to have an early wedding because we could head to our honeymoon suite early and enjoy the night.

We spent our wedding night at the Sheraton Suites Fallsview in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. We had an amazing view of the Falls and rapids from the balcony of our suite. The bathroom was huge and featured a giant hot tub. We enjoyed a wonderful first night together sipping Champagne in a luxurious suite.

We spent our honeymoon in Key West, Florida. We left on Monday morning. Our flight left from Cleveland and had a connecting flight in Atlanta. Because of delays, we had to run through the Atlanta airport to make our connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale. Although we made it by a few minutes, our baggage did not and we had to wait an hour for it to arrive on the next flight. We enjoyed a lunch and drinks at the airport Chili’s. After we retrieved our bags, we rented a convertible and headed south.

We decided to take Route 1 all the way, which ran right thru Miami. We took in the sights and sounds of a place we’d never been. Miami is full of vibrant colors and colorful people. We drove through the Florida Keys in the evening. Each of the keys has its own personality. We pulled over and bought deli sandwiches. We stopped a convenience store for bottled margaritas and beer. We enjoyed our leisurely drive through the Florida Keys. We arrived in Key West after midnight.

We’d rented a private cottage for the week. It had a kitchen, outdoor patio with grill, hot tub and outdoor shower, set in a lush garden with mango trees and tropical flowers. It was paradise and the perfect place to spend our honeymoon. We enjoyed cooking fresh seafood on the grill. We spent an entire day just lounging on the deck, sleeping on towels in the sun. We were only half a block off of Duval but we didn’t hear anything. We had our own little oasis.

Key West is one of the those places where you could spend hours partying or hours walking quiet streets in quaint neighborhoods, just depending on what you want to do at any given time. We had a great time just walking around and taking in the unique qualities of Key West. It is an eccentric island with a lot to see and do. We enjoyed the Hemmingway House, the Southernmost Point, the Butterfly Exhibit, the Glass-Bottomed Boat but had the most fun on the speedboat that flew around the island going more than 80 mph! That was definitely the highlight of our vacation. We took in the sunset every night at Mallory Square and loved watching the various street performers.

We always like to get a place with a kitchen so we can prepare our own meals to save money. We went to the Waterfront Market and bought produce, fruit, breads and best of all, fresh seafood. Our best meal was grilled Key West Pink Shrimp skewers marinated in orange juice and herbs. Making our own meals was a great way to spend special time together.

We did eat out a lot! We had fish sandwiches at Hog’s Breathe, drank rum drinks at Sloppy Joes and had amazing Cuban food and a huge pitcher of Sangria at El Siboney. A perfect day of meals to me would be Blue Heaven for breakfast, Camille’s for lunch and the Key West Seafood Garden for dinner. Blue Heaven, at 729 Thomas Street, serves Moscow Mimosas with delicious breakfasts at an open-air restaurant with lots of quirky charm. Camille’s, at 1202 Simonton Street, serves delicious sandwiches. The Key West Seafood Garden, at 519 Duval Street, looks like a tiki bar from the outside but is really a collection of romantic tables set in a tropical garden. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is serene- we spent our most romantic dinner there. El Siboney, at 900 Catherine Street was another dinner favorite. The Sangria was tasty and plentiful and we enjoyed the stuffed crab and rice dish. There is always a line out the door for this place!

A bar on every corner makes it very easy to remain relaxed in laid back in Key West. We drank way more than usual. It is also fun to get your own rum or vodka at the liquor store and add it to a fruity smoothie, sold in every flavor you desire everywhere on Duval. Just walking around and taking in the atmosphere of Key West was a highlight of the trip. It was a beautiful honeymoon location and we had an amazing time!