Florida Keys: Day 3

Friday morning of our Florida Keys vacation, Tory and I spent time snuggling in our villa while Andi worked for a few hours. I contemplated going to the pool or taking Tory for a walk around the property, but The Girl Who Hates Her Car Seat isn't always a barrel of fun to venture out with for no reason. So, we were content enough at the condo watching Regis' last show and squeezing in as many 20 minute naps as we could before our day of adventuring began.

Around 1pm, Andi made some lunch for us before we loaded up the car and headed south to Key West. With a full belly and plenty of sleep, we hoped Tory would be content during the 60 mile drive. WE WERE WRONG. The poor baby cried the entire way. Of course we stopped a few times to take her out of her car seat and console her. And of course she stopped crying the second we did, but the waterworks resumed as soon as we buckled her back into the car. This made a scenic drive along some of the most beautiful coastline in the United States not to wonderful. By the time we pulled onto Duval Street, both Andi and I had pounding headaches and were in desperate need of cocktails. I, of course, forgot the bottle I'd pumped earlier back in the car, so no cocktail for me. I think Andi enjoyed his though, while I breastfed the baby on Duval Street. I may have been the only one to have done that before.

Why? Well, apparently Key West's Duval Street is reminiscent of New Orleans' Bourbon Street, only not as dirty. Andi and I didn't exactly know that when planning our day. Within five minutes of walking around there, we felt like bad parents. There wasn't another kid in sight, but there were lots of ladies in scantily-clad clothing, beer drinking galore and dueling music from every bar along the strip. One lady stopped us and asked how old Tory was. When we answered "11 weeks" she and her group of friends gasped and replied "oh, how tiny!" Taking a vacation with your infant must not be common because that's about the 85th gazillion time someone has said that to us on this trip. From that moment on, Andi and I decided to answer "3 months" to everyone who asks us that question for the remainder of the trip. It just sounds better, I think.

Once we cut over from Duval Street, it was much quieter and frankly, more beautiful. The architecture in Key West is grand and historic. We strolled along the sidewalk and snapped a few photos.

This rooster totally photo-bombed us

Mile 0:
The end of the highway with a screaming baby in tow
(frowns are intentional)

At sunset, it started to pour and trapped us underneath a storefront awning. It didn't matter though; the view was wonderful, the air was warm and the three of us enjoyed Tory's first rainstorm.

We waited for the rain to stop, then walked to our car and headed back to the resort. Tory slept the first half of the ride back (win?) and cried the rest of the way. We ordered take-out from the resort's Tom's Harbor restaurant (Andi finally got his fresh fish and key lime pie!), we put the baby to bed and watched Hell On Wheels on the Ipad.

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In the moment nothing sounded better than belling up to a bar and having a beer in the pouring rain yesterday afternoon, but it wasn't really an option with a two-month old in tow. Travel is definitely different with a baby, but as Andi and I discussed on our drive home (the quiet part), it's still an adventure. Tory will never be 11 weeks old again; she'll never again experience her very first rainstorm in the warm Gulf air. We were present in that moment, and it's exactly where we want to be.