Key Largo 2019

So!  It was my birthday yesterday!  (Yes I'm old, moving swiftly on).  

For maybe the best birthday present I've ever been given, we snuck away for a little weekend break "up North". 

Ha!  By "up North" I mean Key Largo, 2 hours away.

I do love a road trip as I think you know. Heck who doesn't?  (Seriously though, is there someone out there who doesn't like a road trip?? Please leave a comment if this is you!).  Funny though, the weather was not what I expected of a drive through the Florida Keys.  Overcast, cold and WINDY, it got cooler and cooler as we drove towards our destination of the Key Largo Bay Marriott Resort and Hotel.

A little stop off, along the way, at Tonio's for a spot of lunch. It was positively blustery but a perfect little dive place, just like I like 'em!

We arrived and checked in and we were delighted with our room. It was big!  

But cold.  The weather was cold.... 

As demonstrated by me wearing of long trousers in this photo (taken on the way home from dinner)

We had an early enough night (yes, I/we're old. Moving swiftly on).

Happy to report that we woke up to sunshine the next morning!

After a light breakfast I headed to the beach.  Seriously cute little beach with the sunbeds lined right up to  literally the shoreline which was very nice - nothing like hearing the waves lapping as you sunbathe.  

I started my Meg Cabot (author signed!) book which was an entertaining little read. The gist of my weekend, it has to be said, was either beach or pool and fantastic it was too.

Lunch was sushi!

On the way back from lunch I stopped off at a yard sale/consignment sale/storage unit sale....where a woman admired my dress ("Is it a Lilly? [Pulitzer]") and gave me a pair of sunglasses for free ("They go with your dress").  How nice was that?!

And then dinner!  Wow.  We ate early so that we would catch the sun setting while eating.  What a view!!!  Great food too.  Would it be weird if I described it as an (all encompassing) experience?  Ooh not forgetting the wine also!  Malbec ;)

After dinner we decided to do something we never do and have some cocktails.  They weren't the fanciest (e.g. craft) cocktails, I guess they were just "resort" type cocktails, but they were pretty good. And as I said, it's something we never do, so just getting them in themselves was fun.

After another light breakfast (coffee and bagel & cream cheese mmm) I headed down to the beach and pool for a last few hours of relaxing before getting on the road home.

For something fun and NEW we stopped off for some bridge fishing on the way home!  I can't lie, it was not the best fishing. We have a lot to learn about what bait, hook, lures etc to use...but sure it was a start! You have to start somewhere eh!

And home!  Where I realized that I had left my bike at work and it was needed for the next day.  So I headed downtown - where I caught the Veteran's Parade and bumped into friends Dawn and Gwen.  It's a small island lol, you can't go anywhere without bumping into someone.

Finally we finished a lovely (perfect even??) weekend with dinner in our favourite place ever Half Shell Raw Bar.  

Already we are talking that a weekend away in the Key Largo Bay resort may turn into a yearly event.  Get's a big thumbs up from me!

Come West Along the Road

This weekend being Easter it is a long weekend in Ireland, so Enid and I took advantage of having Monday off and made plans for a little road trip.

 

With Enid's little IQ packed to the brim and coffee in hands we set off...with Bones in tow.  To be fair Bones is great company, and he really was no trouble at all this weekend. 

As we arrived near Galway city we realised we were very close to our sister Katie's apartment.  We drove up and gave her a phone call to see if she was home.  She was surprised, but delighted to hear from us and buzzed us straight in for coffees and a lovely chat.  She was delighted to see Bones too - she is a big fan of her furry nephew - and we all had fun playing with him and showing off the latest tricks he has learnt (a very funny one involving a €10 note in particular!)

 

The photo above was taken as Katie waved goodbye to us from her balcony.  It was great seeing her and we were really happy we had caught her at home.

 

Once we arrived at OKF (the lake house) we were pretty hungry so we whipped up a little lunch straight away.  It was so nice, we decided to take advantage of the weather and the beautiful setting, and eat lunch outside. 

Bones guarding the door!

Like I said above, he really was no trouble at all.

Later that evening we went for a little walk up to the village and had a drink in one of the local pubs.

But as planned, back in time to see the incredible sunset across the lake.

This photo was taken literally 2 minutes after the above photo.  Can you believe the different colours?

 

As the sky went dark, and the lights from all the houses around the lake twinkled on, we lit the fire and got comfortable for the evening.  We had a lovely night of chatting and reading our books on the sofa. 

 

Did I ever mention how bad the internet coverage is out West?  It makes for a nice little digital detox and a chance to catch up on ones reading!

On Sunday morning after a fantastic nights sleep we were up nice and early and I got the full Irish going on the hob.

 

Rashers, sausages, black and white pudding, and cheesy scrambled eggs. Nothing better! 

The weather was not as nice as the day before so there was no eating outside today. 

 

After breakfast and a little more relaxing, we began packing up the car and closing up the house. Before we got on the road back to Dublin we decided we would go visit the famous "Coral Beach" nearby.

Named for the unusual yellowish stony sand, Trá an Dóilín, a biogenic gravel beach actually made of coralline algae known as "maerl". 

In photos, and in real life, it was quite funny because Bones blended in almost to the point of camouflage with the "coral". 

Where's Bones?! :-)

Back in to the car for the long (but good) drive home, Enid and I chatted and listened to Elvis on Spotify.  We both agreed it was a super road trip and night away for the two of us. 

 

Sorry, I mean three! How could I forget Bones :-)

 

New year sales

New year and some nice little bargains picked up in the New Year sales!

 

Do you remember I posted previously about this stunning dress that I saw in Dunnes before Christmas? 

 

Well I got it online at 60% off!

It doesn't look that special hanging up here does it?!

But this is it when I tried it on before Christmas. 

How great is this? 

 

Just need somewhere to wear it now...am sure something will come up, and when it does I have this perfect dress ready and waiting!

 

 

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And the other bargain buy in the New Year sales was plane tickets to Key West.  Alice, Enid and I are booked and set for the big trip in November! 

We will fly into Miami where we will do the cool drive down to the Keys.  And then nothing more to be done then just relax in paradise.