Mr. & Mrs. Steve Honeymoon in the Keys
First of all...thank you all for your advice on this trip. It was great! Exactly what we wanted and needed...and all in all, we only spent about $850! Here's how:
We headed out on Saturday morning (3/24) and just drove. We stopped off at some visitor centers, and a cider stand in GA. We also walked around Savannah...no tours or anything, just a little walk around. It's a beautiful city, and we'd love to take the tours some day, but for now, our own company was all we needed. We eventually found our way to Brunswick, GA, where we found a Knight's Inn for $36 a night (yes it was dirty, yes it was kinda scary, but hey, it was in our budget). After we checked in, we took a short trip to Jekyll Island, just to see the beach, and to hit up a small diner called SeaJays. After some original Brunswick Stew, we walked around the marina, dreaming of some day having our own house boat. We wandered along the beach (a little cold for swimming, but great for a romantic stroll), and drove back to our hotel room (after a small, unplanned detour through the projects of Brunswick...oops). At the room, we turned "Bring it On" (the movie) into a "beverage consuming" game. Much fun.
In the morning, after our free "continental breakfast" of stale doughnuts and cheap coffee, we drove to the Florida Welcome Center for our free OJ, and then hopped onto Route 1 for the tour of run-down Florida. After seeing countless old motels, it was on to St. Augustine...again, we just wandered around. The freebie museum in the "historic district" was actually quite neat. We opted not to spend the $7 each to see the "Fountain of Youth", as it seemed kinda dingy. Back on the road, we were debating whether or not to stop for a picnic, when we saw the State Street Diner in BUnnell. If you EVER pass through here, stop in, and get their burgers. Real, hand-pressed, hot off the grill burgers. And friendly people who asked us all about how we met.
Just north of Daytona, we saw a roadside carnival at the airport, so we stopped, rode the scrambler (Erin also hit the Giant Slide), then got back on Route 1. We drove through Daytona. Ho-hum. No more stops until we got past Boca Raton...I think we stayed at the Executive Inn at Pompano Beach...it was kinda late, and we were panicking that we wouldn't find a room for less than $150 per night...but we found this place, they saw that we were just married (I wrote all over our car), and she gave a pretty nice and clean room for $59! It doubled as a residence, so our neighbors were of varying degrees of sobriety and noise levels...but it was still another pleasant surprise.
Then, through Miami on A1A. Eh. More importantly, we were on our way to the Keys. No more touring...just straight to Marathon, FL. We had booked a room at Coconut Cay Resort in Marathon...and honestly, we weren't expecting a whole lot, because our room was only $109 per night (compared to most other places being $250 and up)...but BOY were we surprised again. The room was clean and right by the pool. And, we found out, we were there on the ONE week in March when no schools had spring break!!! So we pretty much had the pool to ourselves. They even had their own private "beach", which was little more than a sand covered inlet, but wow was it pretty.
Erin wanted seafood, so we searched and searched, and we ended up splurging on Annette's in Marathon. Yes, it ended up being $60, but it was worth it. Erin is still talking about the scallops, and I never did finish my Chicken Roulade (even after taking it back to the room, and having it for leftovers the next night). We hit the Publix for some more :beer: , and called it a night.
On Tuesday (for those keeping track), we decided to check out the beaches. Marathon, for those of you that don't know, has Sombrero Beach. And it is one of the few real beaches in the Keys. It was breath taking. The ocean was clear, the waves were small, and the beach was empty. We sat and read for hours, just soaking in the relaxation. At dinner time, we headed back to the room, picked up our leftovers from Annette's, and hit Coconut Cay's private "beach" to watch the sunset. We had hoped to have the beach to ourselves for our little picnic, but there was a group of roofers from KY there, fishing (they were doing a job down the street, and didn't get paid until Friday, so they had to catch their own supper). We shared some stories and some :beer: with them. I have to say, it was one of the most memorable moments of the trip. We stayed until 10 PM, then headed back to the room.
On Wednesday, we lounged by the pool all morning, then set out for Key West. We got tickets to the Aquarium, where we saw some sharks, and we got to pet a horseshoe crab. We got some conch fritters, and headed over to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, where we saw all kinds of cool shipwreck stuff (and we touched a gold bar from 1623). We walked down Duval Street, and took pictures by the Southernmost Point in the US, and headed to Mallory Square, for the Sunset Celebration. We saw guys eat fire, and juggle while on a tightrope. We also watched the sun set, and realized we were happier than we had ever been.
Thursday--Sombrero Beach. All Day. That's it. Just sittin' and readin'. Then back to Coconut Cay, to watch the sun set from the private beach. No roofers this time, but we still stayed until 9ish.
Friday-We decided we missed home...as much as we loved the Keys, it was time to go. So we drove all day (15 hours), and got back to Greenville SC (where we were met with a yellow blanket of pollen). The next morning, we picked up our dog from the kennel, and all was right with the world.
I can't begin to tell you what this trip did for Erin and I. We are happier than we have ever been. We spent 8 straight days together...with no obligations or responsibilities. We couldn't afford to do all the museums and shows and dolphin encounter things, but we could afford to spend time together reading, picnicking, swimming and talking. I'm kind of glad we didn't get to go on the cruise we had originally planned, because I don't know that it would have had the same effect. When you get to spend that much uninterrupted time with someone, and you still can't wait to see them when you get out of work after your first day back, you know it's real.
But our next trip is still going to be to Disney World. :mickey:
