The Getaway

Key West, FL

 After a hectic summer of moving, starting a new job, and beginning life in a new city, Doug and I had the chance to get away for a short vacation. We've been planning for this trip for a few months. In March, we celebrated our 15th year anniversary. In September, my sister Peggy and her husband Jon celebrated their 20th anniversary. So we planned to take a vacation together for our special occasions.

Snorkeling trip in Key West

Thanks to Nana who took a week to come stay with the kiddos in Eugene and spoil them rotten, we were able to go to Florida and the Bahamas. We enjoyed visiting with my brother Jeremy and his wife Brandi and their kids in Ft. Lauderdale. From there we headed to the Florida Keys where we stayed in a gorgeous beach house in Key Largo and snorkeled in Key West. The weather in the Keys was slightly stormy as a few hurricanes had just made their way through the area. That led to about 3-4 foot swells while snorkeling. The snorkeling was still fantastic, up until the last few minutes when I realized that the motion of the ocean was catching up with me. But it was still the best snorkeling I've ever done. We saw rays, sharks, baracuda, dolphins, sea urchins, turtles, and plenty of other fish I couldn't name. The other highlight of our time in Key West...half-pound chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies! I did turn a blind "dietitian" eye to the calories that were likely hiding in them (I'm a cookie fanatic so those were worth tasting!).

Atlantis Resort, The Bahamas

 After the Keys we headed out on a 4-day cruise to the Bahamas. We've been to the Bahamas once before, but this time we spent one day at the Atlantis Resort. Our timing couldn't have been better--each day on our cruise the forecast was 50% chance of thunderstorms but we saw blue skies and high 80's every day. It was gorgeous! And since we were on the tail end of hurricane season, the resort wasn't the least bit crowded. There were no lines to wait in on the waterslides and plenty of sunshine to soak in. Who knew 4 adults could have so much fun on waterslides! Of course, who knew waterslides could also make you feel so sore the next day. :)

  We spent part of the day at Atlantis exploring their beautiful aquarium "The Dig." We found all sorts of interesting creatures, both beautiful...and not so much (I'm not sure what God was thinking when he created the eel--those things are nasty looking).

Doug on the "death drop" waterslide at Atlantis

After our time at Atlantis, we spent a day on the cruise ship's private island, enjoying more snorkeling, sunbathing, and pure R&R. And other than a small issue with our cruise ship bathroom (ugh--we'll spare you the details, but they did make amends with dinner in their specialty steak house and chocolate dipped strawberries in our cabin), the trip was a great success. We had fantastic company, terrific weather, and happy campers at home when we returned (thanks Nana!). We're already contemplating...WHERE TO NEXT!?!