Our Summer Vacation in Marathon Key, FL

It was kind of a last minute decision to go away on vacation. We actually made the house reservation 3 days prior to leaving. 4th of July vacations should be planned as far in advance as possible. We booked a really nice house in Marathon Key, FL for a week click here to see it.

DAY 1: We arrived Friday night, moved into the house and immediately went food shopping... Publix was packed with eager vacationers prepping for their adventures on the 4th of July. We bought the bare necessities (entenmann's ultimate crumb cake, key lime pie, gatorade etc.) Went to bed looking forward to tomorrow...

DAY 2: Deceided to go to Key West today (another last minute decision)... Loaded the kids in the car and headed south. Traffic was a bit heavy but ok... Being July 4th we expected some delays. Once in Key West we drove around and ended up on Duval Street. Went to Fat Tuesday's, a slushie bar that serves alcoholic slushies... stumbled around Duval taking in the sights and sounds... lots of people and very high temperatures made walking around somewhat difficult. We left Key West early and headed home! On the drive back we deceided to use our boat, a 22 foot Sea Fox Bay boat and had a blast tubing and snorkling... The water here is so beautiful... returned home and washed up for dinner. Went to Chappy's Restaurant. Floyd our waiter was outstanding and the food was very good. We were able to watch the fire works from our table! With our bellies full, we went home and fell asleep.

DAY 3: Today we took a vacation from our busy vacation. The girls hung out watching TV and Stacey and I went driving around looking at houses and land. We went for a boat ride at 6 pm and had alot of fun. I know you've heard this but the sunsets are incredible...The water is so beautiful down here! Back to the dock by dusk and some family time before bed.

DAY 4: Today was an awesome day! We woke up early and went to Key West for a full day of activities on the Sunset Party Cat... A 50 foot catamaran with jet skis, banana tubes, parasailing and snorkeling. Lunch was included and very good. I even climbed the iceberg...and fell off (see below... lol) A big inflatable rock wall. Very fun. After that we had a nice dinner at Outback Steak House and a pleasent drive back to Marathon... as a side note, having landed on a kayak with my face... my jaw and right arm are quite sore. Maybe I should have landed on a different area of my body...lol. I have to say I was the only guy over 16 that made it to the top! Not bad for 44... I know... but the bruises will heal...

DAY 5: Today we were a bit sore from all the fun we had the day before... My lower jaw felt like I was in a prize fight and lost... Stacey couldn't get out of a chair but the kids were fine... imagine that? So I thought??? what could keep a 12 and a 16 year old girl busy that would require a minimum amount of effort from the adults? A pedicure of course! So we dropped the girls at the nail salon and we toured a sandal outlet and a furniture store. Once the girls were done we headed North to Islamarada where we went to World Wide Sportsman... A giant store and marina dedicated to fishing and fashion. Being in the business it was fun for me to see merchandising taken to such an extreme. Inside was 2 floors of clothing, a sistership to Hemingways boat and so much more. If you love boating and fishing... you'll love this store. Bring your home equity check book though... things are a little pricey there. We attempted to eat in the restaurant but record high temps made it impossible to eat outside... from here we returned to Marathon and went out on the boat. We circled the Southern tip of Marathon heading South on the Gulf side, under the 7 mile bridge and back home up the ocean side. The water was like glass with 2+ foot swells, they were fun to ride up and down on. The sunset was breathtaking and we slid into the dock at dusk. I could go on and on about the beauty, the nature and the crazy pwc riders but a far better thing to do is experience it for yourself! The end of another great day.

At the beginning of this trip... it had been so long since I went on a vacation that I was concerned that I would be able to relax and unwind from the stress of my life... my concerns were unfounded and I really did enjoy myself. I feel rested and ready to jump back in to my work. I was also reminded how fun it can be to just be with your family. I enjoyed that more than anything else... even the iceberg!