The first week of our vacation, we stayed in the Florida Keys just outside of a town called Marathon. Marathon was really effected by last years recession, and it shows in the form of many houses for sale or abandoned all together, including many lots where only the foundation was poured. There are many shops that are closed as well as restaurants, and the K-Mart is the busiest store on the key. The place we rented had one empty lot on one side (the owners can only afford to camp on the property now) and an abandoned foundation on the other side. The house we stayed in however was finished. I say finished instead of nice, because the decorating left A LOT to be desired.
The house was on the most beautiful property with lots of palm trees surrounding the house and it was right on the ocean. It was really quite a breathtaking view, especially watching the sunrise in the morning. The house though, looked like it had been decorated by someone who has a garage sale fetish. Nothing in the house matched or went with anything, and some things were so old it felt like we were breaking something every day we were there. Here's the list of things we broke in the week we were there: a door frame, two chairs, a coffee table, a couple glasses, and the jury is still out on whether or not we were responsible for the third chair. It was a good week though.
Week one we relaxed a lot. We hung out on the beach, we swam in the mini pool (the kind you use to swim laps in place), we went for walks, and enjoyed having the whole Phillips side of the family together. We did go on a couple outings though. One day we went on a four hour fishing charter. Fishing was a lot of fun, and I caught the first fish (a Sandtile fish) but it was not really the type of event for Addison. I spent most of the time trying to get Addie to drink cold milk since there was no where to heat up a bottle, and trying to keep her warm since we went for the afternoon and it was starting to get pretty cold in the early evening. Keeping Addie entertained was easy at first, but she got bored and fussy for the last hour or so and was really miserable.
Our second outing went much better. We went to a little theme park called The Theater By the Sea and saw a sea lion show, and a parrot show. We went on a bottomless boat where dolphins swam right in the middle of the boat (Addie loved this) and we went on a walk around the park to see all kinds of animals. Addison loved the parrots and was able to see them right up close since they weren't kept in a cage of any sort. Of course Addie even left with a souvenir: a new book called Hide and Seek Coral Reef, where you get to pull out tabs to learn what creatures live where in the coral reef.
After the week was over, we packed up and went to IHOP for breakfast while we waited for the second house to become available. Addie loved IHOP because they had a highchair that she actually fit in, and they even had a little section of the table that came out just for her. This is really genius because it meant she couldnt grab everything off the main table.
Here are some pictures of week one:
The house we stayed in
The kitchen
Bananas on the beach
Watching the sea lions
Floridian Christmas decor
sleeping on the fishing boat
Enjoying a nap with Daddy
The view from our room
Addie's first day at the beach
The beach pics make me jealous! The house looks wonderful at least:)
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