Sunday, April 20th, 2008
Key West
or
It's 5 o'clock somewhere...

I forgot to mention our second surprise of embarkation day. When we came back from dinner, there was a DVC Member magnet on our door. We had meant to stop by the DVC kiosk to let them know we were sailing, but just never got around to it. But they knew! Somehow, they knew.... When we got inside, there was a card from DVC inviting us to the member Meet on Sunday at 10:00am. Well, since we wouldn't be disembarking until after noon, why not? We (I) had heard that they give stuff away and I'm all about free stuff.

As soon as I awoke and my watch showed a fairly reasonable 5:30, I tiptoed my way out to the verandah to watch the miles go by. Caribbean waters are breathtakingly indescribable. There are a bright azure - almost royal blue, that make you want to just jump off the boat and dive right in. Now, being a non-swimmer and looking at it from 6 stories above, I restrained myself. It was still gray and overcast and I wondered if we were in for a patch of bad weather. The quiet didn't last long and DH was soon out on the verandah too. I needed coffee and had forgotten about ordering the carafe from room service the night before. DH and I agreed that we wouldn't be hearing from DD anytime soon, so we decided to go up to Topsiders for some coffee. I made myself look semi-human while DH wrote a note on DD's wipe-off board that we had "gone for coffee and be back shortly". There were about 5 other people getting coffee, but thankfully, we were all of the same disposition - no one was interested in small talk - just the java. DH wanted to look around a bit, so we grabbed a stern-side table and watched the boat wake trail into the horizon as the sunbeams broke through the clouds. I wanted to share the first sunrise with DD, so we beat feet down to deck 6 to watch the sunrise from our own verandah. She awoke as we were getting ourselves settled at the railing and she came out to watch the pinks and purples turn to gold. We stayed out on the verandah for a while longer, discussing our plans for the day. Topsiders started serving breakfast at 7:30, so we headed up there. DD wanted to go in her jammies, so we let her. We also let her take two bites of this and a taste of that and if she didn't like it, or wanted something differently - fine. It truly was a vacation not having to stress over, "you ordered it, we're paying for it, you're eating it."

DD wanted to go swimming, so we went back to the room after breakfast and she changed into her suit lickety-split. It was fairly empty, just she and about 3 other kids. We watched her from some nearby chaise lounges. She splashed around in the Mickey-Pool until about 9, when it started to get super crowded. That was okay, though, since we needed to shower and get ready for the day.
Once back in the stateroom, we took turns showering and watching the waves go by. It was during the time that we caught a glimpse of this:

- We figure they were patrolling the U.S. border. That is, we *think* they were ours.

We asked DD if she wanted to come to the member's meet with us. "No Way!! I'm going to Kid's Club!" So, we checked the navigator to make sure they were open and saw that they were in The Stack. Perfect! We needed to be at Diversions anyway. We weren't sure how check-in actually worked away from the Lab, so we sent DD up to check herself in. Turns out, she had to wait on the line, so we waited with her - until she shooed us away. "I can do this. Just go." Um, okay. Felt weird. But, whatever. We took the forward elevator down to Deck 3 and arrived right on time for the DVC meet. DH wanted to explore the restroom area, so I signed us in and asked for as many free goodies as I could hold. The hour we spent at the meet was fun and tempting - they had a great deal going for add-ons, but I resisted: I WANT MY BLT! We got DVC hats for the whole family and I did win a cool, water-resistant tote bag- very roomy - that we wound up using on port days. After the meet, DH played create-a-cocktail back in the stateroom and we explored the ship a bit until it was time to go to port. We didn't have any planned excursions in Key West, so we were in no rush to get off with the crowds. Instead, we let DD eat at Animator's Palette with the lab kids and we picked her up from there when we were ready to head into port.

Key West

It's a pretty neat experience to step off the ship and be a new place. We had no idea where we were going or what exactly we wanted to do. We did have some postcards that DD had filled out to send to her grandmothers and we figured they would get them while we were still away if we sent them from the US port - plus we wouldn't have to worry about foreign currency and stamps and such. We did have to find US stamps, though. That was our mission. Explore the island while on a quest for stamps and a mailbox - on a Sunday. On Wall Street, I suggested getting tickets for the trolley that you could get on and off at will. DH said he wanted to walk and wander around. I suggested that with an 8 year old in tow, this wouldn't be a viable option. DH said, "Let's see how it goes. Maybe we'll rent one of those electric cars." Well, don't you think we should get a card or take down the number or maybe just rent one now and be done with it? Nah, the guy tells DH they're all over the island and we'll be able to find them easily...

We walked up Duval and explored some of the shops. I'm not a shopper and DH doesn't like spending money, so I'm not really quite sure what we were hoping to accomplish. 2 blocks in: "I'm thirsty." Easily solved, we stopped at one of those open beverage counters for a smoothie and some adult beverages. We asked some locals where we might be able to purchase some stamps. The grocery store was about 8 blocks up - on Fleming. We continued window-shopping. 4 blocks later: "My feet hurt." Not to worry, we're almost there. The length of the blocks in Key West have no rhyme or reason and 8 blocks was a looooong way. We finally got there and went to the stamp-dispensing machine to buy stamps. There was a blue post box on the opposite side of the street heading back to Duval, where DD deposited her correspondence. "I'm tired." DH had heard enough. He decided to scope out the area for an electric car so he could arrange for them to pick us up. In the time it took DD and I to get up to Duval street, DH was gone. Great, we hadn't brought our cell phones and he was nowhere to be found. Surely, he would notice we weren't with him and come back to where he last saw us. So, we waited... and waited... and waited. "I have to go to the bathroom." Well, sweetie, we can't leave this spot until Dad comes back and finds us. "I really have to go." You'll need to hold it. "I gotta go...bad." Do the pee-pee dance. So, DD wiggled jumped, skipped, and jigged until DH finally made his way back to the corner where we were waiting. Before he could say a word, I blurted, "We're going to Starbucks so she can go to the bathroom" and ran across the street. DD begged the baristas for the bathroom and they happily handed us a card-key and directed us around the back and into the La Concha Hotel lobby. DD barely made it into the stall, and I figured, since I was there anyway, "One goes, we all go."
Back out on the street, DH was standing next to the driver of an electric car and waving us across. The guy was going to drive us to their office, where DH could fill out some paper work and we'd be on our way. The driver began telling Ed about not drinking and driving "obviously" and being careful about where we parked and making sure to feed the meters promptly, and not to drive too long distances and that the car wouldn't go over the speed limit, but be careful and don't go by the highway because people drive crazy coming onto the island.

Of course, we had no idea where, exactly, we wanted to go, but on the way to the office we had seen signs pointing to the Southernmost Point, so we figured we'd start there. We found a place to park the electric car on Whitehead Street. "No Standing Any Time" "We'll only be here a couple minutes." We get out of the little car and get on the fast moving photo-op line. We could see the naval base from where we were standing and DD took a peek at the sea life around the rocks at the shoreline. We made a reciprocal pact with the folks around us to take photos of each other's families.


Back in the car, no tickets, no tow, only seems to embolden DH. We drove up Whitehead Street onto Wall, and back down Duval Street. DH wanted to check out Del Sol, so we made a left onto Greene Street and tried to find parking. This was not an easy task, but we did manage to find a spot near a meter on Ann St. - a block away from where we wanted to be. The one quarter we had left after buying the stamps yielded us 10 minutes on the meter. Whatthf? We tooled around in Del Sol for a bit, but didn't really find anything that struck our fancy for the right price. We stopped at a corner kiosk selling shell and bead necklaces. The one DH had bought last summer at Animal Kingdom broke and he was wanting another one. He checked a few out, asked for prices, etc. all the while with me shaking my head no. "Oh, right. They'll be cheaper in Cozumel" he announces to everyone within a 3 mile radius. As we - quickly- make our way back down Greene Street, I explain how it kinda wasn't cool that he did that to that vendor with so many customers at her shop. I was concerned about the car and the meter, and suggested we look for somewhere to make change so we could feed the meter, or get back to the car and head somewhere else. DH opted for choice 3 - stop at Guy Harvey's Grill for an adult beverage. After he paid, I grabbed the change and jogged back to the meter to buy us some more time.

It was relaxing, sipping a margarita, listening to the soothing sounds of island music and feeling the cool breezes blow through the open end of the bar. DD was twisting around on her bar stool, swinging her legs, and simply enjoying the effects of the sugar-laden Shirley Temple she ordered. It was then, as she was twirling her lanyard around, that I noticed that the back of her Tinkerbell pouch was black. You know, the side that you slip the KTTW card into?! She can't get back on the ship without it! The last I had seen it was in Del Sol, where she asked if she could use it to purchase a souvenir there. She had been swinging her lanyard around in there too. I frantically searched around the bar, then down the sidewalk, on the ground at the jewelry kiosk, down Duval, and back into Del Sol. I freakishly furrowed around peoples' feet and finally made my way to the counter where I asked if anyone had turned in a cruise ship card for the Disney Magic. Nope, but if anyone does, they'll give it to the Cruise Ship contact and she'll bring it back to the ship for us at the end of the day. EEEKS! What do we do until then?!

Head down and still searching, I made my way back to DH and DD at Guy Harvey's. No dice. I told DH what the cashier at Del Sol had told me and suggested that maybe it was in the car. We ordered beverages to go and went back to the car to search for the card. No luck. What should we do, go back to the ship now? We opted to do some more exploring. No sense in worrying about it now. We'll get it sorted. Disney isn't going to leave our child stranded on Key West because of a card. We'll just ask them to cancel it and issue a new one - just like last time at Disney World. (Of course, in the back of my mind, I worried that someone may use her card to get onto the ship - Then what?) We decided to take a round trip tour of the island. We went all the way to South Street and followed the roads around the island. As we passed the White Street pier, we resolved to stop there and check out the view before we left. It was fun driving all the way around the island, even if regular cars were passing us left and right. Electric Car guy was right when he said that people were crazy coming off US1 - but we're New Yorkers - they needed to watch out for us! We honestly had no idea where we were going or what was available, but we were certain of one thing: As long as we didn't find ourselves on a bridge, we couldn't be too lost. We did wind up in a busy commercial area with super stores and such and we did want to know where we were in relation to the pier. As we headed further south, we noticed the change in the buildings and the neighborhood feel and stumbled upon a tourist center. Wait, I read in the navigator that they have a "Ship's Agent" on the island. Maybe the tourist center knows where it is and we can go there and handle the problem with the card. DH agreed to stop cause he needed to explore the lavatory. The tourist information guy didn't have much in the way of tourist information for us, but he did give us a map and tell us where the pier was. (Yeah, cause a humongous cruise ship is so difficult to spot in a town of two-story buildings.) We thanked him for his "help" and headed on our way. We found the cruise ship pier and DH parked the car while DD and I headed towards the ship to check and see what we needed to do to get DD a new card. I approached the custom's guy: "We have a really big problem." "No you don't." "We'll yeah we do. See, my daughter lost her card somewhere on the island..." he cut me off before I could finish: "What's your name?" he asks DD. "Jordan." He reaches into his clipboard and lo and behold, he has her card.  I thank him profusely as he hands it to ME. "See. I told you. No problem." DD and I praise God as we head back to find DH. We find a bench to wait on and put her card into the zippered part of her pouch. As we are sitting, still praising the Lord, JPMTECH and family pass us. "There she is! That's my friend!" says John's DD. I chatted with John and Deb while the girls hug and chat too. DH finally finds us, is thrilled by our good-fortune, and John and Co. head back onto the ship while we go back to the car because it's in a "questionable spot" according to DH. DH was feeling those adult beverages and got a little saucy as we walked past the Custom House:

We were getting a little hungry, but we really weren't very interested in going back to the ship anytime soon, most especially not just to eat dinner at 6- when we could get Topsiders whenever we wanted. According to our cards, it was night 1 of 3 at Lumiere's so it was no big loss if we missed it. We drove back up Duval Street seeking a kid-friendly place to get a snack. We were able to find another parking space on Ann Street, south of Greene, this time with no meter! DH decided a second trip to Guy Harvey's was in order. We ordered some buffalo wings to tide us over. They were super-spicy, but delicious. DD got an order of chicken strips with french-fries that we all shared. We knew we wanted Key Lime Pie from Key West, so we walked over to Duval and did some window-shopping on our way up to where the Blond Giraffe was. $30 later, we had two slices of key lime pie, a key lime ice cream cone, and DD got a package of key lime cookies to bring home. Yikes!
We went back to where the car was parked and I made an interesting discovery as we approached the vehicle:


Apparently, this was not an unmetered parking space, just a spot where some industrius islander had taken a hacksaw to base of the sign pole. 
We drove back down to the south side of the island and visited the pier DD had her eye on.



It was interesting to see people clamming and gathering other sorts of edible sea creatures so close to shore. Where we are, people may fish or drop crab traps from the marina piers, but generally, we take a boat out into the bay or the ocean and drop anchor. We walked to the end of the pier, admiring the beauty of the unadulterated landscape.




Except for the radar and communication towers at the base, the seaside town looked refreshingly quaint. We peered into the clear ocean lapping up against the pier and one of the locals spotted a shark in the water and pointed it out to us.



By this time, we were ready to head back to the ship. We took another lap around the island, brought the car back to its office back on the south end of Duval Street and from there got a lift back to Mallory Square. All aboard was at 7:30, so when the driver dropped us off, we decided to do a little more exploring and shopping before getting back onto the ship. We walked through the mall and bought some souvenir T-shirts on our way out the back to the pier. The Sunset Celebration had already begun and we listened to the live band pumping out soothing island tunes as we strolled over to the gangway and back onto the ship. Rather than head straight back to our stateroom, we took the elevator up to deck 9 and walked up to deck 10 to catch a glimpse of that legendary sunset.

Skipping the comedian's show altogether, we enjoyed dinner at topsiders before heading back to the room to freshen up and go play Who Wants to Be a Mouseketeer?DD wanted to visit the Lab afterwards, but we when got there, she realized it was the girls' pajama party, so she came back to the stateroom with us to change into her pjs then join the party. She headed out on her own and we stayed on the verandah until DH climbed into bed, exhausted, at 11. I sat out a while longer watching the lights on the horizon as the ship passed Cuba. It was strangely eerie to be passing so close. I kept a sharp eye out for handmade rafts floating on the rippling water under the bright full moon. Alas, there was no such excitement to be found and I tumbled into bed at about midnight. DD came back from the Lab at 1am. No worries - she had nowhere to be the next day.

up next,
It's a Great Day at Sea, Sir!