Our Day in Key West

We were at port in Key West, Florida. Today we headed to the Butterfly Conservatory and the Key West Aquarium. We all woke up around 10:00a.m. and headed on down to the Parrot Cay, Deck 3 for a brunch buffet. When you walk in, it feels like you are in Margaritaville. They are playing Jimmy Buffett music and are in tropical attire. Our server was Nelson. He was very kind. They were going to save space and put us with another family...well Nelson grabbed us and put us with him at a table all by ourselves. Anyway, the food was good. They served the typical breakfast foods; however, some of the typical foods had a caribbean twist; i.e. coconut, pineapple, and other tropical accents. We were not able to get off the boat until 12:30p.m. so we ventured on down to the photo gallery. We found our first night at sea photos. Then we headed to the Lobby to gather more photos with the characters. Today they are hosting Belle, Donald and Daisy Duck, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and Goofy. We were also able to catch Snow White, Cinderella, and Peter Pan. Trust me when I say this...the characters are EVERYWHERE:)



Well on to Key West we went around 12:45p.m. We walked up the block and around the corner to catch a bus that took us to the Butterfly Conservatory. It was beautiful. It's funny though because it meant so much more to me on this trip because I cultivated them this time last school year. After the conversatory, we headed downtown and walked the shops. It reminded me a lot of Maui. We saw the Great Kapok Tree and Banyon Trees. We even saw Hemmingways House on the Key West strip. It was pretty cool. Locals say that it is very expensive to live there. Hmmmmm merchandise was so so. You paid less the further out you went into Key West.

After a browse around town, at 3:00p.m. we headed to the Key West Aquarium. It was a guided tour. The Aquarium was built around its environment. They have sharks that come in from the ocean. The docks of the aquarium are built right out in the ocean. Anyway, the tour guide was very informative. Anthony handled a starfish and had the chance to pet a "Nurse" shark. He was afraid of course but took the opportunity well. We fed sting ray, sharks, and other local fish. It was pretty cool.

Since it was quite HOT…we decided to head back to cool off. We stopped at one of their local ice cream shops. VERY EXPENSIVE! It wasn’t like Brusters or Royal Crowne.

On the boat we went. Through security and it was shower time. Dinner was again at 5:45p.m. This time we were heading to the “Animator’s Pallette”. Very cool dining room…animations on the walls. When you walk in the walks, chairs, tables, and everything were black and white. As time progressed, color was added to the animations and walls. By the end of the dining experience, we had a full dinner show about Walt Disney and the animation of the characters. It was intriguing.
The menu at the “Animator’s Pallette” is very good. They had amazing Ahi Tuna, great salads, and outstanding dinners. Anthony had mozzarella sticks, macaroni and cheese and beef tenderloin. Of course he had vegetables and fruit…for dessert a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Pop. Ed and I had the Beef Tenderloin which was tender and delicious. Like I said earlier, the Ahi Tuna was fabulous.

After dinner, we headed back to the Lobby for pictures with MORE characters. My goodness…we have seen them all Then onto a show we went. Ricky Kalmon, a Hypnosis and Comedian, had a theatre packed with people. Ed, a participant in the show, did very well. He is now a celebrity. Strangers stop to talk to him about his Hypnosis experience. He was Hannah Montana, he had a pet flying squirrel, and list goes on. You all know Ed so you can only imagine how funny it was. People walk by us and just laugh. He had money, which were only napkins, stuffed down his underwear. He thought he had hundreds…NOOOO they were napkins. He ran onto stage after the show and rubbed the cruise directors bald head. He wasn’t alone…all participants in the show did it. They had 10 participants all together. They were all under hypnosis. The stuff you do…my goodness. After the show, we ventured onto Deck 9 for some pizza and a movie by the pool. It is now about 10:00p.m. and Anthony is still partying it up. The pools are open and the movie is going. Well Ed and I are zonked. So we head back, with Anthony of course, to get some sleep. Back to it tomorrow with our “Day at Sea.”