Have you ever sat at your desk at work and wondered if you could snap your fingers and be taken away to any place you desired? What if you could? Well, after two loooooong miserable days in the office, I am going to tell you where I would go IF I could chose any place on earth...
Last week, Felix and I had the pleasure of joining The Sloans on their annual Boat Trip. It was an unforgettable experience, and it was the vacation of a lifetime. Not only did we have great weather, great food, and a lot of laughs, but we also got to meet two new friends, John Thompson and Erin Meroney, that we hope to share more memories with down the road. They are good friends of the Sloans from Nashville that were invited to cruise along with us. So, sit back and enjoy the ride as I tell you all about paradise!
The vacation started last Wednesday morning when John was nice enough to fly all of us down to Ocean Reef on his private jet. Uh yeah, I said it, PRIVATE jet. Now, some of you are just thinking "whatever, no big deal", but for a Childersburg girl, this is a big deal. I come from a family who makes practice runs to the airport a day or two before their flight to make sure they know how to get there. I also come from a family whose Mom cries in the Atlanta airport bc she can't believe her little girl knows her way to the terminal. So, this was HUGE for me. Thanks John for the luxurious means of transportation. Delta doesn't even come close!
Just arrived in Ocean Reef
After having to digest my first intake of culture shock for the day, it only gets better. Blazer's parents were nice enough to arrange a 4 day, island hopping vacation for us for the remainder of the week on their family boat. Now listen people, I don't mean a little bitty fishin' boat....I mean YACHT, as in a FLOATING taj-ma-hal. Upon our arrival, Blazer's mom was waiting for us aboard the Doorprize (name of the boat) and welcomed us all with a early morning champagne toast. We got our things settled and off we went. Aboard our cruiseline we were accompanied by Captain Lee and Muriel. Captain Lee has mad skills when it comes to operating this boat, and Muriel can prepare one heck of a meal. Between her pancakes, eggs, sandwiches, and pasta salad, I think I gained an easy 5 lbs! Our first stop was Little Palm Island. If you have never been, you must check it out. It is an island in the keys and it is very secluded. Everyone must arrive by water taxi only. At LPI, we stayed for one night and had a fabulous dinner. We lounged on their private beach the following day before setting sail again. We had a hard time getting John to leave because he made good friends with the "Key Deer" that were on the island. He was hoping to save them from the sharks.
Doorprize docked at LPI
Dinner at LPI
John and his "Key Deer"
After spending half the day at LPI on Day Two, we cruised over to Key West. Once again Captain Lee delivers us safely and securely to Conch Harbor. We arrive just in time for a beautiful sunset over the flybridge of the boat and enjoy some cocktails and appetizers prepared by Muriel. For our first night in Key West, we enjoy a fabulous meal at Hot Tin Roof. Not only was the food to die for, but the bottle of vino that was shared among the table wasn't too shabby. Opus sure knows how to blend some grapes, doesn't he? It was another GREAT day and I was sad to see it end, but we looked forward to Day 3 in paradise.
Cocktails on the flybridge
Headed out for dinner
In love with Opus
Is there anyway better to start off a day than with a big breakfast? Not in my book. Friday morning, we headed over to Pepe's in Key West for a wonderful breakfast. It's hard to beat Brennan's in New Orleans as far as I am concerned, but this was pretty close. Just a lot less fancy. Here we stuffed ourselves with eggs benedict, french toast, and omelettes before taking on another tough day of vacationing. We decided to rent an electric car for the day so we could tour the town and check out some of the sites. At this point in the trip, I think John and Erin thought they might not live to see another day.... B Money and Fe got a little out of hand with the driving of the electric car. We spent the day touring, eating, and lounging by the pool. Oh, and I almost forgot... John and B Money decided they would take a little boat ride on the dingy that resulted in a visit from the Coast Guard. While the ladies (including Felix bc he knew better) were lounging on the boat, we hear something from the distance.."Captain of the Doorprize, Captain of the Doorprize..." It get's louder and louder, and what do you know? It's the Coast Guard! The dingy is broke down and Captain Lee has to go to the rescue!! So, once our fellow tourmates arrive back home safe and sound, we decide to head out for a night on Duvall Street. B Money decides he has an appetite for some HOT wings. Now, I don't mean just plain ole wings. I mean HOT wings. You know your in trouble when the waitress serves them to you with a roll of Tums. He managed to get them down some how, but I think the intestines are still suffering :) After dinner, we go for dessert at Martin's. We all had chocolate martini's and bananas foster. It was a great time, and Blazer, I think the lady at the door is still trying to translate "TABLE FOR SIX FOR DESSERT!" After dinner, we headed back to the boat so John could show us his "Bahama Dance".
Pepe's
Pre-dinner photo
Electric car
Dessert at Martin's
It's Saturday and it's time to cruise out of Key West and head back to Ocean Reef. Mrs. Darby was waiting patiently for us to return. We were warned that the seas would be a little rough on our way back so we bunkered down and prepared for the ride. Captain Lee didn't happen to spare as much gas as he did on the ride down, but shhhhh... we won't tell RG! We arrived back in Ocean Reef just in time for a happy hour at the Darby's house before dinner. We re-capped our entire trip for Blazer's parents and there is no way we could have thanked them enough. Happy hour was followed by a wonderful dinner at the Islander and then a night in the hot tub at the Darby's house.
Blazer's family
Group shot before dinner
Girls in the hot tub
Well, it's Sunday and it was a day of DEPRESSION. It was time to go home, and we were so siiiiiiiiick that we had to leave. Not only will we miss the Doorprize, Captain Lee, Muriel, and being with friends, but we are also going to miss the 85 degree weather. We had heard that both Nashville and Atlanta got snow while we were gone, and we just weren't looking forward to that one bit. Muriel was nice enough to send us off with one final blueberry pancake breakfast before our departure. We had one final family meal and then it was time to head out.
Money and Blazer, we had a wonderful time and this was truely a trip of a lifetime. We are so thankful you included us and we look forward to many more memories with you guys in the future! Thanks BABE and BABE!
Saying Goodbye to Muriel and Captain Lee
Baby Harris
Verdigets and Ackels
matty cakes! 
