Winter is coming (but you wouldn't know it in Florida)

We spent last week in sunny Florida, which is especially amazing since the clocks have now changed here and we have about five solid months of darkness headed our way. Memories of our week in the sun will have to get us through.

I started the trip with a stop in Chicago, visiting my nearest and dearest for one night. Thanks to everyone for a great little birthday dinner! Thanks to my sister for picking me up and providing me with Portillos! Thanks to my nephew for all of the hugs and kisses he packed in! Thanks to Giordano's for making pizza!!!

The next day was Dave and Deb's wedding, the real impetus for our trip. Ceremony right on the beach, excellent food, good music, and a great bunch of people. They are a beautiful couple and we are so glad we could make it in!

The rest of the trip was spent with the Hamiltons/Lapps in a mansion on the beach: not too bad! The house we were meant to have for our week in the sun wasn't available, so we got upgraded to an insanely large substitute - Andrew and I got to stay in our own wing of the house! We spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool, swimming, taking the sea kayaks out, and I won a pretty great game of Uno one night. One day, Jon rode a jetlev for an hour. It was pretty cool:

On Tuesday, Eric, Mom & Dad, and Andrew & I spent the day in Key West. After an exciting drive down in the pouring rain (during which we had a brief brush with the local law enforcement...), we got there and had some amazing Cuban food at a little cafe. We hopped on a trolley and explored town a bit: we saw Hemingway's house, the little White House, the US Naval Air Station, a house that Calvin Klein once owned, a very tall lighthouse, and for some odd reason, a lot of roosters wandering the streets. We were also the farthest south we could be in the U.S. and the closest to Cuba.

Jon rented a boat on Wednesday, and Andrew, Eric, Jon, and I went out for a ride and some snorkeling. We ran into a small snag on the way out to sea when we lost power for a few minutes - our trusty mechanics got us on our way again in no time, though. Snorkeling was fun for a little while, despite the fear of jellyfish and the copious amounts of salt water I ingested. I was feeling a bit rough by the time I got back into the boat, and I ended up feeding the fish some of the pumpkin muffins I had eaten for breakfast not too long before. We headed home soon after...

All in all, it was a really excellent trip home. I got to see both of my families, enjoy some warmth and sunlight, and celebrate with friends on such a wonderful day in their lives.

More pictures on flickr (there are a lot of jetlev photos!).

p.s. Here's the view from the mansion. It was AMAZING!