Key West

We stayed on Marathon Key and drove down to Key West for the day. These islands are so beautiful and fun! It doesn't hurt that the weather is perfect. Life seems pretty good down here...
The famous 7 mile bridge:


Key West has stray roosters running around.
We visited Ernest Hemingway's house. He wrote most of his works there.


People used to bring these six toed cats out to sea because they are thought to be lucky. They live well at the Hemingway estate.

Hemingway's typewriter. Apparently, he had trouble with spelling and he jokingly blamed his typewriter. It'd be tough without spellcheck!
I love the feel of this island.




Had to stop for a beer at old Sloppy Joe's! ;)
Everyone was getting ready for New Year's Eve celebrations. It seems like it'd be a fun place to bring in the new year.

Every year Sloppy Joe's hosts an Ernest Hemingway look alike contest. Who will be papa 2009?
We had to go to Mallory Square to watch the sailboats and the sun set.


loved it!


This local artist was painting by the harbor while live reggae music filled the air.


Duval Street was a lively place to be!

Naples, FL

After leaving Miami, we drove across the state of Florida on Alligator Alley to Naples. After all that city, we got to this beautiful prairie flat land that you could see for miles. After the prairie came part of the Everglades and lots of life. We saw a ton of alligators - it was so cool to see them in the wild! On Alligator Alley, they sun themselves near a stream and a fence protects them from the cars zipping by. Naples is a great little town with many shops and a beautiful beach. It was a busy day at the beach (the day after Christmas), but it seemed like more of a family activity compared to Miami Beach. The white sparkly sand stretched out before us and the water was calmer than the lakes of Minnesota.
Naples decorated for Christmas:

The beach:

Night Shots: Miami Beach

This was Christmas night (it got SUPER busy that night). It was a lot easier to take pictures in this weather!