So today would be our first port day. We were heading to KEY WEST! I have not been to Key West since the late 80's/early 90's (I can't remember which cruise it was but my oldest children were all little). I imagine things have probably changed a lot and actually the only thing I can remember is walking down a cute little street with shops and it subjected me to my first experience of the Del Sol products that changes colors in the sun. I thought it was so neat. Then I remember seeing a bunch of wind chimes for sale as well. Other than that, I believe that's all we did while in port and just hung out and ate until after sunset (we stayed late back then and it was dark out when you had to get back on the ship).

I searched and searched for things to do here. Every single excursion I found that was interesting (eco kayaking tour, sandbar tour and so on) all started in the mornings and could not accommodate a cruise ship coming in at our time. The only other extreme thing I could find was jet skis. After finding out the time out on the water versus the amount it costs, the kids decided not to do it and said it wasn't worth it. You would think the tour companies would start doing tours later in the day knowing they could be getting more income that way. They are really losing out!

The only other options we had was to visit the Butterfly Farm or the Aquarium or...the beach. I didn't make any decisions prior to cruising and figured we would play it by ear the day we got there (GASP! I NEVER do this...as in EVER).

So on with our day. Since we wouldn't get there until 1pm, there was no need to set alarms and rush to get up. So, I would sleep in until....5am. Ugh. I just couldn't sleep last night. So, I just hung out in the room or on the balcony until everyone else decided to get up...which wasn't until 8:30am.

We all headed up to the buffet where I would have an omelet and a PLATE full of bacon! Yes, it was bacon day and I was enjoying it so much I didn't even take a picture.

We headed back to the room to discuss what we were going to do today and I gave the kids options. Karl was really set on going to a beach. He said "I HAVE to sink my toes in the sand and swim in the ocean!" I guess scuba diving last week was not good enough for him. Ok, we would be going to the beach instead of everything else I had thrown at them of things to do.

As I started packing, Orlando made an announcement that we would be coming into port early due to an emergency with one of the crew members. He also stated we would still be staying in port the full time. So, I guess we would get extra time here in Key West.

We were pulling into port around 10:30am instead of 1pm

Here comes the jet ski tours. I guess they were wondering what we were doing here so early too.

The ambulance was already on the dock waiting for us.

After docking, they came on the ship with the gurney and they were on there for quite some time. When they finally brought the crew member out he was on an ambu bag and the medics were giving him breaths, had fluids running and he appeared unconscious. Oh my! I hope he's alright!

After they left, another ambulance pulled up and took away a female with a small child in a stroller as well. Geesh! What is going on? That's 3 emergencies in the last week for us.

We were allowed to get off the ship at 11:50am. We headed out to the main street to summon an Uber for a ride to the beach. A taxi did stop and I ask them how much and they said $5/pp to get to the beach. Um, no thanks.

Now Key West does have a free shuttle that will take you to various places and sites (at least I think I read it was free but I may be wrong). You can jump off and on as you please at any of the stops. However, where we were going, it didn't go to. So, it was just easier and cheaper to grab an Uber. You can also walk and I read it would take around 30-45 minutes to get there.

Our driver pulled up within minutes and we were off. It would cost us $10.99 for our Uber ride. Much cheaper than a taxi.

We would pass through the cutest little neighborhood along the way with the cutest little pastel houses. I believe this was called the Truman Annex area.

So where are we going you might ask? I had read that the best beach/swim/possible snorkel area to go to would be Fort Zachary Taylor Beach. I honestly had no idea what to expect and didn't do a lot of research on it prior to coming. But, they do have a webcam online and I did look at it a few times and seen a bunch of rocks and figured that would be a good snorkeling area if we went.

As we got closer the traffic was at a stand still. Like we weren't moving at all. There was a line to get into the parking lot and I mentioned several times that we could just walk from here. I mean we were wasting a lot of time. The driver didn't seem to want to let us out and you could tell he was getting more anxious by the minute as we were just not moving.

They had gates down with a sign that said the parking lot was FULL. They had officers (or could have been park rangers) there to stop everyone. As people pulled out, they would let people in...one by one. Again, just let us out Mr Uber! He finally did and we stopped and talked to the person at the gate controlling traffic. He said to "just walk that way and stop at the booth".

We stopped to pay our admission price (which online it said that it was $2.50/pp but they only charged us $2/pp for some reason) and then I noticed they had a pop machine right beside it. WONERFUL! We had to stop and load up at $3.00 a bottle. Then we were headed down the sidewalk to the beach.

I have to say, it was quite a walk from the gates. You went by several different parking lots and trails as well. It was kinda confusing on which way we were supposed to head to get to the beach. But, eventually we would find a sign.

We finally made it out to the beach area (at least one of them).

They were doing work in some areas and bringing in loads of sand to make it soft and those areas were blocked off. There is plenty of shade to put things under and stay out of the sun as well if you wanted to. They had multiple picnic tables to sit at too. We like staying down by the water so just brought our things down with us. We could keep an eye out on our things that way as well.

Now the water is not your crystal clear Caribbean blue water. It was cloudy the day we were there and there was just no way you would be able to see anything snorkeling. Maybe it's clearer on other days? Or maybe you had to go out around the rocks to see anything? Either way, the waves were a little too rough for my comfort to attempt it. So, we just hung out on the beach and in the water most of the time.

The hubby went over to check out some of the rocky areas and Sakari went after him and said she wanted to take his picture. It's funny because she is usually the one posing for these pictures but this time she didn't want to.

The beach area down by the water is nothing but shells and rocks. We ended up finding quite a few cute shells and a few pieces of sea glass. Then there's a slope to climb up to the sandy part of the beach. I will mention that there are a lot of rocks in the water as well and you have to get out a ways to get to sand. If you have water shoes, I would suggest bringing them for this beach.

We stayed there for several hours just sifting through the shells and then swimming in the water and cooling off.

It was a beautiful day out and it would be the real first day we actually got some sun on this vacation.

There was some type of black bird that sat on this post the entire time we were there. He just watched everyone. New life guard for the area?

Yes, the water was cold...but not as cold as on our Mexican Riviera cruise. It took awhile to get Karl to come out and he would run back with each wave.

Eventually he made it out. Once you got out in the water, you got used to it and it wasn't a problem. Even after you would get out for awhile and back in, it still didn't feel as cold as it did at first. It was very refreshing.

We watched the air force jets fly over all day. I don't know if they were patrolling or practicing.

Such a beautiful day....That is until a really big wave came up, went up the hill, and decided to get our bag wet and steal some of our shoes. After that, we decided to pack up and head down the beach to see what it was like.

We found this to be the "happening" area where most people were hanging out. You could rent umbrella's down here, there were restrooms, an outdoor shower to rinse off at and a restaurant.

There were several White Ibis birds in the area walking around. Most of them were juvenile and still had the brown on them.

Although there were 4 outdoor showers, only one worked and it didn't spray out a lot to begin with.

So obviously Miami is 132 miles from Key West. Good to know.

Here's a short video of our walk there (mostly covered/tree lined) and the main area.

Karl said he really liked forts and wanted to visit the one here on the grounds we had passed coming in. We told him how much he would love to see the ones they had in Puerto Rico and how amazing the view is there.

It was a short way back in the direction we first came in.

Fort Taylor was built in 1845 and constructed along the coastline to prevent sea attacks to the United States. When it was completed, it was 3 stories tall, held 140 cannons and was home to almost 450 soldiers. Removal of the 2 upper tiers was in 1898. Fort Taylor defended the US during the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War 1 and World War 2. It's service to the nation ended in 1947. It was declared a National Historic Site in 1971 and a National Landmark in 1973. It was acquired by the State of Florida from the US Navy in 1976 and opened as a Historic State Park in 1985.

They had restrooms before you enter and pop machines...only they were completely out of diet. BOO!

This was the Blacksmith's Shop

I'm going to bombard you with pictures of the place right now because I honestly can't tell you what everything was other than historical "stuff".

I can tell you that these were the forts Jail cells. I remember reading about it. On each side of the Sally Port were prison cells. The Sally Port was the only entrance to the Fort. You came in by crossing an 1,100 foot wooden causeway from the island and a drawbridge protected others from coming in. Soldiers, sailors and blockade runners were often held in the cells until they could be tried for their charges.

The grub hub area

The flag was flying at half staff, we think, since word was that Pope Francis had passed.

We decided to head upstairs to take a look around.

The hubby was dragging behind. Come on, there's awesome views from up here!

What is this off in the distance???

Well, we had walked around the entire place and time to head out.

Along the way I spotted something over by the trees. Eek! It's several iguana's. I didn't even realize they had iguana's down here. I guess I always thought it was a Caribbean thing. One was really huge!

The big orange one was throwing his head up and down and showing us he was king of this territory.

Ok, time to head back out and catch another Uber back to the port.

I took a video of our tour of Fort Zachary Taylor but at one point I must have hit a button and put it on some type of warp speed. I've tried to do the video however it's a little choppy because of it. It started out good and just declined from there. I've slowed it down the best I could. If anyone knows how to fix a video like this, please let me know. I'll share it anyhow.

Ok, time to head out and grab an Uber back. We walked out to the street area that we were stuck in traffic before. Our ride back to the port would cost $8.97 this time.

Along the way I noticed the lights here were silver. I'm not sure if this is normal or a Key West thing. Ours is yellow.

Once we were dropped off as close to the ship as we could get, we all discussed what we wanted to do. I mean we still had a lot of time here. We all wanted to walk around, find something to eat and definitely get a slice of what Key West is known for....Key Lime Pie! However, we were carrying a big beach bag that was full of all of our snorkeling equipment, 4 wet beach towels and cameras among other things.

We decided that it would just be easier to go back to the ship and drop our things off, change into dry clothes and head back out.

One thing I do find weird is that they require you to have not only your ship key card to get back on the ship but also your state issued ID. Most of the ports we have ever been to might tell you to bring your ID but they hardly ever ask to see it. But here in the US, you best believe you are showing it.

When we returned to our room, we would find an elephant waiting for us.

Ok, back off the ship and time to explore a little. We decided to find a restaurant to have lunch at. However, Karl had different plans. He needed something to tie him over and darted into an ice cream store.

I immediately spotted the Shipwreck Museum. I remember seeing pictures of this online with the tower and people saying it was kinda cheesy and not worth paying for.

The Old Town Trolley tour buses were spotted all over and even the Conch Tour Train. I guess there's several options if you just want to ride around and tour the various places here in Key West.

We walked up and down the streets and could not find a place that didn't appear to be a bar-type restaurant and I definitely was having difficulty finding any place that sold Key Lim Pie! What the heck!! I was getting very frustrated and time was ticking.

We finally stopped and ask someone. We were given directions to a place for Key Lime Pie. It ended up being on a street that we had somehow missed. I was so relieved to see this coming down the street.

FINALLY! WE MADE IT!!! This store had everything your little heart can desire with Key Lime. Key Lime muffin bites, cakes, mixes, soft batch cookies, candy, taffy, drinks, teas, drink mix and yes....THE PIE!!!

They had several choices of pies so of course...I had to order one of each! I'll have a slice of Key Lime Pie, Key Lime Cheesecake and Coconut Key Lime Pie. Sakari and I opened all 3 pies, grabbed our forks and dug in. A bite of this, a bite of that, some more of that and we kept going. Karl gave it a try and said it wasn't for him. The hubby said he wasn't going to break his diet and reminded me how much sugar each one of them probably had in them. So, I kept going without him. ;) They were so good. Sakari and I finished all 3 by ourselves. No worries. Sakari washed it down with her Key Lime Pie Soda. So 3 pies and drinks would cost us $35.37 in case you're wondering. The cheesecake was $8.27 and the regular and Coconut was $7.23 each. A 16oz pp was $2.42/each and the Key Lime Pie Soda was $5.80.

I have to admit, I was quite full now and didn't want any lunch at this point. We had also wasted so much time on finding this place that I honestly didn't think we would have enough time to still locate a place, order and be served and get back to the ship in time. So, we agreed to eat once back on the ship and just do a little bit of shopping instead.

Heading out with our bellies satisfied (at least some of us) we found a few magnets to add to our collection.

The hubby wanted to stop in a place called Captain Tony's Saloon...or at least look in. He said it was a popular place online and people throw money in the fishes mouth on the sign. People definitely put money all over the place inside for sure. The guy they had singing inside was actually from Ohio.

We were headed back to the ship now and it was around 5:30pm.

The hubby was definitely hungry by now since he was the only one that didn't actually have anything at all to eat. Then there's Karl...he's always hungry no matter what.

Of course, the kids wanted to go to Fins Dining room for tonight.

Todays Menu

For starters: Caesar Salad, Cheese Ravioli, Carnitas, Classic Shrimp Cocktail and Florida Citrus Salad. (One of us was loading up since they haven't had anything to eat yet).

I only managed to take a picture of one of our entrees. I'm not sure why. Maybe because we had already had this meal before? It would be the Ranchero Flat Steak and Vegetables.

We headed back to the room and we would hang out on the balcony until we pulled out.

Karl thought he was funny and pressed his face against Sakari's back and gave her a big kiss...leaving imprints of his nose, mouth and chin on her slight sunburn.

Sakari had her ipad in hand and passed the time away with a new drawing of one of her best friends who loves tigers.

The sun was starting to set and the sail boats going by were so pretty.

Sakari working on her ipad and caught off guard. lol

After awhile, we all decided to head to the casino for a little fun. Only Karl was the one having all the fun again with his beginners luck. I swear every machine he put his money in he did well on.

I'm still over here winning small amounts...no worries Karl. You got me on this competition. I will still beat you in the duck finding game.

I headed to the restroom and along the way I scored one of these...

Yes, ANOTHER too small for most eyes duck. Please stop!

I walked around the casino to find Karl so that I could rub it in his face and so he shows me this:

I swear this guy was having so much luck (then again he was hitting the $1 to $2.50 a spin button too...I'm too chicken to do that). I guess with that win he could buy his own duck! Another guy sitting beside Karl had been sitting at that machine for over 2 hours he said. Then he hit for $3700 by betting $7.50 a spin. Eek! He states he started with only $200.

Well, since we had eaten so early tonight, we were all hungry again. We would find that the only thing open at this time was pizza. We each grabbed a plate (except for the hubby) and hung out in the buffet area eating. We did not get a Checklist to Chill today so we had no idea what was going on around the ship. However, looking at previous ones it said that the food area on the back of the ship had food from 3pm until "late". No idea what "late" means but it wasn't open. The hubby was upset there was nothing he could really eat at this point and was bad mad at the late options and was pouting. Ok, it's time to take him back to the room for a time out.

We headed back to the room and would find a letter delivered.

Well now, we were under the impression that our credit card would still be on our account from the last cruise (and they didn't bother to mention anything during check in). But, I guess not and they didn't bother to ask us for any information when they walked us back onto the ship and had us take our pictures for our account. I wonder why. I guess we would have to go down tomorrow and take care of it.

We watched a little more tv and Sakari worked on a quick drawing before bed.

Tomorrow is a sea day, so we weren't in too big of a hurry to get to bed. It was midnight and Karl finally covered the mirror light in the room and I knew that meant it was time to go to bed.

💤