No Shame in Key West

As a US Airways Credit Card holder, I get offered a companion pass every year. This allows me to purchase a plane ticket and 2 people can tag along for $99 each. My lifetime friends, Courtney and Julie, have always shared my obsession with traveling and so I sent an email to see where this companion pass would take us. We started on Jetsetter to get ideas. We thought about Arizona, Texas, the northeast area, but we decided we wanted warm and interesting. We booked our flights to Miami for October 27th-30th, 2011. We were ready to start planning our Key West vacation!!

I was walking down King Street in Charleston, I'll never forget where I was when I received THE call. It was Julie letting me know her discovery. We had planned our Key West vacation, unbeknownst to us, during Fantasy Fest 2011. Ummm, 'what is Fantasy Fest?' I asked Julie. She referred me to the website and the rest is history. Due to this revelation, we had a very tough time finding a hotel in Key West that didn't cost more than a small car. We decided we did infact want to participate* in Fantasy Fest 2011, but maybe for just 1 night. We went on a 'Key Crawl' and stayed 1 night in each location: Key West, Duck Key, and Miami. We flew into Miami, rented a car, and hit the road. The drive was about 3 hours and we stopped in Key Largo for lunch. I was a little taken back by the quality (and lack there of) of the restaurants, shops, residential areas of all the places we drove through. But the drive is a MUST if you have never done it. Going from key to key was pretty magnificent.

Key West:
It was mine and Courtney's first time to Key West. Julie had been there before so she was our tour guide. We arrived as mother nature decided to pour buckets of water on us. Fortunately the rain stopped before our night on Duval Street. Our hotel, Santa Maria, was an absolute gem and we were one block from the quiet end of Duval Street. We were greeted with a glass of wine around the pool and a sheet for the toga party, one of the Fantasy Fest events. We declined the sheet, but welcomed an overdue glass of wine. Our hotel room was not a room at all. It was a condo with 2 floors, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a fully stocked kitchen. We all fell in love with the decor. I would highly, highly recommend this place (and look for deals on jetsetter). Here are some pictures:

As for our night on the town....

We started out at a bar called La Te Da at the 'quiet end' of Duval street. It was an outside bar and the weather was cooperating with us at this point. It was heavenly to finally sit down and relax and feel as if we were on vacation! Julie found a restaurant for us on Urban Spoon, nine one five, and it exceeded any expectation I could have dreamed up. We had to have set some sort of record for how fast a cheese plate can be demolished. It was the most amazing cheese plate we had ever had placed before us and we were tempted to order another for dessert. I ordered their signature dish, the Tuna Dome...fresh dungeness crab with a lemon miso dressing wrapped in ahi tuna sashimi. I may purchase a plane ticket to Key West for this dish. It was absolutely Heaven in my mouth.

and then......it happened....

We left the restaurant with no destination and there it was. All the naked people, body paint, head pieces, etc. There are no words to describe what we saw. No words. If you enjoy people watching as much as me, this is the place to be. There were as many naked and painted old people as there were young. SHAME does not exist on Duval Street. During Fantasy Fest anyway. As much as I would like to share the pictures of the freaks people who provided our entertainment for the evening, this says it all....

We woke up Friday morning and after rehashing what we had seen the night before we got ready and ventured to yet another Julie recommendation, Banana Cafe. Brunch was delicious and the people are exceptionally nice. When I think I finally have pulled my jaw up off the floor from Thursday night, we found ourselves back on Duval Street to perhaps do some window shopping. And out of no where I was slapped in the face by yes, a painted breast. Y'ALL! The 'day-time Fantasy Fest' is just as extreme as the 'night-time Fantasy Fest'. Jaw on ground again. Speechless, we continued to Ernest Hemingway's home, end of Hwy 1, and Kino (Julie already has some in every color) for some souvenirs.

 

Duck Key:
Late Friday, we left Key West and all the naked people for some rest and relaxation. We drove North to Hawk's Cay at Duck Key. This was a resort we found on Jetsetter. The weather didn't cooperate as well as we would have liked, but we were able to sit by the pool for a bit before we headed to dinner. We ate at the marina and the food was so-so. There really is no night life and a massive storm came in so we headed back to our room and curled up in the bed, ordered some room service ice cream, and waited for Dateline. Ahhhh. So relaxing and I think I slept for 11 hours....I suppose this is what vacation is supposed to feel like. We got up and laid out by the lagoon on Saturday,watched the dolphin show, ate lunch and then headed to Miami.



Miami:
Traffic was a nightmare, but we finally arrived in Miami. We showered and headed for South Beach for drinks and dinner. Julie suggested we get a cocktail at The Betsy Hotel so we obliged. We enjoyed the lobby's decor and a glass of bubbly. We walked around South Beach, rather unimpressed, and started looking up restaurants. I found an italian restaurant that served gluten-free pasta and I was all over that. We ended up at Spiga. About the time we found our table (outside on a covered patio), the flood gates opened up and it poured rain for what would be the remainder of our evening. Dinner was great, our waiter was better (we all had a crush on him, but Courtney found herself hitting on him). We had an outstanding anitposto misto (antipasta plate in layman terms) with mozzarella, tomato, prosciutto, olives, cantaloupe, brie, asiago, parmesan cheese, and homemade marmalade. Add a good bottle of wine and GF pasta, it was a wonderful dinner. Since the rain was relentless, we decided to watch the Gamecocks back at the hotel. We won, Clemson lost...and I had m&ms in the bed. Perfect night!

Julie, at her best (the only picture I took of all 3 of us)

G has always said travelling isn't about the destination, but the journey and company. I couldn't have had better travel companions and it was a refreshing girls trip. Thanks Julie and Courtney for a wonderful Journey. Let me know when you're ready for our next one....love you both.


*we didn't understand what participation would require. We did NOT, in fact, participate...in anything!

It has officially begun....

September 16, 2011

 And so it seems more official. 11 days post Engagement Party and I feel as if all my wedding planning, gift buying, honeymoon planning is now more 'appropriate'. Last week marked the 6-month mark as we continue to plan and establish new details for our wedding. Friday, September 16th, my father and his wife Cyndi hosted the most amazing (I'm a bit bias) party and Grant and I were the guest of honors. It was a surreal evening and I didn't know how to prepare myself for a hundred of our closest friends and family to be in one location all there to celebrate our engagement. It went by too fast and as people approached me to say goodbye, I would quickly respond 'no, you can't leave yet, we must keep this party going!' We were able to get a little taste of how our reception will be. Yes, Cyndi did use our fabulous caterer (Jack Brantley) but that isn't what I was speaking of. We were given the opportunity to be pulled across a party to talk to literally hundreds of people and we not only made it out alive, but enjoyed every minute of it. A big 'Thank you' to my maid of honor's sister, Katie, who came and took pictures for us so that we could enjoy the night and continue to enjoy the pictures. (I've attached some below, but have yet to figure out this blogger thing to get them organized)

Love my Brady boo....

 

Favors

San Francisco Treats

Last week a group of us headed to San Francisco for a work convention. Keeping with one of the Long's Drugs' Core Values we 'Worked Hard, Played Hard.' We went out for the annual McKesson trade show (our wholesaler) and spent some time in the convention hall, but more time out side.

Tuesday: Arrived in San Fran in time to get a recommendation from our hotel (Hyatt on Stockton) to go watch the USC National Championship game 2 at Lefty O'Doul's. Can you imagine 11 southerners in need of a stiff one walking into a S&S Cafeteria? You just envisioned what happened. We sat. Looked around. Looked at a menu. No nachos. No bar food. Only a buffet with a cold brisket at the front of the restaurant. They did have liquor and TVs but seriously, atmosphere (and food) is everything. We sent G on a run down the street to scope out some other bars. He quickly found a better alternative and we happily found ourselves watching the 1st inning of what would become the Gamecock's 2nd consecutive baseball National Championship at Fourth Street Bar and Grill in the bottom of the Marriott. After a Gamecock victory, 2 Patron shots, Ghirardelli chocolates, and jet lag we headed to the next bar atop our hotel for a night cap.


Wednesday: Slept in. I think? Who knows when you're schedule gets thrown off by 3 hours. I wasn't sure if I was waking up early or late. Either way, it was relaxing enough to find myself in a gym at 8:00 am. Even though I hadn't worked out in months, I was able to last on the elliptical well over 30 minutes because I was able to watch the Casey Anthony trial right there on the equipment (and the view of the bay wasn't too bad either from the 35th floor). We registered for the conference and then found ourselves at a fabulous Mexican lunch at Chevy's Fresh Mex (fajitas were great). After we finished classes that afternoon, McKesson treated us to dinner at the Franciscan Crab in Fisherman's Wharf. The full crab was amazing (as well as the buratta). Seriously rivals the fresh lobster I've had on the coast of Maine. We ended our night at a table at the Starlight Room atop the Sir Francis Drake Hotel with plenty of dancing.

This is intimidating

Getting ready to get messy

Starlight Room

Thursday: Conference too early. Ashley and I took a lunch break at Tropisueno mexican restaurant. Yes, mexican again. It smelt great and had a Michelin rating and we were sold. It lived up to all expectations. Food was awesome, prices were better. And the margarita was great and prepared me to do it. Buy my wedding shoes. Ashley and I went to Barney's and found the pair of Christian Louboutins that I had been eyeing for my wedding shoes. Also bought a pair for my engagement party. Also bought a pair for my sweet sister who is allowing me to wear her wedding dress in my wedding. My honor, really. Dinner that night continued our amazing cuisine in SF. The Slanted Door, a Vietnamese restaurant on the water, was amazing (everything was great). My favorite part...the cotton candy they served post dessert. A new wedding idea.

Friday: Napa Valley. Need a say more. The 12 of us rented a party bus and took the 1 hour commute to Napa in time to arrive at our cave tour appointment at Del Dotto at 10:00am. Yes, good wine is even better that early in the morning. We picked up lunch at Oakville Grocery and moved onto our next appointment at Round Pond Estates. This is a favorite of mine (view and wine). Our bus couldn't make it to Kuleto so we detoured to Sterling Vineyards. We had a great mix of views and tastings. Weather was beautiful. We went straight into Sausalito for dinner at the Harbor View Restaurant where we saw a water plane get hit by a wave while trying to take off and sink to the bottom of the bay. Both passengers got out safe, but quite the drame to witness. The tuna was amazing! I'm not sure how we did it, but from there we headed towards Ghirardelli Square and The Buena Vista bar where the first Irish coffee was served.

Round Pond

Saturday: Ashley and I got up and walked around looking for brunch. We roamed into an area and quickly realized we shouldn't be there. We confirmed that with the concierge later who said 'Do not go into the Tenderloin area'. oops. We found G and breakfast at Sear's Pancake House famous for their little pancakes. You can skip this place...especially if they seat you downstairs in the hot/muggy area. We rented bikes and rode to lunch at Zuni on Market Street to celebrate Cyndi's belated birthday. G and I had been to Zuni previously and it was as good as I remember it. I would recommend the oysters (get a couple from each region and compare) and the cheese platter for dessert. Our final night party was at the new Giant's stadium (AT&T park) where the Beach Boys serenaded us. We ended the night and the trip with a ride on the cable car.

Thank you, Dad. Here's to you....

It was a great trip with great people. Rebecca, Grant, Ashley, Ben, Kenneth, Cyndi, Christi, David, Kimberly, Curt, Marshall, Erin

Inspiration

Although I rarely (drive steamboats dad....for my Mitch Hedberg fans) sit in front of a computer at home, I've dabbled in the blog-following world for well over a year now. I surprising have found many new interest, opinions, ideas, menus (of the gluten-free nature) through the minds of unknown folks that live an unthinkable distance away. I have always had this little 'itch' to start my own blog. I've failed to 'scratch' because I'm not funny, don't live an overly interesting life, enjoy cooking only if it's spaghetti, not good at spelling and even worse at punctuation. Regardless, here I am. I've made it. My inspiration is two-fold. On April 21st, 2011 Grant proposed to me after 4.5 years of getting to know each other, searching each other and discovering things about each other and ourselves. We have set a date of March 17th, 2012 in the small town of Rimini for our marriage. Although I will becoming Rebecca Gillespie in less than 9 months, I will never forget who I was and who I am, I will never really lose the 'Long' name and everything that brings with it. The other inspiration is my (as well as G's, luckily) passion for traveling. I think knowledge is power and so often we limit ourselves to books, education materials to gain knowledge. Traveling has allowed me to grow as a person, learn other cultures, gain respect for different lifestyles, and understand the beauty this world has to offer. I will posting the specifics of trips that I go on in order to have a reference of experiences, restaurants, bars, wineries, tourist sites, and so on that I found to be worth documenting to share with others. That being said, this blog is dedicated to my 'journeys' in life both literally and figuratively. Enjoy. And if you don't, remember this is for me as much as it is for you.