Why did the rooster cross the road?

...to get to the ATM of course!

I had an amazing time this past weekend! We started off at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, where I was such a marketing nerd and was uterly impressed with the branding throughout the hotel. Everything was leopard print to show the edgy rock side, including the ironing board in our closet! After a yummy dinner, we spent the rest of the evening watching the Magic beat the Celtics amongst Boston natives. It was a great night!On Friday, we drove down to Key West and I was in awe of all the shades of green and blue the water looked on the way in. We stayed at the Westin, which was a perfect location right in the heart of Mallory Square. We walked around and grabbed some drinks at Fat Tuesdays before changing for dinner and watching the sunset celebration from a restaurant out on the pier.

I woke up early on Saturday morning to buy beach passes to the resort's private island. After debating with the not-so-friendly concierge about the weather report, I bit the bullet and bought the tickets (she was trying to convince me it was going to rain all day). We laid by the pool to test the sun and decided it was worth the boat ride over to enjoy the beach. I am so glad I didn't listen to that concierge! It was gorgeous and we had a relaxing afternoon sun bathing and floating in the crystal clear water.
We spent a quiet evening together after walking to the southernmost point of the U.S. (a bit of a hike from the hotel) and enjoying a Cuban feast near the hotel. We stayed in, watching "Marley and Me" in bed. It was a great movie but made us both bawl like babies and miss our own pup, who was back in Orlando enjoying doggie camp. It was so relatable to watch Marley grow up in their family, since Jax is really our start to a family. So sweet!

Sunday had spotty weather so we stuck to the hotel pool and enjoyed our books - I finished "Angels and Demons" and am now really psyched to see the movie. We walked around some more that afternoon and got caught in the rain trying to find the Zachary Taylor fort...not so much fun. We grabbed some pizza for an early dinner and watched the Magic again beat the Celtics to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

Sadly, we said goodbye to the Keys on Monday morning and made the long drive back to Orlando to pick up the pup. It was a great weekend and a much needed vacation for us. What a fun way to celebrate my birthday!