our vacation (part 2): key west

Our vacation recap continues! Yesterday I shared all about the cruise and the fun that we had on the ship. And today is all about our first port: Key West, FL!

When we first ported in Key West, I wasn't extremely excited about it...because we've been to Florida on numerous occasions. But once we got on shore and started exploring, I absolutely LOVED it! Key West has this charming feel of an old beach town. There were tons of shops, piers, and beaches to explore...and we couldn't get enough of it! We walked around for hours and hours just taking in the sites.

When we first got off the boat, it was extremely humid. So when I pulled out my camera, the photos turned out like this (because the lens was all fogged up). haha!

When you're on vacation, you absolutely must act like a tourist. It's a requirement, really. So of course we had to stop at these head cut-out things and get some pictures.

While exploring, we came across this cute little beach house. I told Jonathan that when we get rich and famous we should buy this beach house as our winter home (and of course we'd get a house in Maine as a summer home...it would only be right). I mean, c'mon...isn't this house adorable! Look at those teal shutters! And the double decker porch! *sigh*

Look at this little lizard! He's so cute!

He was pretty excited to see us as well.

We were thankful that we could almost always see the tail of our ship. It helped us not get lost. :)

After walking through the streets of Key West, we then spent some time at the beach. It was so pretty and calm. There was hardly anyone there!

Right next to the beach was this beautiful wooded area. Doesn't it look like something out of a fairy tale? I think it would be an amazing location for an engagement or bridal session...or for a wedding!

I'm convinced I have the greatest husband ever. He even carries my big teal bag for me when my shoulder gets tired. :)

Farewell, Key West! You are beautiful.

Looking at these pictures makes me want to go back! It was such a good day.

Next I'll be telling you all about our stop at the Bahamas!

Hope you're all having an amazing day! :)

-Tiffany

our vacation: CRUISE!

As I mentioned last week, our vacation was absolutely amazing! I took lots of pictures and now have them ready to show you! Since there's lots to tell and many photos to share, I'm going to split this up into three posts this week: Cruise, Key West, and Bahamas.

(Disclaimer: I only pulled out my dSLR a couple times during vacation, so many of these photos were taken with my trusty point-and-shoot. Sometimes I find that when I lug around my "real camera" on vacation taking photos seems more like work than fun. And that's where the point-and-shoot comes in handy! :)

Our vacation started out by making the drive to Jacksonville, Florida where our ship was embarking from. Road trips are always fun...especially when shared by a certain Jonathan Zajas. He makes even long drives enjoyable. We passed the time by singing every childhood song we could remember, looking for crocodiles and armadillos beside the road (we only saw one...and it was sadly dead), and drinking McDonald's iced coffee. 

When we arrived at our port, we were amazed by how big the boat was! This was our very first cruise (we used Carnival cruise line), so we didn't really know what to expect. 

Once we went through the long process of checking in, we were very excited to be on the boat at last!

See? Don't our faces just scream excitement? (Jonathan's face, quite literally screaming.)

The first night, it was soooooo windy on the top deck. I really thought I was going to be blown away. 

This was our stateroom on the ship. It may look tiny, but it was actually quite perfectly comfortable and cozy. And it was ALWAYS clean. I felt like every time we left our room, we'd come back and the bed would be re-made and everything straightened up. The staff on the ship did nothing but excellence in all that they did. 

The view from our window. It was so amazing to wake up to this every morning. We even saw dolphins outside our window once!

One of our favorite things about the cruise was the complimentary room service. This cruise was all-inclusive, so we didn't have to pay for any food! We'd place our order for what we wanted for breakfast outside our door each night...and we'd wake up to hot coffee, pastries, and fruit brought to our door. Perfection!

Most days on the ship were spent like this. We would lay out on the deck facing the ocean, read our books, sip on an endless supply of soda, nap, and just relax. 

At night we would freshen up and go eat in the dining hall. You could order as many things on the menu as you wanted, and Jonathan and I got to try things that we normally wouldn't...I tried veal for the first time and Jonathan had his first lobster. Everything was yummy!

After dinner we would walk around the decks of the ship and watch the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful.

When we returned to our room each night, the room would be all clean again and our bed would be turned down...and a little towel creature would be perched at the foot of it. I loved being surprised by which animal they would come up with next! All in all we had a walrus, polar bear, crab, elephant, and scorpion. The elephant was my favorite. :)

They would also place a schedule for the next day and some chocolate mints on our bed each night. They always had so many fun activities going on each day. We only went to a few, but we did get to see the world's fastest juggler! No photos or videos were allowed, or else I totally would have shared it with you guys. He was pretty amazing.

Have I mentioned that the complimentary room service was one of our favorite things? Because it was. Oh yes it was. We would often order hot chocolate and cheesecake for a late night snack. So bad...but oh so good.

We would highly recommend a cruise to anyone who wants a stress-free vacation. It was so nice to have everything all paid for up front and to just be able to go and relax...and not worry about where we were going to go that day, or how much we would spend on dinner. It was perfect.

Next I'll share all about our adventures at each of the ports. First stop: Key West!

Lots of smiles,

-Tiffany

at last...photographs from our vacation.

Ever since we announced the big move, husband and I have unfortunately neglected our little blog. We've been busy finishing up our jobs here, finding a new home, packing all of our earthly possessions into lots of boxes, and making the move to Nashville. It has been quite the adventure!

We officially moved to our new place yesterday, and are loving it so far. Thanks to all of our wonderful family and friends who helped us with the move in Cleveland and in Nashville. We love you all and are so thankful for your help and support.

Since the craziness of moving happened right after our vacation, I never had a chance to share our vacation pics with you!

So...here are some highlights from our trip:

We were excited about going to Florida!

{Jonathan wasn't very excited about the 9 hour drive}

I love how the palm trees line the streets of Pass-a-grille.



Our beautiful 80's inspired decorated condo.
But we loved it, and it was oh-so-wonderful for our one week's stay.



This is where we spent most of our time.
Paradise.







Since we were on the gulf coast, the sunsets were AMAZING!



This is Percy the Pelican.
Last year when we were in Pass-a-grille,
I got a picture of him in the exact same spot.






Fish'n'chips are perfect for a beach vacation.
Especially when they come in a little boat.



Mmmm...nothing like Crush orange soda in glass bottles. Refreshing!



Celebrating two years of marriage.



See the note about shuffling your feet because of sting rays? It's true.
The sign doesn't lie, people!
{yep, Jonathan got stung by a sting ray while we were there...good times}






*sigh*

It really was an a absolutely wonderful vacation together. If you want to see the rest of our pictures from vacation, go here and here.