Raindrops on Roses and whiskers on Kittens?

Where Key West is concerned Julie Andrews can stuff her brown paper packages tied up with string up her... 

Here' s our favorite place to stay. 

The Andrew's Inn
This is actually their Eyebrow House and we stay upstairs in Treetop 

This is the main office and Bed and Breakfast: Little plug for them:  http://www.andrewsinn.com/

When I was a little girl, I always wanted to have a treehouse that I could have sleepovers in (although the one problem was that I was afraid of heights and when I visited friends who had one, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would...). Treetop is hidden away here among the foliage and you couldn't feel more like you were sleeping in a treehouse (except for the occasional sound from the neighbors below...)

It's a simple studio with a kitchenette and bathroom and we've been here so many times, it's almost like a second home. I might get a little stir crazy if bad weather kept me in too many days in a row but for as little as we stay in, it is perfect...

Now I love Key West as I have said. I love Florida in general, love the ocean, the warm waters, the lovely breezes, the palm trees, etc. (I periodically have friends try to convince me that Texas would also be a good choice and let me heretofore let you know that  I hate, hate, hate, Oklahoma and Texas! I would never want to live there for all the warm winters in the world) Key West has the benefit of being in the south but not being OF the south which makes me doubly like it. (Part of what makes me hesitate to live anywhere else in Florida or anywhere else south for that matter) But at this point we are in Key West on vacation and the thing about vacation is...

It's not real.

There is someone else to make the bed!

There is a jacuzzi that someone else maintains.

And clean towels magically appear while you're at the beach!

It's not like life at all!You don't have to rush out of bed to go to work. You roll out of bed when you feel like it to eat breakfast and decide what you want to to do (not what you HAVE to do) No Chores! No Bills to pay! No toilets to clean... just bliss! 

although before we could get to the serious work of bliss, we had to take care of a little business. We dumped the rental car before we got a parking ticket (no one, NO ONE! needs a car in Key West. There is no good parking and it's just ridiculous driving on an island that is only 2 miles wide by 4 miles long). and picked up our scooters! And of course, I had to practice actually riding a two wheeled motored thingy as I had, up to this point, avoided motorcycle riding as way too reckless. I managed not to lose any limbs as you will see in future posts.   

  Then we headed off to another favorite place and for our favorite beverage... (pictured in a previous post so I will give a different angle here)

Champagne at Blue Heaven.

(this is a view from the stool where I sat at the bar several times)

Then off to the beach for a stroll on the emptying shores of Smather's Beach...

But sunset had to be seen at another favorite spot...

Zachery Taylor

so we got back onto our scooters and zipped back to the other side of the island to watch as the sun reflected off the clouds in a magnificent prelude to the sunset.   

the light became golden on the water and on the faces of the nearby onlookers...

Not ready to give up it's moment of glory, the sun had a final burst of color to inspire us with.  

then off for another favorite meal. The best hamburger of the year at Hogsbreath! (Not to be confused with Hogwarts. This place is in no way connected with Harry Potter)

I was a trifle disappointed with my hamburger this year. I hadn't had a hamburger since my last trip to Key West in 2008 and I was really looking forward to it. Sad to say the patty was a trifle small and overcooked and I wanted to ask, "Where's the Beef?"

But on the whole a completely satisfying day full of favorite things.