New Years Vacation Day 3 - Key West

As we blissfully slept in our stateroom, our ship sailed the seas to reach our first port of call, Key West. We awoke and traveled up a flight of stairs to an amazing buffet breakfast - the likes of which I have never seen nor tasted. It was the spread of a lifetime and we didn't know where to start. They had one section devoted to the sweet side of breakfast - waffles, pancakes, french toast and a special flavored french toast (which we later found out was different each day!). They had one large section devoted to the American breakfast - fruit, eggs, corn beef hash, sausage, bacon, cereal, oatmeal, breads of all types and an omelet bar. They had a cheese and pastry section, and another large section they called the English breakfast where they served such delicacies as toad in the hole. They also had an impressive selection of juices, milk, teas and coffee as well as our favorite, hot chocolate. Dare I say we indulged heavily.
Jasmine had her first VIP special activity that morning where she got to go and take a tour of the bridge, which is where the captain and his crew control the ship - The Celebrity Century. It is closed off to the public and not even the parents were allowed to go. I did have a second camera with me so I gave it to the fun factory staff and they took a few fun pictures of Jasmine while she was on the tour. We heard later that the crew fell in love with Jas and wanted her to stay with them. She is such a charmer.After Jasmine returned from her special activity, we readied ourselves to get off the ship and explore Key West. We were excited and it was really no hassle to get off the ship. We could have paid an obscene amount of money to do several activities but we decided to explore the island on foot and see what we could see.We went to an open market and I found a hat I loved and also some new sunglasses. We also secured a hat for Lorne, which was so important because he burns easily and we were in a hot and sunny climate.As we walked around, we found a garden with busts of important people who had lived on the island, among them the famous author, Ernest Hemingway. I couldn't resist posing next to it.We walked down the main drag in Key West and came across the oldest house that had been built on the island and they were offering free tours so we decided to check it out. As we waited for our tour to start, we wandered around the gardens and Jasmine spotted some fun little lizards and we made a game out of trying to find them and then watching them disappear into the brush.The little house was neat and the tour guide was very informative. I thought it was especially neat that the house was still standing after many many tropical storms have hit Key West and it still has many of its original windows. They just don't build houses like they used to I guess!We decided that we wanted to take a tour of Ernest Hemingway's house and so we walked quite a bit until we found it. By the time we arrived, Jasmine had fallen asleep in her stroller and since she had been up so late the previous nights, we wanted to let her sleep as long as possible. Lorne went on the tour first and I sat with Jasmine and then we switched. This whole process took almost 2 hours and Jasmine slept the whole time! She must have been tired and I am sure the sticky hot humid weather helped as well.The tour was very interesting and I learned so much from our tour guide. As with so many authors, Hemingway's past is checkered with many wives, drunken antics, depression and a brilliant career. I learned he loved cats, and consequently they had over 40 cats wandering the premises that are descended from a cat he had named Snowball. The house is nothing super grand but it is very fitting for the type of person Hemingway was. I was glad we got to tour the house and learn more about him - I want to read more of his books now.As we left Hemingway's house, Jasmine woke up and we decided to make one more stop before boarding the ship again. We stopped at a Key Lime Pie factory. This is fitting because when in Key West, you must consume Key Lime pie. This place boasted the best there is and indeed it was delicious and we even learned the history of the Key Lime Pie. Amazing, we are so cultured!After boarding the ship, we readied Jasmine for dinner as she was eating at the Fun Factory that night and we would be eating by ourselves. What a treat! Lorne and I headed up to watch the sunset before dinner as the boat pulled away from Key West.After dinner, we headed to the theater again for another show (seriously, how spoiled were we?) and this time we were entertained by a show called A Touch of Broadway which really was a very fun compilation of several musicals. It included music from The Producers, Cabaret, The Lion King, Hairspray and another less known musical I can't remember the name of. The cast was amazing and we really enjoyed the show!After the show, they were having Karaoke at the Rendezvous Lounge and so we decided to check it out. Anyone who knows me, knows I am always up for some good karaoke. I sang my signature - Nancy Sinatra's These Boots are Made for Walking - and I was a hit. We met some fun and rowdy people that seemed to take to us rather well. We stayed for a bit but then decided we were tired and we wanted to pick Jasmine up and go to bed!