Mile Zero, Shrimp Like Lobster and . . .Shemale?

It was funny because every day I would look at my weather app on my super cool iPhone 6+ (made my boss jealous that she didn’t have one – love it!) and every day, the next day would have a little rain cloud that there could be a chance of rain.  However, each day it never rained, and it would predict that the very next day would possibly rain – each day it kept moving to the next day and we never had rain during the day once!

Being so close to the water, I knew I would take advantage of any shell fish I could get my hands on.  While I am not a huge fan of fish (except for Ahi Tuna and Chilean Sea Bass – only like the most expensive fish to buy in the market – I couldn’t like cod or tilapia?!) I LOVE shell fish.  When we stopped for lunch one day, the soup of the day was shrimp and lobster bisque.  Done!  Then they had shelled shrimp for $14 a half pound – sold!  When I placed my order, the server asked “do you want the Key West Pink or the Royal Reds?”  What the what?  When I asked what the Royal Red shrimp was, she said that most people described it as tasting like lobster.  Um, yes please!  It was vacation after all, so I had a beer pretty much with every lunch out – this one was Shock Top. 

If I ever have the chance to eat Royal Red shrimp I would do it in a heart beat – almost meaty in texture, but definitely tasted like a baby lobster tail – served with fresh horseradish sauce, cocktail sauce and drawn butter – yum!

We did a lot of walking around and shopping while we were there.  I am not much of a shopper typically – you all know that I buy my clothes at thrift stores, Goodwill and garage sales.  But, I had budgeted some money to shop – I bought these sandals that I immediately fell in love with – so comfy!   I bought a pair of Speedo flip flops for my trip, but after the first couple hours of wearing them, I had blisters on each foot.  I paid $74 for these sandals in Big Pine Key – in Key West every shop had these for $124!  It’s like my Born shoes, I just have to realize that I need to spend the extra money for comfort!

I totally wanted to buy this, because it seemed to speak to me – especially being in Key West for the second time without Tony.  But the $150 price tag was too much – Hannah and I think we can DIY this project at home at a fraction of the cost.

As much as I would give anything to have Tony back, deep down I think that he died so I could live.  He always felt so bad that his sickness and physical limitations held me back, and I always told him that it didn’t matter.  The more I biked or walked in Key West, I realized if he and I were there together I wouldn’t have been able to do 10% of what I was able to do with my Mom, Aunt and cousin.  I can’t take the freedom I have of doing anything for granted, ya know?

And then I saw this in a shop:

I am truly taking that to heart, and appreciating everything because each day truly is a gift!

And not to think that I was so sentimental the whole week I was there, I couldn’t not take a picture of this – I would have bought it, but I have no idea who I would have given it to!

I know I’ve talked about it in a long ago post, but my Dad’s dream was to always sail on a sailboat.  So much so that he created a replica of the boat that he would sail on.  When we were little we lived in a townhouse – so our lawn was the size of a postage stamp and our backyard was basically the parking lot.  My Dad would ask “who wants to sail the boat on Lake Pinto!” and we would follow our Dad out to our baby blue Ford Pinto and he would raise the sails and look at it longingly as the wind blew the sails.  While it wasn’t quite as big as this one I found on google, the craftsmanship was just as good:

Mom, do we even have a picture of the sailboat Dad made?  So when I saw this sailboat at sunset on our trip, I did get a bit teary.  My Dad never realized his dream of sailing on an actual boat.

I actually LOVE how the picture turned out above – especially with the birds flying along side it.   And again, I had to intersperse some laughter in with the heartache, and I am so glad that I took the picture below – I know it doesn’t even seem real, but my Mom is just under 4.10” tall, but I think this “shemale” was about 7+ feet tall!

I totally would have gone to one of their shows, but my cousin didn’t have any interest, and then the week just got away from us.  I do have Baton in Chicago – I haven’t been there in years, but I think Hannah would get a kick out of it!

So here is a snipet of my day yesterday – my lunch nachos were delish!  And I bought some spices at Key West Spicy Company, one of which was called Tuscany blend – OMG, so good!  I added about 1/2 a teaspoon to my pasta dish and it was delicious!

Tomorrow is Hannah’s 23rd birthday!  I can’t believe it.  Last night she and Jacob went out – other than ordering a drink at a restaurant on her 21st birthday, she’s never ordered a drink in a bar before.  Last night she texted me a picture of a Mai Tai – I asked her how it was and she said “it’s really strong so I had her add sprite to it!”   I love this collage – especially since I tried to get her to love Tabasco as a baby – sadly, she doesn’t like spicy food – not sure where I went wrong with that child! 

Have a great weekend!  Make it a great day!