Sequins and Sea Breezes: the southernmost point guest house

key west

I promised a more detailed recap on my vacation so I hope you guys are ready! In fact, this is probably going to be at least a two day thing just so I don't write a novel in one sitting. So to start out... randomly me and a group of friends decided to make an annual tradition out of going to Key West for 4th of July weekend and I have to admit, I usually regret it right around Key Largo when I just want the crazy long drive to be over but knowing we're still only about half way there. As soon as we get there the drive is quickly forgotten in lieu of arriving in paradise. We stay at the same amazing hotel every year, The Southernmost Point Guest House (I wish I would have taken more pictures of the grounds because that's one of our favorite parts but I completely slacked there). The hotel name is a real mouthful but the people and the place are perfect. They do a free breakfast every morning and a free happy hour every evening (that right there makes it completely worth it) and they have these amazing hammocks throughout the property that are heaven to just relax in. It really doesn't get any better than relaxing in a hammock with a free drink in hand!

This year immediately upon arriving in Key West, we checked in and went straight out to meet the driver of our boat for the afternoon/evening. It was pretty interesting getting picked up (and dropped off) because the place we met them isn't really an ideal area for a boat but we made it work. From there we spent the afternoon relaxing on a sandbar off the coast of the Keys, drinking and relaxing. We ended up watching the sunset from the boat (which also included views of dolphins and sharks) and then going out and watching the fireworks. I have to admit, even though I wasn't driving, navigating a boat in the dark is kind of scary. We ended up going back to the jetty they picked us up at which was crowded with people this time. When we got there the guys on the boat started yelling "We finally made it from Cuba! Hurry up and touch land so they can't send us back!" and literally some lady standing on the jetty said "Oh welcome to America" when we got off the boat. You can't make this stuff up people.

{Sorry for the quality on these, back to the iPhone since taking the nice camera on the boat seemed like a bad idea}

I'm such a crazy morning person, I literally can't sleep in at all so I spent a lot time walking around the island in the mornings before everyone else was up which actually ended up to be a good thing. Most people in Key West sleep in from partying the night before so it was almost like I had the island to myself. Fun fact, there is NO better time to go to the Southernmost Point than before 9 am. I didn't wait even a minute to take this picture but if you go in the afternoon you can end up waiting forever.

No, I didn't actually go into Earnest Hemingway's house {pictured above} even though I really wanted to see his six toed cats but I just couldn't justify spending $13 to ~~chase some six toed cats~~ walk through someone's house.
Getting up early is also one of the best times to get pictures of the major tourist attractions without having a ton of people in your pictures.