The Keys - Day 1 & 2

We left on a direct flight from Atlanta to the Florida Keys around 9 in the morning on Wednesday, March 7th.  Emery did awesome on the plane and we were blessed by sitting around people who loved to wave back at her!  Here's a picture we snapped right after we found our rental car in The Keys.  We had to document how much luggage we brought with us (ah!). For the future if anyone is planning on traveling to the Keys you are only allowed 1 bag per person, no matter what status you are on the airline.  You would think they would let you know this BEFORE you arrive at the airport! (Luckily with special permission they did allow Emery to bring 2 bags - car seat and stroller)

We drove through Key West, saw the Southern Most Tip of the US and then started the drive North to Duck Key.  It was a beautiful drive with clear water on both sides of the highway, so the trip went by very quickly.  We stopped at the recommended "Wreck" for lunch (thanks for that tip Brittney!) and immediately went into relaxation mode!

Look at how big my {fried} chicken sandwich was... WOAH!

We were anxious to get to the resort, unpack and relax while waiting for the rest of my family to arrive.  The resort we stayed in was called Hawks Cay and it was absolutely perfect.  We decided to rent a villa for our stay there, with a full kitchen, dining and living room, and 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths.  It was so nice and was right on the canal so we had views of water from our back decks.

Everyone let Kyle and I have the master bedroom so we would have more room for Emery in her pack-n-play.  It was such a treat to sleep in a king sized bed and have our own porch with a view of the ocean!

See I told you the views were incredible!

Mom, Dad and Nick's room had 2 queen beds in it with a deck off the front side of the house.  Grandma's room had a daybed on the 1st floor with a desk in the corner.  It worked out perfectly where she wouldn't have to go up and down the stairs!

It's not a vacation in Kyle's mind until he puts up his hammock somewhere :)  The weather was perfect with highs in the low 80's and a cool breeze the entire time.

The rest of the day Wednesday we walked around the resort and caught up with other family members that were staying there as well for the wedding. The bride's family had everyone over to their villa for dinner but it was past Em's bedtime and since she did not nap on the plane we called it a night!

Thursday, the only thing planned was the rehearsal dinner that evening.  So that morning,we quickly got dressed and headed to one of the 5 pools on the resort, to start soaking in the sun.  It was so relaxing and we were thankful that we brought Em's raft with us so she could stay a while in the water too!

And more pictures from the pool!

Our family of 3:

The rehearsal dinner was held on the Dolphin Deck of the resort. We were able to the dolphins swimming while we ate, and the sunset was beautiful.  The food was delicious and we loved hearing everyone's speeches about Mark & Blair.

Emery with Grandma and Grandpa:

Thursday was also Emery's birthday but I'll wait and keep that as a whole separate post for tomorrow!  And those were our first 2 days at Hawks Cay.