Honeymoon - Day 1

The alarm went off at 5:20am and we rose from bed only after snoozing it once. A quick shower for Melissa and some last minute packing and we were waiting for JPN to arrive. 15 minutes later at quarter after 6 he showed and we loaded ourselves into his new Lexus SUV. We got to MSP International at 6:45 and got our tickets to Miami via Chicago. We had an 8am departure which was slightly delayed (5-10 minutes) due to the nights snowfall of 4-6". The plane got deiced and we were underway. We arrived into Chicago with no major issues and Melissa grabbed a snack at McDonalds. We boarded our second and final leg to Miami and again had a dull flight. We arrived in sunny Miami and strolled down to the baggage claim. From there we walked over to the rental car counters and told Melissa that we were going to get a car for 3 days. We caught an enterprise shuttle and picked up our ’06 Dodge Stratus. We loaded up and headed out for Key West. Melissa slept for most of the 3 hour drive while I did my best at being patient driving 45mph behind slow traffic in stretches. US1 took us to Key West where we checked into the Doubletree. I paid for the hotel using 90,000 HHonors points… to which they upgraded our room to a Jr. Suite and have us free breakfast vouchers.The room is nice and clean, on the 4th (top) floor overlooking the pool. Inside the room are 2 queen beds and a mini bar with an outside private balcony.It could only nicer if we had an ocean view. :( After taking to the concierge, (who I might add is phenomenal and has recommended outstanding points of interest!) we took the hotel shuttle into town for dinner at Alonzo’s, an oyster bar on the water (boat yard). Melissa had the pasta special and I had a seafood mix special, both of which were fantastic. Lis had 2 n/a drinks and I had a lime daq the I left a $100 bill and we left to check out the town. We decided to look for a bathing suit for me since we couldn’t find mine (presumably lost from a previous trip). We asked around and found a non-tourist shop, ego, that sells quality clothing instead of the typical touristy junk. We found me a suit and then I realized I had forgotten to pack sandals! Oops!I found a nice brown pair and Melissa grabbed some to. $150 later and we were on our way back to the hotel. Once back we decided to watch a movie on TV and then call it a night. In all, a long day (5:30am central – 12:30am eastern) 5 hours of flying and 3 hours of driving. Yes, we slept well.