Flashback to Key West Part 1: The Arrival

January 11, 2011 at 10:16 pm Leave a comment

I first met my friend Hanley through Craigslist in 2006. I had just moved to Boston, and Kat, Richard, Lia and I were in desperate need of a 5th roommate. We crossed our fingers and put up an ad. Hanley was one of the first people to respond. Lia and I set up a date to meet at Starbucks in Coolidge Corner. From the first minute, I could tell I was going to get along with Han extremely well. She was super friendly, and one of the most genuine people I had met since moving to the city. After checking back with the other roommates, Hanley quickly became number five at 58 Perry.

From the first day we moved in together, Hanley became one of my closest friends. Whether we were going on mini road trips to taco bell, watching bad television, or cooking family dinner together, I always had a fantastic time. Hanley has always been an amazing friend to me, and I’m so grateful she came into my life almost 5 years ago. One of my favorite memories with Han was the first day she met Jamie. That first night out at Cornwall’s is memorable for many reasons, but the most important part of the evening was that Hanley was with the woman she would marry.

Three years later, I found myself in a hotel in Miami. Michele and Richard were both enroute to meet me and head to Key West for wedding festivities. We enjoyed some fine dining (IHOP) and watching all the craziness involving Lebron. We were there the night he signed with the Miami Heat.

Emily picked us up the next morning, and we started our road trip through southern Florida. The drive from Miami to Key West is beautiful. I highly recommend making the trek, as opposed to flying directly into the keys.

We encountered several storms along the way. The weather was crazy, and you could actually see the storms approaching.

Richard enjoying a frosty after one of many pit stops. Michele was very excited to have her to frosty key chain.

We had lunch at one of my new favorite fast food chains, Pollo Tropical!

We need to take a moment to check out Richard’s t-shirt. Just one of the many reasons I consider him one of my closest friends…

My very first fast food plantains. They looked terrible but were super tasty!

We finally arrived at Key West….where chickens roam free. I’m not kidding. They are EVERY WHERE.

One of our first stops was…

Margaritaville!

Guess what I got?

After lunch we met up with the rest of the crew for the bachelorette parties. We got a little something something for Hanley to dress up in.

One of the many stops throughout the night

Hanley's Wedding 026.jpg

After a night out on the town, we headed back to the hotel. Realization of the night, when hot enough, you will do anything when attempting to cool down. Key West is a beautiful place, but you can imagine that southern Florida gets pretty warm in July. After the festivities Emily and I stopped by the pool to dip our toes in, hoping to cool down. I soon realized that to actually decrease my temperature, I was going to have to go all in. Nothing better than a late night dip in the hotel pool:)

Day Two

We decided to go on a snorkeling adventure in some of the local reefs. I don’t have many pics, but this is definitely one of my favorites.

After our adventure, we headed over to the hotel for the rehearsal. I got my first look at the place where the wedding was going to take place. OH MY GOD, it was GORGEOUS. I would also like to mention that I took these pictures on my iphone 4. Pretty nice for a phone camera.

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Instead of having a traditional rehearsal dinner, Hanley and Jamie decided to rent a sail boat and take all the guests on a sunset cruise. Included in the cruise was an open bar and a ton of food. Needless to say, we were psyched! Emily, Michele and I ready for a nautical adventure.