The Florida Keys-Part 1 -

If you visit me often here at NanaHood you know that I HATE cancer and one of the reasons why is because my dear cousin, Martha, has had to fight this monster for decades. Because of her faith she is fearless and strong, and handles the battle with grace and dignity. A few weeks ago (in between her chemo appointments) we were able to slip away with our husbands to the Florida Keys. One of our sons and his girlfriend came along too, which made it even more fun. It’s a great place to go and visit, especially in January.

We only made it to the beach one day, but it was a beautiful one. Our son and his girlfriend went snorkling and saw a 250 lb. Grouper.We spent two days in Key West and ate a wonderful brunch at Blue Heaven. If you have never been there it’s different from most restaurants. Everything is more laid back in the Keys and restaurants are no exception. Pets are welcomed and we saw several dogs. There are also free range chickens and roosters everywhere. Near the end of our meal a dog (not the one pictured below) got out of his harness and chased a chicken, which landed on a ladies head near us and then flew off. It was pretty exciting for a moment, but the owner caught the dog and all was well once again.

There were delicious smells everywhere but I sniffed my way to the Bake Shop and peeked inside.

I have never seen so much meringue in my life. This dude was literally scooping it out of a huge tub with both hands and then plopping it down on Key Lime pies.

I never made a pie that looked like that in my life!

After that it was off to the Kino store to stock up on sandals. You can watch them being made while you choose a pair (or two or three). The beer boxes are full of sandals in every size and color you can imagine.

I was really tempted by the blue, but I resisted. I did come home with several pairs of sandals for the girls in our family.

I’ll be sharing pictures of the Keys tomorrow, too. In an attempt to tempt you to travel there. Before I go though I want to show you an outfit my cousin wore one of the days we drove into Key West. I thought she looked stunning.