key west: by water

Sticky with salt and hiding behind a floppy hat from the already-hot March sunshine.  The scent of lime on my fingers and the washes of bright, decidedly summery color everywhere you turn.  Key West was a quick snap out of the torpor of the last several months in Virginia.  My parents had planned a trip to visit my dad's brothers and catch a few lobster, and I nudged my way in.  Oh, the photo opportunities I would find there!  Evin, unfortunately, stayed home with the dog and my plants and his day job…I'm still sorry about that, my dear.
My mom and I boarded a plane and met my dad in Ft. Lauderdale, as he had flown to Florida the previous day.  We loaded up the rental car and drove south through countless keys and over as many bridges, stopping for lunch at a fish place where we sat on the dock and ate tacos brightened with a couple of limes.  I felt the sun on my bare arms for the first time in months and consequently ended up with a bit of sunburn…welcome to Florida!  That afternoon we met up with my dad's older brother and his wife, boarding their sailboat and relaxing on the water for a few hours.  The next few days were spent largely on the boat as the guys went out looking for lobster and finally, on my dad's birthday, found enough for a wonderful sailboat feast.  That night we sat sipping wine and enjoying the sunset and when it got dark, the water around the boat came alive with neon specks…bioluminescence.  The phenomenon lasted only a few minutes, but what a sight!
On our last full day in Florida, we went for a sail.  There wasn't much wind, so we motored a few miles off shore to a lighthouse surrounded by reef.  We snorkeled a little while and then put up the genoa to sail back to shore for sunset and dinner.  The idea was to cook a surf-and-turf dinner on the grill as the sun went down, but grill difficulties meant we ended up enjoying the sunset and then eating in the dark with only the flashlight on my phone as light. Exciting, right?
So concludes the "by water" portion of the trip.  I'll share the other, "by land" portion soon, and at some point down the line I'll have the film processed as well…
Happy spring, friends!