Family reunion photos, Key West, Fl

Finally finished processing some photos of my sibling reunion in Key West… Well, we didn’t plan it to be a reunion but it ended up that way. My youngest sister is on the crew of USS Spruance, the newest destroyer in the US Navy fleet, and she invited my niece (Katrina, 10) and nephew (Lucas, 5) to the commissioning ceremony. The siblings weren’t invited but, as each invite can include up to 4 (or 5) people, we all ended up going. A cousin in New York also decided to come and hang-out with us.

I flew with my niece and oldest sister (manang Gigi) and met up with manang Prexy (second oldest sister), Rex (brother-in-law), and nephew in Miami. Another sister (manang May or Cora, third oldest sister, Katrina’s mom) flew in earlier and met with my brother (Jun) and cousin (manang Helen). We found out on our way to Key West that our cars weren’t too far apart so we decided to have dinner together. We ended up going to Braza Leña in Islamorada. If you like Brazilian “churrascarias”, this is a pretty darn good one. Then again, they all are.

Anyway, a few pounds of meat and a variety of desserts later, we finally made it to Key West where Pinky (younger sister, STG1) and her boyfriend (Michael) were waiting for us. We had a brief encounter as it was getting late. I had the best and longest sleep in quite some time… on the couch! Alas, my longest sleep was no more than 6 hours Pinky and Michael had us booked on a snorkeling trip in Key West National Wildlife Refuge. This place is supposedly the only living coral reef in the US. I don’t really know what that means other than it’s got live corals, fishes, and things.

Afterwards, we went to lunch at a small restaurant (can’t remember the name at the moment) and then went to the southernmost point in the continental US (it’s a lie!). Then we had to prepare for the commissioning ceremony. It was nice. We had a tour of the ship and on the way out we got carded by security–long hair and 2 cameras probably make me look a bit suspicious. Or maybe I just look like your common criminal. Anyway, it’s no problem. I’m used to security checks. As long as it doesn’t include anal probes.

We had a surprise party for Pinky the next day then we drove back to the mainland and stayed at some swanky place in Fort Lauderdale. Rex and Prex put their time share to good use. The we had to leave. Oh, wait, we had dinner on the beach. At night. I didn’t see the lay of the land. That’s pretty much the story of this trip. Too short, too fast.

But, hey, I got pictures! Oh yeah, you can look at them at http://www.mapgeek.org/keywest2011/.

Sorry for wasting your time but thanks for looking.