Key Biscane, Florida

Mr X and I have had some poorly timed business trips lately. I left for SD for two weeks and right before I was scheduled to come back Mr X was sent to Florida for three weeks. So we decided that I should fly out to see him in Florida for Memorial weekend, plus a few more days. I did and it was great fun. We spent the first few days in the Miami area and then rather than heading south to the Keys we opted to head west to the Everglades. That part was quite the adventure and I'll get to that later but first I'll start with Miami.

The first full day I was there we headed to Key Biscayne to tour around. First we did a bit of exploring on foot. We checked out the lighthouse (I adore lighthouses) and read a bit about it's history. Apparently it was built in 1825 and the Seminole Indians loathed it because it made it more difficult for them to escape to other islands off the coast. Apparently the US was trying to deport the Indians to the west. But the Seminole Indians fought back and burned the lighthouse down in 1836. The lighthouse was then rebuilt in 1855.

The photo above is the cottage that sits next to the lighthouse. It was where the caretaker/manager of the lighthouse resided with his family.

After exploring by foot for a while Mr X and I got hungry and went in search of a good meal. On our way we passed right by this iguana.

The place we found to eat was a Peruvian restaurant. I was in favor of it because I'd never sampled Peruvian fare before. Our appetizer was called "Uquitas Cuzco Dos Sabores" which was basically crispy stuffed potatoey things - two were stuffed with sirloin and two were stuffed with cheese. They were served with a sauce called huancaina sauce which seemed like a zesty aioli to me. They were delicious!

For our main course we opted for a sampler of ceviches to share. I cannot remember exactly what the differences between each one was, but they were each very good. I was incredibly happy with our entree choice. There is one bowl in the picture above that wasn't ceviche, it was this absolutely fantastic Peruvian corn (monstrous kernels and a delicious flavor) topped with glazed sweet potatoes. I loved it. Oh and the ceviche on the top left was my favorite.

After our lunch, we went back to Key Biscayne and rented beach cruisers. We rode all the way around the island, stopping by the lighthouse, at the marina and then at various beaches along the way. I was surprised to see so many cardinals flitting about but they were all over and their red color was lovely to see. After we returned the bikes we headed to the beach to relax and enjoy the view.