Our third year of traveling is off to a banger of a start! January may have felt long, but we packed a lot into the month, starting with lots of family time, in person with my folks, and video connections with the kids. We ate well in January, enjoying dinner out together with friends at the Italian Fisherman; Japanese cuisine for our annual Doodles/Daughter evening; sampling the wares at a new local bistro; and celebrating my birthday at the New England Eatery.

Florida explorations started off with Larry and I crossing over to the west coast to visit our friends for over 30 years, Chris and Dorothy. They were excellent hosts, sharing their beautiful home and giving us a VIP tour of the area, including a sunset on Siesta Key. The next weekend Mom and I enjoyed a great Gals’ Getaway to the Jensen Beach area where we continued our annual hunt for shells. We also visited the Elliot Museum while in the area. The weekend after that Larry and I headed to Boca Raton to be with other friends for over 30 years, Lori and Ronnie, while we all got to bask in the company of our dear friends, Vicky and Donnie, in their beautiful home. It was lovely to have three generations (and several puppers) all in the mix.

And just when I thought I couldn’t be more spoiled, Larry and took off the following Wednesday and started heading south for my extended birthday celebration in the Keys. We spent an overnight in Fort Lauderdale because Larry needed to work and attend a social gathering. Immediately after that we continued driving south until we reached a Harvest Host in Homestead. We crashed for the night and woke early on Friday to be at Biscayne National Park for sunrise.

We very much enjoy positioning ourselves at National Parks with Louie. It makes for a great place to have morning coffees, homemade lunches, and afternoon naps. Biscayne was no exception. We explored a little and then joined our snorkeling excursion. The weather had been horrible for the week before, but on our day the skies were clear, the water calm, and the day delightful. We did two snorkeling dives, one near a shipwreck (a first for me), and the other, apparently near the toxic remnants of what I am guessing was a jellyfish. Although I never saw anything, I clearly ran into *something* long and mean, because the following morning my left forearm and left leg were covered in whip-like welts. Over a week later, I am still recuperating. But, I did not let it stop me from continuing to enjoy the weekend, because the best was yet to come!

Saturday morning we woke early (acknowledged the welts) and gathered our gear. We had early morning reservations at the Key West airport. We boarded a sea plane (I got to ride shotgun!) and headed to the Dry Tortugas National Park! This has been such a bucket list item for me for so long. And once again, we were incredibly fortunate with the weather, as the pilot frequently reminded us. It was clear and bright and still. The ocean was so beautiful and clear, we were able to see so many different turtles, rays, and sharks while we flew the half hour to our destination. The tour company provided a cooler, ice, waters, and snorkel gear. Yes, despite the unfortunate run-in I had the day before, I absolutely snorkeled off the Dry Tortugas, and I have no regrets. It was beautiful! We spent the day exploring the park, walking through the fort, swimming and snorkeling, and watching the crazy amounts of hermit crabs, each with beautiful, old shells scurry across the path that led to the beach. We relaxed until about 3, when it was time to catch the sea plane back to Key West. Honestly, it was one of the best days of my life!

On the way back from the airport we swung in to the local bike shop and rented a couple e-bikes for the remainder of our stay. Normally, we’d be starting our long drive back home on Sunday, but Larry took Monday as a vacation day, so that meant we had one full day to explore and play in Key West. We hopped on our bikes and headed into town, wending though the gorgeous neighborhoods, reminiscent of New Orleans, dodging chickens at every turn. We parked the bikes and grabbed some drinks, and then found a spot to watch the Patriot’s game. Towards the end we headed down to Mallory Square to watch the sun set on Key West, a daily pleasure there. We poked around a little more before heading back to the campsite and to a good night’s sleep.

Monday morning, my 56th birthday, we started the end-of-weekend chores to get ready to head north. We splurged one more time at the local taco truck, returned the bikes, and then started the 6 hour journey back home. (Florida is really long). It was a wonderful end to my birthday month, and an incredible start to 2026 travels.

We’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple months talking about what we plan to do for 2026, and in particular, this month we’ve solidified many things. I probably won’t get into too many spoilers here, but stay tuned. Meanwhile, here are some pics from the month. There may be a couple hints for future travels buried in there too.