Essential Things To Know As A Mainer Vacationing In Key West

My recent trip to Key West was a lot of firsts for me and the hubs, a couple of life-long Maine residents.

First, we had never been on a destination vacation. We do family camping trips during the summer here in Maine but never have we flown somewhere together.

Also, it's the first vacation where it was just he and I, no kids.

Lastly, it was our first time in Florida, for both of us.

We didn't know what to expect being a couple of Maine kids in the south, like the super south- the most southern part of the United States.

So, when we got down to Key West, after months of penny-pinching and extra jobs we were hit with a lot of things that were completely unexpected from the actual heat and humidity of September Florida weather to general Key West essential experiences and do's and don'ts.

During my experience down there we planned on not keeping an eye on the accumulating bills and to live as we'd never visit Key West ever again - do the things we feared, eat the things we had never eaten, dine in places we really couldn't afford in "real-life" and make decisions that we otherwise wouldn't make (well, reasonably).

We stayed at a beautiful hotel to celebrate the wedding of friends and now my husband James and I have a great experience to look back on as a lot of firsts and, hopefully, many more to come.

For those Mainers looking to Key West for their "destination vacation," here are a few tips and a few things to give you a heads-up on to anticipate your trip if you want to make it down to this beautiful, small-town tourist destination of Key West and to have a great time.

Or maybe you want to stay close to home.  Here are some great places to getaway if you don't want to go too far.

Or go all out and visit some national parks!