AuthorVictoria

Higgs Beach

Sunrise - Key West - Higgs Beach - 4-16-2014 02

After doing some research I have found that Higgs Beach is actually owned by Monroe County. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean next to the Casa Marina Resort.

I have spent many mornings walking Higgs Beach at dawn to look for Sea Turtles.  I volunteered for the Sea Turtle Rescue Organization for a few years in Key West.  Usually because of the other amenities on the beach and the large numbers of people hanging out we rarely found a turtle nest.  But……..it,s clear turquoise waters and its beautiful sandy beaches and its tropical vegetation, Higgs Beach is one of the most inviting public beach parks in Florida because of its diverse array of activities and offerings.  Within the Park, you will find: a Civil War Era Fort listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Salute! On the Beach, and reportedly, the largest African Refugee Burial Ground in this hemisphere as well as one of the largest Aids Memorials in the Country.

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Higgs Beach is truly unique because it allows you access to the only shore-accessible underwater marine park in the United States and is also the end of the Florida Overseas Heritage Trail, one of only 31 nationally designated All American Highways in the United States.

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Activities available to park users include swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing, beach volleyball and a playground.  Additionally, the historic civil war era fort known as the West Martello has served as the home of the Key West Garden Club for over 50 years and offers free self-guided tours of almost 2 acres of beautiful gardens with an ocean breeze and view.  For animal lovers, the Park hosts a large and actively utilized dog park with separate runs for small and large dogs.

Some content is from the official Monroe County Website.

Wedding Dress Shopping

Wedding Dress Shopping Update:

From my previous post:

I have dipped my toe into the extremely scary world of wedding dresses. My first trip I went with my Mom and Grandma.  (Different from the Grandma with the rings.) For my next trip I enlisted the help of my friend Alli who got married last year. I think she is my go to person for all the stupid questions or to also ask how the hell did you survive this. I don’t think I would believe it if I wasn’t there to see it. The photo below is from the back of a dress that I liked it but not enough to start crying and say this is it … I seemed to find things I like about them but nothing that has it all ……………….YET!

TORsAdventures Wedding Planning Grandmothers Ring Dress Lace

I am happy to report that after a LONG day of shopping WE HAVE A DRESS! Yes after 5 more stores countless dresses I found a wonderful strapless white dress that will be light and flowing in the wind on the beach. Even better … it FITS yes I know this might sound weird but I can’t tell you how many dresses I tried on that need a nip here or a tuck there. I’m not going to post the whole thing on the internet before Scott gets to see it but here is the bottom!

TORsAdventures Wedding Planning Grandmothers Ring Dress Lace 03

I would like to give lots of thanks to the ladies at David’s Bridal. They were absolutely delightful and helpful. I went in with a fairly strict budget and time issues and they hit it out of the park. I said I wanted to spend less than $500 and I need the dress to fit without any alterations. They must have brought me 25 dresses that were all under $500 and could possibly fit on the first try.

I’M Getting Hitched! <3

TORsAdventures Wedding Planning Grandmothers Ring Dress Lace Victoria Elizabeth Scott McKay

Well the cat is out of the bag and I’m Getting Hitched! It didn’t happen exactly how I thought it would but there sure were some fireworks. After lots of talking Scott and I couldn’t come up with any good reasons why we were not married or getting married. We both love each other and even when we are apart we are still talking even if we don’t want too. I LOVE that boy and that is pretty much how I ended up engaged without a ring and a fiance in another state. Might I add that he is still in Florida and I have been in Chicago for the past 2 months helping with my Grandma Doris while we try to figure things out. I already knew that I wanted to use my Grandma Lorine’s rings that she left to me as part of her estate when I was a kid. I think this adds something special since they were chosen with love by my Grandfather and Mamaw proudly wore them for years. I took them and put them into the safe deposit box and never really saw them again. I always knew that I liked them and thought they were pretty but when we went to the bank to retrieve them I was overwhelmed by the beauty.  I am sure I made the right choice.

TORsAdventures Wedding Planning Grandmothers Ring

I have also dipped my toe into the extremely scary world of wedding dresses. My first trip I went with my Mom and Grandma.  (Different from the Grandma with the rings.) For my next trip I enlisted the help of my friend Alli who got married last year. I think she is my go to person for all the stupid questions or to also ask how the hell did you survive this. I don’t think I would believe it if I wasn’t there to see it. The photo below is from the back of a dress that I liked it but not enough to start crying and say this is it … I seemed to find things I like about them but nothing that has it all ……………….YET!

TORsAdventures Wedding Planning Grandmothers Ring Dress Lace

Since the proposal and rings weren’t normal why would anything else be right? We are having a shotgun wedding without the baby or the shotgun! I should say that it started out a little quicker than it is now. Its currently Feb 16th, 2016 and we started this journey on Feb 3rd. At first we were talking about getting married on Feb 29th since why not … its a leap year why not leap right in? Well that lasted about 5 minutes and then it was pushed back to March 23rd. We then discovered that it was Spring Break and that would be crazy! So we moved it to April 23rd. Then after all of our friends and families had their way it had moved to May 21st back to April 9th then up to June 4th back to May 10th and now we are in limbo about April 9th or 23rd. I wish I could make this stuff up but I’m not! I have the crazy text messages to prove it and about 100 Orbitz and Southwest searches! You see we will be doing the wedding in Key West but my parents are in Chicago and his are in Portland. And that is not including some of our closest friends who will be attending too.

We are not trying to plan some crazy and extravagant wedding just something small on the beach with my toes in the sand. I shouldn’t say WE … Scott told me that I could have – do whatever I wanted and to top it off I also have $1000 to use for a honeymoon. My honey said that since nothing is normal with this he would at least give me a honeymoon. I have already taken some action to get his passport! Sand & Sun here we come! Maybe via plane maybe via boat who knows!

Planning a wedding is hard work! I don’t think I quite understood until I was in the driver seat … everything is a battle whether it be with the date, family, friends, dress shopping or anything else that on my 50+ to-do list. All I can so far is that I am absolutely excited to marry Scott! Everything else will somehow work itself out. <—- His words to calm me down NOT MINE!  I think my favorite quote from him so far was when he was talking about the shotgun and the date. Feb 29th = Shotgun to the face. March 26th = Shotgun to the Chest. April 23rd = Shotgun to the belly. May 21st = Shotgun to the knees. June 4th = Shotgun to the feet.