ChicagoCon Part 2: Pokemon GO, Harry Potter, Baseball, & More

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Tara Lynne

These days almost every trip I take has a convention nickname, because so much of the time I’m visiting or vacationing with groups of my convention friends. We’ve had Not-A-Con in the fall for three years straight, with another one approaching this October. When a bunch of us went to West Virginia in February 2015, it was SkiCon (or rather, SkiKAHHHNNNN). Sometimes I even go to conventions themselves and they’re renamed, such as C2E2 in March of this year being ChicagoCon Part 1, or MegaCon in May being “KiwiCon”. (In quotes because KiwiCon existed before I got to experience its awesomeness.)

Therefore, when I visited Chicago yet again this past weekend, it was quickly dubbed “ChicagoCon Part 2”. And if I erase the awful trip home from my memory (bad weather, flight diversions, flight delays), it was yet another awesome success.

I arrived on a Thursday afternoon, but unfortunately my Chicago-local friends were working and the other two out-of-towners in our group weren’t arriving until the following night. Not that I let that stop me…I checked out Taste of Chicago, had a very interesting but delicious appetizer and drink experience at The Gage, and then did a Google search for LGBTQ+ bars nearby and had an amazing evening making new acquaintances at Brian’s Speakeasy. After several very strong gin and tonics, I headed back to my hotel room for a quick online hangout with my BFF Bekah and a good hour or so of writing. I even broke 80,000 words on my next novel, which means I’m within 20,000 or so words of finishing!

On my first full ChicagoCon (Part 2) day, I got to have lunch with a friend I hadn’t seen since 2011, and then lazed away the afternoon by devouring Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Seriously, I could have gone out. I kept trying to convince myself to do so. But I had to finish that book first. And when I did, and it was only 4 PM, and no one else was going to be around until after 8 PM? I visited the closest Barnes & Noble at DePaul University, but they didn’t have the second Red Rising installment in stock. Thankfully they were awesome and called the next closest store, who did have it in stock. This led to me walking four miles round trip to the Barnes & Noble on North State Street to pick up Golden Son. (Which also happened to be on the buy 2, get 1 free table – thanks to the associate who checked me out, I got two more books off my wishlist and Golden Son ended up being free!)

Later that night I had an amazing dinner with Brian at Russian Tea Time by the Art Institute. I have to be honest, the best part was that we were practically alone in the restaurant. I know this place is popular and that doesn’t usually happen, though, but still…the menu was lengthy and the food was great so overall I just really loved the experience.

Also I started playing Pokemon GO while I was there. And downtown Chicago is amazing for that game. Thankfully almost everyone that I hung out with while I was visiting plays it, too, which meant bonding over yet another thing we all love 🙂

Saturday was The Big Day – The Chi Wizard Tournament! Team “10 Pints for GRYFFINDOR!” assembled and did quite well getting stickers from other teams in our VALOROUS attempt to win the Chi Wizard cup (see what I did there, guys? P.S. I’m Team Valor on Pokemon GO haha). And even though we didn’t win the “Tournament”, it was still a lot of fun. While I wasn’t very fond of two out of the four bars on the pub crawl (one was just too small and the other had some really rude employees), I got to chat with some great new people AND hang out with my friends…all while wearing Harry Potter gear and enjoying this “Fantastic Drinks and Where to Find Them” event!

And even when the pub crawl was over, a group of us returned to a friend’s apartment to hang out, play a card game, and randomly re-watch the last two episodes of Game of Thrones season 6 while chowing down on delivered Lou Malnati’s pizza. So that was pretty much perfect.

(Okay, I’ll be honest, we never finished the card game 🙁 )

Sunday was a bit up in the air even after we all woke up that morning (I mean hey, we did participate in a crazy Wrigleyville pub crawl the day before), but in the end five of us gathered together for a trip to U.S. Cellular Stadium to see the White Sox play the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately the White Sox lost, and yes it was hot as hell in those bleachers, but I’m excited that I added another baseball stadium to my list! (Which now includes many trips to Fenway along with visits to SafeCo Field, Wrigley Field, AT&T Park, and of course U.S. Cellular Field.)

After the game it was a quick trip to Kuma’s Too so that Ashley and Brian could finally experience metal music, whiskey on tap, and crazy burgers…though Kuma’s Too was a bit more trendy than Kuma’s Corner, where I ate on a trip to Chicago in the fall of 2014. And from there I headed back to my friends’ house with them, had a good evening hanging out with my friend Dave (a.k.a. “Unky Dave”) when he came home and was shocked to see me chilling on their couch, and even got to O’Hare early the next day to walk around and visit Pokestops and catch Pokemon.

I’ll leave out what happened after I boarded my plane in Chicago, because yeah, other than some travel snafus there, this was definitely a successful Part 2, and may need to become at least an annual thing 😉

These Weeks on The Geekiary

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Tara Lynne

Yes, once again, I’ve missed gathering up my weekly Geekiary posts for a while. Even now, I’m technically posting this on the wrong day of the week – Monday instead of Sunday – though it’s only 1 AM, and it’s a holiday weekend, so I think that’s a good excuse.

That said, I’ve actually been way better about keeping up with this blog, so check out my other recent entries along with my Geekiary articles, if you have the chance 🙂

June 14th, 2016
Disney’s Moana Official Teaser Trailer Finally Arrives
Fourteen years ago this week, Disney released Lilo & Stitch, their first animated feature film set in Hawaii…and now we get to look forward to another Disney movie set in the Pacific: Moana! Disney released the Moana official teaser trailer just a couple of days ago, and not surprisingly, it made me even more excited for this movie.

June 17th, 2016
Chi Wizard Tournament 2016 Registration Extended to June 18th!
I love visiting Chicago; it’s a beautiful place, I have friends there, and I always have fun. It’s also a city that hosts many amazing geeky activities (for instance, C2E2 earlier this year), which of course is another draw. It’s great that I’m able to combine my love for Chicago with those geeky activities, so it shouldn’t be very surprising that my next visit is basically planned around the Chi Wizard Tournament 2016!
Knights of the Borrowed Dark: No Harry Potter But Still a Good Read
Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden is the last of the Advanced Reader Copy books I picked up at C2E2 this year, and while it may not be the best middle grade/YA novel I’ve ever read, the story was pretty interesting. Perhaps if I were younger I would have connected with it more.

June 22nd, 2016
This Week in Star Wars Gaming: Battlefront Expansion & LEGO Star Wars
Between Star Wars: Battlefront and the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s as much a golden age for Star Wars gaming as it is for Star Wars movies – and this week, both of the aforementioned games are in the news!

June 25th, 2016
Star Wars and Baseball: You Just Can’t Go Wrong
Tonight I attended Star Wars night at Greenville, South Carolina’s local minor league baseball stadium, Fluor Field. This is an annual event that I stumbled upon many years ago but constantly seem to miss…so when I got the email about this year’s Greenville Drive Star Wars night, I knew I had to attend – because you really can’t go wrong when you combine Star Wars and baseball. (At least in my opinion.)

June 26th, 2016
Independence Day Resurgence: Just the Cheesy Nostalgia I Wanted
Here’s the thing: I went to see Independence Day Resurgence assuming that it would be heavy on the nostalgia and just as cheesy as the first movie. I even re-watched Independence Day recently because after seeing the previews I hoped that this sequel would be as close to the first movie as possible.

June 28th, 2016
Game of Thrones Finale Episode Update
Before Sunday night’s season 6 finale, many fans were still in the dark about what the Game of Thrones final episode count would be. And while we still don’t have an exact answer, producers Benioff & Weiss have been very clear about one thing: it’s not that many.

June 29th, 2016
Game of Thrones Season 6 vs. A Song of Ice and Fire: Round Three
I have to admit it: I’m both astounded, excited, and depressed about what happened in the second half of Game of Thrones Season 6.

Disney Princess Kylo Ren

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Tara Lynne

This Disney Princess Kylo Ren cosplay was an idea that was put into my head at MegaCon back in May, and since then I’ve worked tirelessly to put these pieces together. I wanted to do a trial run anyway, as I plan on wearing this at Dragon Con, and wow am I glad I did…if only because wearing it out and about made me realize that there’s no way this is a full-day Dragon Con cosplay 😉

The pieces I brought together for this particular cosplay (other than the black wig, ha) are a black Quinceanara dress that I found online (needs a bit of fitting still…somehow), a Kylo Ren lightsaber (obviously), and a headpiece inspired by the pattern on Kylo Ren’s mask.

I have a couple other touches that I plan on making, but it was a bit too hot in Greenville to bother with them this evening. I’m still pretty darn happy with this trial run, though, and can’t wait to add the hood/cape, a special necklace, and probably some fake eyelashes for when I wear it at Dragon Con.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my little photoshoot in downtown Greenville today, courtesy of my friend Bekah, who tried her best to work with people and weird lighting and took some great photos 🙂

Saga Event Planning: A New Venture

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Tara Lynne

With all of the recent changes surrounding Ice & Fire Con and the many discussions I had with my new fellow organizer K-K about expanding that convention’s model to other fandoms, I think it was only a matter of time before I finally buckled down and started my own business: Saga Event Planning, LLC.

After four years of planning a successful small single-fandom convention, along with dozens of themed parties and events and even a charity bar crawl throughout the years, this was the most natural move for me to make right now. I’ve had a great job for a long time, but now I need to focus on the things I love – convention and event planning, and my writing.

So that’s what my June has been spent doing – figuring out ways to focus on those things. Saga Event Planning has already brought Ice & Fire Con under its umbrella, and we are also deep in the early planning stages of Beach City Con, a Steven Universe-themed convention scheduled for October 13-15, 2017.

The honest truth? Of course I’m scared. I know that I can plan successful events, I trust that I’m a good writer, but will those things sustain me? I think so, but I’ve been wrong before. (Many, many times.) That said…I’m 33 years old. I’m not getting any younger. ::Insert other cliches here:: If I don’t do it now, when will I? If I don’t take the leap now, when will I? Thanks to that great job and the fact that I’m the penny-pinching type, I have a few months to figure things out before I’d need to bow to the American corporate god(s) again. And if that happens, you know, I’m more than okay with it. Because at least I can say I tried.

But I’m going to do more than try. I think I can. I think I will. After all, as Yoda says, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

Frozen Ever After: The New Waitstrom

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Tara Lynne

Image (c) Disney https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/frozen-ever-after/

The new Frozen ride opened in the Norway pavilion at EPCOT recently, and today I was seeing Facebook posts featuring pictures of wait times up to 300 minutes.

Three. Hundred. Minutes. That’s FIVE HOURS. These people are in a park that is essentially open from 9 AM to 9 PM (if you ignore the Magic Hours days), and they are waiting nearly half that time to go on this ride.

My friends and I used to joke around, calling Maelstrom – the original Norway pavilion ride – “Waitstrom”. But this was back when thirty minutes was the average wait, and an hour or more was one of those “This isn’t worth it, let’s go to China” decision makers.

But waiting thirty minutes or less for Maelstrom? Hey, it wasn’t an amazing ride, but it was fun. It wasn’t the best representation of the Norwegian people and their culture, but it was so EPCOT. They could have updated Maelstrom as it was, could have made it more palatable, but instead they replaced it with “Frozen Ever After”, which would be a great attraction for Magic Kingdom, but in EPCOT – particularly in the World Showcase – just reeks of bad taste.

Half-assed as it was, Maelstrom was still a story of Norway and the Norwegian people. Now that pavilion has succumbed to Disney’s Frozen cash cow, and Frozen is a fairy tale set in a non-existent place. On top of that, the fairy tale upon which Frozen is based – The Snow Queen – is a Danish fairy tale…and while Denmark is part of Scandinavia, it is not Norway, and on top of that, isn’t even much like Norway.

Will Disney be changing the pavilion to truly represent Scandinavia in general? I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I for one would be surprised if they did. It certainly wouldn’t make sense for the World Showcase’s general theme – even the U.K. pavilion is decidedly British.

I suppose the problem is that as a former cast member, I understand changes but don’t care for ones that lessen the value of the things I love best about Walt Disney World (for instance, don’t even get me started about the dining plan and how it has lessened the food quality all over property). I get the desire for a Frozen-themed ride – I even get the need for one – but I don’t care for the execution.

And on top of that, I personally wouldn’t wait 300 minutes to ride Maelstrom with Frozen characters…and that’s exactly what this is.

I have to talk about the Pulse Orlando Atrocity

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Tara Lynne

Photo Courtesy of http://www.scoopnest.com/user/dreynders/742026024574156800

No, I’ve never been to Pulse in Orlando. I moved away from the Orlando area nearly a decade ago, and when I visit, I rarely have time to visit downtown at all.

But I’ve heard good things about Pulse, and if I was back in Orlando and had a chance to go, I would. Not only because it sounded fun, but because, being part of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I would have been a person who would have likely called Pulse a safe haven of sorts.

There, I’ve said it. Not that I’ve ever really hidden the fact that I am not straight…it’s just not something I often state in a public forum. Not for any bad reason, not because I’m trying to hide it, but rather because it’s a part of me, it’s who I am, and I don’t think I should have to constantly explain that. I believe that my general opinions (which I’m not shy about sharing) and even at times my writing show who I am well enough.

But right now, this is different. I woke up yesterday morning and the first thing I saw was a post from a friend in Orlando, someone who frequented Pulse, telling everyone he was okay. I saw that many of my friends had already used the safety check-in feature on Facebook, and seriously, I have never been happier that that feature exists, even if I don’t like that it has to exist in the first place.

Unfortunately, as yesterday wore on, it was impossible to ignore the articles, the cries for help from those who wanted to find missing friends or family members. Especially when one of those missing people is a friend of a friend. Not someone I’ve ever met, but a beautiful young woman who went to Pulse Saturday night and was confirmed dead early this morning. My heart goes out to those who know her, as it does to everyone who is missing or mourning a loved one after this truly horrific event.

Let me get this straight: I don’t care what the killer’s motives were. I don’t care whose name he is working under or apparently working under or whatever the newest news about that is. I care that this was a terrorist attack no matter WHO he was, and one that specifically targeted Orlando’s LGBTQ+ community. As an acquaintance of mine said, “These people are my people, and we are dying.” And then another person got pulled over on his way to the LA Pride parade with a car full of weapons. So that person got caught, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that he existed, and it doesn’t make up for the fact that the terrorist in Orlando made it through our “gun control” system despite having been under FBI surveillance not once but twice, and it doesn’t make up for the fact that any citizen of this country is allowed to purchase a FUCKING ASSAULT RIFLE.

And it doesn’t make up for the fact that over a hundred people were killed or injured when that man burst into Pulse nightclub and committed an act so full of hate that it literally makes me sick to my stomach.

I wish I was in Orlando. I wish I could do more RIGHT NOW. I wish I didn’t have to make these wishes, because tragedies like this should not still be happening. Wake the fuck up, America. A large portion of your population was just directly attacked for who they are, whether they are LGBTQ+ or those who support their LGBTQ+ friends or family.

In the end, I don’t feel like anything I write about this will never be enough.

I’m a writer, and yet I somehow can’t find the right words to express how I feel about this tragedy.

My thoughts and prayers are with anyone who was directly or indirectly harmed by these events.

These Weeks on The Geekiary

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Tara Lynne

For once I’ve missed posting my Geekiary articles not because I’ve been busy with other things, but because I’ve had so much more to write about, like my amazing trip to Key West, the fact that my novel is now available as a paperback, and how hashtagblessed I am to be a part of Ice & Fire Con.

But I have been writing other things, too, so here is a list of the past few weeks’ worth of my Geekiary articles!

May 24th, 2016
A Josiah Bancroft Interview: The Adventures of the Books of Babel Continue!
Nearly two years ago I read what is to this day the best self-published novel I’ve ever discovered – that being Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft. As it turned out, he also attended C2E2 this year, and I finally got my hands on a copy of Arm of the Sphinx, Book 2 of his Senlin series “The Books of Babel”. Needless to say, once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down…although at this point I’m no longer surprised by that.

May 26th, 2016
Steven Universe 3×4 Review: Barn Mates
Considering how much I loved the first three episodes of this “In Too Deep” series, I was surprised to find that I wasn’t all that fond of “Barn Mates”…that is, until I rewatched it.

May 31st, 2016
San Diego Comic-Con 2016 Announcement: A Podcast of Ice & Fire Panel
I’m very excited for this San Diego Comic-Con 2016 announcement, because not only will A Podcast of Ice & Fire be hosting a Song of Ice and Fire panel for the second year in a row at SDCC, but it means that I will be returning to Comic-Con as well!

June 2nd, 2016
Walking Dead News: Season 6 Finale Backlash, Ezekiel’s Tiger, & More
We’re almost two months removed from The Walking Dead Season 6 finale, and the show won’t air again in October…but there’s still a lot of Walking Dead news crowding the Internet.

June 3rd, 2016
Julia Vanishes Features Great Writing Marred by Average Storytelling
I picked up an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan at C2E2 earlier this year because, while I don’t usually read YA, this novel sounded intriguing. I just wish that in the end the blurb on the back hadn’t turned out to be quite so misleading.

June 4th, 2016
Game of Thrones Seasno 6 vs. A Song of Ice & Fire: Round Two
Here it is, folks – we are halfway through Game of Thrones Season 6.

June 6th, 2016
Loot Pets May 2016: The POWER Collection
I have to admit, May 2016’s Loot Pets box was the first one that I wasn’t really happy with. I liked the items that came in my Loot Crate Level Up POWER Collection package, but I don’t think Loot Pets was on par with May’s theme.

June 7th, 2016
The Fangirls Coloring Book: An Exciting Release from Her Universe Press!
A lot of us here at The Geekiary love Her Universe – personally I think at least 10% of my wardrobe is from Ashley Eckstein’s clothing line. And recently, they put together Her Universe Press to publish books, which was another thing to love about HU…a company that is now bringing us “The Fangirls Coloring Book”!

June 9th, 2016
Star Wars Episode VIII “in the home stretch”
Can it be true? Is filming for Star Wars Episode VIII close to being wrapped up?
Click Here to Start: An Engrossing Middle-Grade Novel
Click Here to Start by Denis Markell is another book that I picked up at C2E2 back in March, and now that I finally got around to reading it, I am so, so glad that I did!

June 11th, 2016
Roses and Rot: Intrigue and Rambling
It’s funny that when checking out other reviews for Roses and Rot by Kat Howard (before cracking it open myself), one person said “this book is actually a romance novel” – because that isn’t the impression I got at all. Yes, there are romantic aspects to it, but above all Roses and Rot is a Tale of Two Sisters, if you will.

Ice and Fire Con: A Goal, A Reality, A Lifestyle

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Tara Lynne

Nearly four years ago (in September 2012), I sat down with two other A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones fans and put together a track proposal for Dragon Con – one that would entirely center around George R.R. Martin’s works, both television and writing, as well as HBO’s hit new series Game of Thrones.

Unfortunately, Dragon Con wasn’t accepting new tracks – in fact they were (understandably) combining a few things. Even as we submitted our proposal, we knew deep down that we had no chance. And so, while we were waiting, we started making plans for the first-ever Ice and Fire Con. We wanted a beautiful location, but we needed a place that would work with us in regards to money, because we were basing our future on possible ticket sales.

Thankfully, Ravenwood Castle in New Plymouth, Ohio went out of their way to accommodate us. The new owner (at the time, remember, this is 2012) was (and still is) an ASOIAF fan, and he was very excited to host Ice & Fire Con. That’s not to say that creating this convention wasn’t difficult at all – I even wrote an article about the 5 [not so] easy steps to organizing a convention after our first event – but from the moment we started selling tickets, it was like I’d said “Friend” and the doors of Durin opened for me.

Only, you know, without all the orcs and the cave troll and the Balrog. Just feasts and ale and treasure.

Wait, we’re not-for-profit, so no treasure. But hey, feasts and ale!

Seriously though, since that first year my life has been consumed by this event. Not every hour of every day, but enough that it has become part of my very being. Though there have been times when I’ve thought perhaps it would be better for me to step down as an organizer, in the end I never could do that, and so here I am – preparing for Ice & Fire Con 2017, which will be our 5th year anniversary. And this time I’m organizing this event with one of my closest, most trustworthy, and hardest-working friends.

But it’s not just that. As always, we have an amazing team of volunteers – people who started as friends and became volunteers, people who started as attendees and became friends and then volunteers. Regardless, now more than ever we are all a team, and the next ten months of planning are going to be amazing…but also too long.

The Ice and Fire Con Small Council

Because when I am at Ice & Fire Con, I am home. Whether it’s Ravenwood or Mountain Lake, whether I see certain people several times a year or only at this one event, I am home.

And of course, the fact that we’re all ASOIAF/Game of Thrones fans, the reunion itself, the discussions, the games, the parties, and more…they all make everything that much better.

I love this convention. I love what it has done for my life. I love the people I’ve been able to spend time with, the people I’ve met, and I can’t imagine not loving the people I’ve yet to meet.

I’ll leave you with some of my *personal* highlights from Ice & Fire Con 2016…and the hope that you’ll check out our website, Facebook page, Facebook group, Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram…and consider joining us for our 5th anniversary in 2017!

The Way of Reckoning is Now Available as a Paperback!

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Tara Lynne

I premiered the paperback version of my novel The Way of Reckoning at MegaCon 2016, and as of this past Saturday (June 4th – right at one year, six months after it was published for Kindle) it is now available on Amazon and Createspace!

I’ve been busy setting it up for paperback sales as well as doing tons of work for Ice & Fire Con, hence my lack of updates here on my website. (Yes, I feel like I’m always explaining away my lack of posts because I am legitimately always busy and feel bad that I don’t have time to engage my website followers as much as I should.) But I have a lot of exciting things in the works, so hopefully life will settle down and I’ll have time to write about them soon 🙂 Meanwhile, if you’re so inclined, please head head over to Amazon or Createspace and check out my novel!

A Key West Wedding Weekend

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Tara Lynne

Earlier this month I attended a close friend’s wedding in Key West, and I have to admit it: I’ve fallen in love with that place.

I’m not kidding, if it wasn’t so inaccessible – both by air and road – I would move there in a heartbeat.

It has charm and architecture similar to Charleston with the nightlife of New Orleans and some of the most friendly people I’ve ever met. I stayed about a mile from most of the wedding activities (just a few blocks from the Southernmost point) but never felt unsafe walking to and from my hotel.

To make a long story short, I can’t wait to go back.

The wedding itself was amazing; props to my long-time friend Jamie and her new husband Cory for putting together a perfect weekend! I met Jamie on my very first Walt Disney World College Program and – I’m aging us here, oops – fifteen years later, we’re still close, despite living over a thousand miles away from each other and leading the busy lives that adults lead 😉

Other WDWCP friends were there as well, so it was a mini reunion as well as a great vacation. I traveled by myself but never had a shortage of people to talk to, whether they were fellow wedding guests, other travelers, or locals. (Seriously, everyone was SO nice.)

I ate at some great places – most notably Blue Heaven and Cuban Coffee Queen – and of course did some touristy things, like attending the sunset celebration in Mallory Square and visiting the Hemingway House, the Southernmost Point, and Fort Zachary Taylor Beach. I also rekindled my strange obsession with Ernest Hemingway, and am weirdly excited that I’ve now visited both places he lived while he worked on For Whom the Bell Tolls, which wasn’t exactly my favorite Hemingway novel (okay, I didn’t really like it), but hey, seeing both his suite at the Sun Valley Lodge and his home in Key West, where he did most of his work on that novel, is just really awesome to me!

You know, plus there were cats. (At the Hemingway house, I mean.)

As for the wedding itself, we got to do a sunset cruise with Fury Tours on Thursday night, followed by the bachelorette party, and then on Friday the rehearsal dinner was at Bagatelle on Duval Street and it was a blast. The wedding itself was held at the Pier House and everything was absolutely beautiful.

I think the best part, though, was how much Key West inspired me to read and write. I honestly spent half my time in bars reading while I sipped my drinks, and I don’t know if it was the heat, the sea air, or just the place as a whole that made it hard to leave my computer and notebooks behind to go out and actually do all the touristy things I did. It was a blessing and a curse.

I was glad to go home but like I said, I can’t wait to go back. I’ll leave you with a few more pictures from my trip and the suggestion that if you ever have the chance to visit Key West, just GO 🙂