This year for Christmas, my husband as well as I made the decision to surprise the youngsters with a trip to the Keys. My husband and I had not been to the keys since the two of us were much younger, and our youngsters were finally the right age to experience snorkeling The Reef. My husband and I surprised them on Christmas morning, when we told them to pack up their bags… We rented a cabin on the bay, which came with a nice 23 foot boat and a couple of kayaks. Inside the afternoon, my husband and I took the boat out to the Keys. The water temperatures were totally warm, but the outdoor temperatures were especially nippy. After spending an hour or so in the water, everyone was ready to come in from the bay. We spent most of the afternoon enjoying the ocean, and all of us spent all night in front of the outdoor fireplace, then on the deck outside. All of us had a barbecue grill, outdoor fireplace, and picnic table. After spending all the day in the water, all of us had some fish to cook on the grill. We put some planks of wood in the outdoor fireplace, and hung out at the table while cooking dinner. The cabin had a nice oil furnace, and all of us used the oil furnace quite a bit during our trip. Even though all of us kept the temperature set especially low, it was nice to have the oil furnace after a long day of reef snorkeling. My family and I had an amazing week, and our memories will easily last a lifetime… I’m blissful all of us have these superb times together, before our youngsters go off to live on their own.