Mitchell Family Christmas Vacation 2021

Matt and I celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary this year! We were married a week before Christmas on December 18th, 2014. Because of this proximity to Christmas, we rarely travel anywhere to celebrate.

We are totally ok with that, but this year we wanted to do something a little different to celebrate!

What does that have to do with our family vacation? Glad you asked!

We booked a trip this summer to NYC for just the two of us. Then the vaccine mandate happened, and we didn’t want to navigate that this season. We quickly canceled that trip and started searching travel to Key West, because that was our honeymoon destination 17 years ago!

The flights were SO cheap we just decided to make a family trip and bring the boys to one of our favorite spots in the US! So… still no official anniversary trip for just the two of us, but again, we are ok with that!

This trip was special with so many memories made! I highly recommend this trip for families!

I’ve tried to highlight our favorite things here, so you have some ideas if you ever visit!

Day 1

We started by flying into Miami and renting a car to drive to the Keys. Matt has always wanted to visit the Everglades, so we stopped there first and walked through a quick hike. We saw heron, alligators (which the boys had really hoped to see), fish, snakes, and more wildlife! It was a short walk, but packed with animals!

From there, we drove on to through the Keys to stop in Islamorada at Robbie’s… a place EVERYONE told us to go. It is a super fun little spot where you can shop for local goodies, eat outside on a large deck by the ocean and feed the tarpon… huge fish that gobble up the little buckets of fish you buy! We also fed a small shark!

From there we drove to Cudjoe Key, which is where our little beach house was. It was located on the water with a deck, a small pool and kayaks we used everyday to go out on the water!

Day 2

We got lots of sleep, as we were exhausted from our early morning flight, woke up and drove straight to Key West! The boys were very excited to see Key West, as we had talked a LOT about it, and it did not disappoint! We ate breakfast at The Breakfast Club Too, which I HIGHLY recommend and then walked through the town to The Southernmost Point.

It was hot, but the weather in December was very breezy and extremely pleasant. Not a cloud in the sky, and the boys loved the shops, the people and the OCEAN! My boys are very outdoorsy, but they do complain a little about walking… so we tried to stop as many cool places as we could! And trust me, there are so many neat little spots to visit!

They also tasted their way through Key West!

• Ice Cream
• Key Lime Pie
• Fresh Seafood
• Conch Fritters
• Burgers

You name it, they ate it!

Our last big stop that day was the Truman Little White House.

If you know me, you know I LOVE History. (I’m a college level History instructor!). Matt and I had visited the Truman Little White House on our honeymoon, and I knew I had to take the boys back! Milo, especially, loves History with me, so it was fun to feed them this little slice of History.

And FINALLY the beach! If Henry Mitchell can get his toes in the sand, he will! Thing is.. there’s not a lot of sand in the Keys. It is naturally surrounded by rocks and mangroves, but this beach was built with sand brought in just for the tourists. They play for an hour before we headed home for cold plates and Christmas movies!

Day 3

Saturday was the only day we actually planned anything. We embarked on a day sail with snorkeling and kayaking as a family. Matt and I did this on our honeymoon as well, so it was fun to experience with the boys. The trip was so well done, and I cannot praise Seabago enough!

We had food, music, fun staff, and the weather was perfect!

To close out day 3, We ended at Mallory Square and watched the sunset over the ocean. I have no words, and we didn’t get a good picture, but our God is awesome!

Day 4

We promised Milo we would visit the Shipwreck Museum.. which if I’m being honest, I thought was going to be a bit corny. But turns out it was a very historical account of the shipwreck industry that Key West was built on! Another must see if you go with your family!

Because we knew this was our last day in Key West, we decided to walk some more, despite the boys’ protests. One last stop Matt and I wanted to make was to The Southernmost House, which is where we stayed on our honeymoon.

It is a magnificent house right on the water before the Southernmost Bouy. I know the boys probably got tired of hearing us say, “When we were here”, but they didn’t express it if they did.

Isn’t it a beautiful thing to be able to share happy memories with our children. This trip reminded me that I take for granted how blessed our marriage is. To have so many wonderful memories, a healthy marriage (with plenty of faults, I assure you), and a home filled with love.

I want our boys to know that we love them very much and that our family is built on love that originates with our Creator! Without Christ and the love we celebrate at Christmas time and all the year round, Matt and I wouldn’t have that model for our marriage!

I digress! We ended day 4 at our beach house with dinner on the dock and a late night swim!

It was a vacation for the books packed with many more memories than I can adequately share here! But please please visit Key West as a family if you ever get the chance!

If you have any questions for me about planning this trip or need specific recommendations, please don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments below or email me at racheljmitchell1@gmail.com !