This past March, Brooke and I and the three kiddos headed down to her parents condo in Punta Gorda, FL (of which has been chronicled extensively here at Hunter's Hikes). Because it was "girl's week," Phil and I had to be talked into heading down to Key West to do a little fishing (read: we suggested it). Despite the long ride, we headed down on Tuesday and returned on Thursday. We made sure to hit a few staples on the way down, like Hog Heaven for lunch and the Worldwide Sportsman headquarters right after that before finishing the final stretch to Key West. We checked into our room, hit the head, and took the shuttle into town where we navigated the side streets and downed a few adult bevvies before heading back to the hotel restaurant for dinner. We had an early morning, so a late night was not in the cards. We spent all day Wednesday on Derek's flats boat, hitting all of the inlets and flats directly north of Key West. The action was insane, as Phil hooked up with no less than three huge tarpon and I had a small jack crevalle eaten off the line by a six foot long bull shark. Phil then had a trophy permit eaten off of his line, too, and it was then that we decided to change spots. We didn't manage to find the same action we did in the morning, but it was still a wildly successful day on the water. That night we relaxed at the hotel restaurant and bar, and someone (me) consumed one or five too many bevvies and had to sheepishly ask his father-in-law to drive the rental car the next morning. Oh well, life goes on. I flew home to Massachusetts on Friday, and Brooke and the kids stayed down in Florida until Tuesday, enjoying the beautiful weather and time with family. It was a great trip on two fronts: We got a nice family vacation in Florida, and I got a nice fishing excursion, too. Will they always work out this way? No, but strike while the iron's hot, right?