Airbnb floats my boat

I've taken a few vacations in my life. Most of them have been traditional family trips, often involving some sort of theme park. This weekend, I took my first grown-up vacation '” family and theme-park free. It was a little different, and honestly, pretty awesome.

Being a vacation newbie, I wasn't quite sure where to start when planning a trip. I looked around at hotels in the area, flipped through Groupon's getaway deals, but nothing grabbed me. Everything was either too ordinary or out of my price range.

Enter Airbnb. You've probably heard of this wonderful website by now, but in case you haven't, Airbnb bills itself as "a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world." Think a more legit Craigslist for vacation spots '” from a flat in Paris to a tree house in Vermont. What my boyfriend, Ethan, and I ended up choosing was pretty cool: a houseboat in the Florida Keys.

Neither of us had ever been to the Keys before, but a trip has been on the bucket list since we moved to Florida. From Sarasota, the drive took about 5 hours. Our home for the long weekend was a boat moored off the bay side of Islamorada, about halfway down the Keys. We followed our host's directions, "Turn right at the giant mermaid sign," and met him at the nearby tiki bar, the Lorelei. From here, our host, Steve, whisked us and our luggage (some clothes, mostly beer) away through brilliant blue waters and mangrove-covered isles to "The Lady Love," a bright-yellow floating piece of paradise straight out of 1966.

If you consider yourself high-maintenance, this might not be the vacation for you. Steve bills this experience as "camping on the water." While not quite as extreme as camping (the boat has running water, generator-powered electricity and air conditioning), it's not the Ritz. But it's an experience I'd gladly have again. The boat was the perfect break. It was incredibly peaceful. Passing boaters are rare, and the only "neighbors" are two other houseboats, which are far enough away that you feel like you have your own private little oasis.

We spent the majority of our time relaxing on the lounge chairs on the upper deck of the boat, looking out at our incredible 360-degree view of the mesmerizing blue water. But this was far from the only available activity. Ethan found an old shipwreck while snorkeling with gear from the boat. Sadly, he didn't find any buried treasure, but he did see a stingray. A few other sunken objects near the boat provided homes for some sneaky lobsters. We tried to catch our dinner with a slightly bent snare from the boat, but we had no luck.

Instead, we opted to take the dinghy tied to the side of the boat to some of the nearby restaurants. The closest one was the Islamorada Fish Company, a tiki restaurant attached to a Bass Pro Shops. I was excited to try this one, because they boasted freshly caught seafood, but I was a bit underwhelmed. My scallops were overcooked, and our drinks were very salty '” as in, there was a layer of salt at the bottom, not just along the rim. It was odd. But Ethan's Grouper Portofino (blackened grouper topped with shrimp in a brandied lobster cream sauce) was pretty good.

My favorite restaurant was the Bluewater Tiki Bar at the Islander Resort. It was across the street from the giant mermaid. We had lunch there Friday and dinner Saturday. Everything was amazing, from simpler lunch fare (Ethan had a burger, I had Thai mahi sticks) to decadent dinner (Ethan had the ribeye, I had the lobster francaise) and perfectly tropical cocktails. It wasn't cheap, but it was priced the same as the Islamorada Fish Company, and the service, ambiance and food were infinitely better. This restaurant is part of a resort located right on the beach with a few pools and a hot tub.

The trip wasn't without a few glitches. We had a tricky time getting the dinghy going, and we were trapped inside all Saturday morning thanks to a lingering storm. But when the sun found its way out, our problems seemed to melt away. We kayaked for the first time, using the yellow two-person kayak that hangs out on the upper deck of The Lady Love. We encountered many different fishes. A few dolphins even swam right up to the boat Saturday afternoon. But best of all were the sunsets. Islamorada means "purple isle," and it earned that name in spades as the sun sank beneath the horizon.

I would absolutely take this trip again. It was an island adventure that I won't soon forget. We wrapped up our vacation by checking off a must on any trip to the Keys: feeding the tarpon at Robbie's marina. I was a little skittish, but Ethan bravely got the tarpon to leap out of the water for their lunch. Thankfully, we didn't have to jump for our lunch. The Hungry Tarpon restaurant next door served up some awesome food (Ahi tacos and a shrimp burrito that were just out of this world) in an atmosphere that was exactly what you'd expect the Florida Keys to be. It was the perfect wrap-up to an awesome adventure.

If you want to take this same adventure, you can find Steve and The Lady Love on Airbnb here.