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Published: September 19th 2013
Day 9 started off very quietly as the carnage of the booze fuelled lobster and shrimp barby of the night before took hold. The sombre mood was also not helped by a decision to try and go through the night without the noisy AC turned on which turned our luxury RV for 4 into the sweatbox from the Great Escape, and prevented one or two from getting the best nights sleep! After a quiet walk to the showers (where we all selected cold ones out of choice) at the other end of the camp (the only small negative of Bluewater key is the distance from some plots to the only loo and showers) the team assembled by little bruv's hire car for an assault on Key West! The start of Key West, the final island in the chain is itself about 10 miles away, but the very southernmost point of the island, near the main tourist centre is closer to 14 miles away.
First order of the day was to seek hangover food and after a couple of false starts, a search for a restaurant that turned out to be closed and the obligatory hunt for a parking place somewhere
in the back streets of Key West, we finally settled in on the main street, Duvall Street (butterfly house end) at a small classy looking Bistro called Martin's that advertised 'European sophistication' (which certainly wasn't us) and the greatest Sunday brunch around, which we had to test.
Luckily for us it was all it claimed to be and a huge menu of various egg benedict and omelettes was rapidly surveyed, shortlisted and ordered along with a vat of cappuccino! The food was superb and couldnt recomend it highly enough. After a while and starting to feel normal it was time to hit the tourist trail and walk the length of Duvall Street.
Duvall street is a great place just to walk down or sit by and people watch. Tourist shops, bars, restaurants, drag bars, 'clothing optional bars', live music venues, art galleries, antique shops, clothes shops, hotels....it has it all in the one street and we meandered our way down the street diving in to various places here and there (swerving the drag and clothing optional bars). Where else can you buy a 5 dollar Tshirt in one shop and a $150,000 solid bronze lion in the shop
next door.
At the other end of Duvall is the harbour and posh hotel area, we swerved the aquarium and museum that we have done before and headed for the boardwalk that in the evening is usually home to a number of street entertainers but it was too early. A quick and obligatory trip around Del Sol and Cariloha at the cruise ship pier netted some New clean Tshirts that meant washing in the RV could be put back another day and then we set off for the return trip to the car. At this point, what had been a lovely sunny day, turned into a scene from the Perfect Storm.
Big black clouds were followed quickly by thunder, lightning and the most enormous rainstorm ever...there was only one thing for it, we took cover at the pool bar inside the Westin Hotel. Initially a bit of rain was fine and we were able to sit at a table by the bar, but as the heavens really opened lots of people had to run for cover and we were soon packed in under the canopy alternating between watching the Miami Dolphins game on TV and the patio furniture
slowly drifting away in the river that quickly formed through the bar. It took a couple of hours to subside (or about 5 beers in drinking time) and by the time we emerged, Key West had a few puddles and flooding around. The safest way to get back to the car was hail a cab which we did and 5 mins later we were back at the car and 15 minutes later we were back in the RV drying off and getting ready for the next 'Big Night Out'
That evening we were booked into Louie's back yard out on the South-east coast side of Key West. Louie's is a firm favourite of ours and we have been several times in previous years but it was obviously a sign of how good the previous times have been when none of the 4 of us could actually remember when we had been there together (despite one of the times actually being a new year celebration!)
Louie's has a great bar and terrace in the backyard looking out over the sea and then a number of tables also outside on tiered steps at the back of the large house it
is based in. It is a fantastic venue for a 'posh' evening out, if you can do 'posh' in Key West. Thankfully the rain had subsided and we ate a gorgeous feast of meat and seafood dishes sitting outside on the terrace under the stars.
Suitably topped up with booze and excellently fed, cab driver Krissy for the night drove us all home to Bluewater key and after a quick nightcap on the boat deck, four tired and three quite p&££ed souls, hit the bed! This time, no matter how noisy, the A/C was staying on.
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Stacy Lynn
non-member comment
Key West
Great pictures and info! Next time you should try the Key West Express ferry from Fort Myers Beach or Marco Island to Key West. Its alot faster than driving and way more fun!