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Published: January 22nd 2007
Sunset
One of the amazing sunsets we enjoyed, overlooking the Key West Bite.We love Key West, from the moment we pulled into the Conch Harbor Marina and stepped off the boat and into the party. It certainly is a wild and crazy town. And we stayed at a great marina, with a big swimming pool and Monty’s bar and restaurant. Across the street was Pepe’s, one of the oldest and best restaurants in town with amazing food (which we enjoyed on many occasions). And it was a short walk along the docks, thru the historic seaport village, to get to the heart of town- Duval Street. Duval Street is amazing, what a concept. It is a mile long stretch with bars and restaurants and galleries and shops- and did I mention- bars. There is over 100 bars located on Duval, some as tiny as an alleyway and others are a historical landmark, such as Sloppy Joes’s which is where Hemmingway and his buddies would go to drink. They call it the Duval Crawl, which is where you bar hop down Duval, carrying drinks from one bar to another. What can I say, too many bars, too little time. We had a blast!
One of the coolest aspects of being in Key West
Conch Harbor Marina
The pool at the marina, which we enjoyed on more than one occasion. was experiencing its unique culture, which attracts many writers such as Ernest Hemmingway and Carl Hiaasen (two of our favorites). We have been reading many Hemmingway books- most of which were written here in Key West and are about the islands. We spent one afternoon at Hemmingway’s house, which was fascinating. We loved hearing the history of his life with his many wives, lots of adventures, and great fish tales. It was also great to see where he lived and the study where he wrote many of his classics. He also had an affinity towards cats, which still live in the house today. There are over 40 Hemmingway cats there now that are very famous, very spoiled, and seem to have the run of the place. It was great. While we were in Key West we were also fortunate enough to catch the play Lucky You, an adaptation of one of Carl Hiaasen’s books. It was hilarious and we had a great time watching his satire of life in the Keys.
We spent most of our month in Key West visiting with the family, fishing, and hanging by the pool. Most of all, we loved the laid back and
casual atmosphere, where most restaurants and bars are dog-friendly (lucky Kona). We ate great Cuban food and lots of fresh fish, had many margaritas and mojitos, and enjoyed fried lobster and key-lime pie. What can we say, we love island cuisine. And you know you are in the islands when roosters run thru the restaurant or one of Hemmingway’s cats curl up at your feet during dinner. Of course we did all the touristy things as well such as go to the Southernmost Point of the Continental US, picnic at the beach, and watch the sunset at Mallory Square with all the street-performers. And I must say that Key West has some of the most amazing sunsets you have ever seen, with the green flash and all. No wonder why the crowd there applauses as the last rays of the sun fall behind the Atlantic Ocean every night.
One of the toughest decisions we had to make in Key West was where we were going to celebrate New Years Eve. There were many great options for the countdown. At Sloppy Joes we could watch a giant, 6 foot conch shell drop (kind of a Key West version of the
Sloppy Joe's
Where Hemmingway and his friends went to drink, a historic landmark. ball dropping in New York). Or at Bourbon Street Bar we could watch Sushi, a drag-queen entertainer, be lowered from the top of the bar in a giant red, glittering, high-healed shoe to the crowd below. Or we could watch the owner of the Schooner Wharf Bar, dressed as a pirate wench, be dropped from the top of the mast of one of the old schooners in the harbor. Well, being Rum Runners we decided to go ahead and watch the pirate wench drop- what fun. It was certainly the all-time best New Year’s Eve we have ever had.
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