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Published: March 25th 2009
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peeping tom
This was on our first night there. We could hear something in the tree but couldn't see it. So, I snapped a picture in the direction of the noise, and this was the result...a coon! A couple of months before I met Jeremy, I was selected to go on a 2-week TDY to Key West, Florida. I didn't want to go. My suprevisor wanted to put my name in for it since I had never been on a TDY, but I'm not a water girl so the thought of spending 2 weeks on an island was not an enticing idea to me. In my career feild, there would be TDY's quite often, but there were bad TDY's (like Vegas) and good TDY's (like Canada). Key West was one that everyone wanted. My supervisor put my name in for it anyway, and I was selected by the Flight Chief to go. I was pretty upset to say the least. I'm scared of water, so all I was thinking was what am I going to do on a tiny little island (Key West is only 4 miles long by 2 miles wide). Well, I found plenty to do...and I loved every minute of it!
We flew out of Luke on a KC-135 with jump seats....not something I recommend on a cross-country flight! A KC-135 is a refueler. You see, a TDY is really just a short trip
for our jets to go play war games with some other base. In this case, it was with the Navy and their F-15's at NAS Key West. An F-16 can't make it all the way to Key West on one load of fuel, so that's where the KC-135 comes into play. We flew side by side with the F-16's and did in-air refueling for them so we/they wouldn't have to stop somewhere along the way. We stayed in the billiting there at the Naval Air Station. I ended up with the swing shift, which was from about 1pm until they put the jets to bed (usually around 6pm). So, I was able to sleep in everyday and go out every night. Pretty nice!
Key West is like a completely different country. They actually called themselves the Conch (pronounced Konk) Republic. At one time they got upset with the US and seceded...not legally or even formally, just mentally. They adopted the name of the Conch Republic and have been using it ever since. They even have a flag! Anyway...the rules in Key West were different. The bars stayed open till 4 am, and then opened back up at 6 am.
Looking off the side of a pier
There was a boat next to the pier so that is the reflection you see. Duval Street was the main road through town, and this is where you could find pretty much everything. Most of the resturaunts and bars were on Duval, as well as shops and trinket stores. There were plenty of sidewalk vendors as well. They sold everything from Artwork to seashells. One guy had a bulldog dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses with a parrot on his head, and the guy was charging ppl $5 to take a picture of it. I did not pay, so I don't have a picture. But it's amazing what some people will pay for!
We spent nearly every night just hanging out on Duval Street. Sloppy Joes was the place to be for live music, and every night Key West has a sunset celebration at Mallory Square. The whole town gathers there to watch the sun dip into the gulf. It's a huge celebration with live performers and different vendors. We saw a fire eater and knife thrower there. And best of all, it's FREE! One day, a few of us took a trip up to some of the other Keys. We drove across the 7-mile bridge, and made it all the way up
to Marathon (key) before turning back. My favorite place to eat in Key West was the Conch Republic Seafood Comapany. It's actually a store/restraunt. You can even buy fresh frozen seafood from them online and have it delivered to your home. In the restraunt, there were huge aquariums used as walls to separate one row of booths from the other. It was a preety cool looking restraunt! I went to the Southernmost point of the continental US. It is closer to Cuba (90 miles) than it is to mainland Florida! Crazy! (BTW, the Northernmost point is in WA and I've been by there too 😊) Key West was home to Earnest Hemmingway, and his house had been turned into a museum that you could visit. I didn't go, but I walked by it. We had a BBQ towards the end of the TDY at the cantina and marina on base. They had a nice beach! I saw my first jelly-fish and lightning bugs there. We found out that empty seashells are the ideal home for hermit crabs! I brought some shells home without even noticing that there were crabs still in them! Key West is where I got my incentive
flight also. During most TDY's, a list is created of people to get a flight in an F-16. My name went on the list, but they were only giving 8 flights and I was number 9 on the list. So, I wasn't supposed to get it, and I wasn't planning on getting it either. Well on our last day in Key West, the guy who was to get the last incentive flight couldn't get his ears to pop so he couldn't go. They called me in my room at 8 am (and the night before was our last night there and I didn't have to get up till noon, so you can guess what kind of condition I was in) and I had to be at the hanger in like a half an hour to get the flight. Everyone else who got a flight that trip threw up. It's a common thing. Most people throw up. They recommend that you have something in your stomach, but I was hung over and tired so the thought of food made me queezy. I popped a motion sickness pill during the flight physical and hoped for the best. I think the pilots TRY
to make you vomit. When they do everyday flying they don't do anything fancy, but get me in the back of that thing and suddenly it's a vertical take off (shoot straight up as soon as you clear the runway), barrel rolls, and loop-de-loops. He let me do the flying for a bit and made me do a barrel roll. We pulled 8 g's (out of a possible 10) and were up in the air for about 45 minutes. I did get pretty naucious up there, but I am proud to say that the puke bag remained empty! I have the flight video to prove it! It was a lot of fun...
When I first got to Key West, I couldn't even walk out onto a pier because I was so scared. But, by the time I left, I wasn't only walking out on the the pier, I was bending over and looking into the water at the fish swimming below me. I was a fantastic trip and I keep bugging Jeremy to go back there. Someday we will, and when we do, I'm going out on the glass-bottom boat! I was too scared to last time. Key West
View from the 7 mile bridge.
The purple in the water is the reef. There was green and aqua too, but you can't make it out in the picture. has a very relaxed atmosphere where t-shirts, cut-offs, and flip-flops is the hot fashion. It's a place where you can just sit in a hammock on the beach, listen to the waves, and watch the roosters play in the road...
(Pictures were taken with a disposable camera so please forgive the quality)
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Amora
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Key West
Thanks for sharing your pictures. Key west is one of my favorite places to visit. I have only been there once but definatly want to go back someday. Loving your pictures and stories of your travels :)