Now that we’re back from our 3 day mini vacation in Key West and back to the rig with better internet I wanted to catch ya’ll up with the sights we saw, things we ate, and beverages we consumed.

Leaving here early Tuesday morning we tried to have a hike at Dagney Johnson State Recreational Preserve…according to their web site they had hiking trails you did not need a back country pass for. No directions to the trails on their site; so we googled and sort of figured it out. Drove to where it was supposed to be, checked out all 3 entrances as noted on their website and all said back country permit required so we gave up. As we headed on down the road we googled again and found another nearby area that may have been a second section of the preserve but by that time we were heading south.

We got into Key West about 1600 or so and checked into our hotel; the Heron House Court Bed and Breakfast…this is a nice little 6 or 8 room hotel in a remodeled house. The manager Roman ran down the street and found us a parking place as the parking is abysmal in Key West. Once we had the car parked we left it there and walked everywhere else. Monday night we headed out using some 2 for 1 coupons that Roman gave us and went to the Schooner Wharf Bar where we had beer and then a couple of Dark and Stormy’s.

The food there looked lousy so we headed back towards the hotel and stopped at Finnegan’s Wake Irish Pub. The food there was better…some potato skins and bread pudding for desert. The desert was pretty tasty but was by no means what we would have called bread pudding. Chocolate Ginger Bread with whisky sauce and whipped cream was what we thought it was…pretty good though. By the time we were done we were tired and Connie’s feet hurt so Neil carried her sandals and she walked barefoot the 1/2 mile back to the hotel where we went straight to bed.

Wednesday was our only full day on the island so after breakfast we headed out. We hiked down to Duval Street (the main den of iniquity on Key West although it is pretty tame during the day) then headed over to the southernmost point in the continental US for the obligatory touristy type snapshot.

We also got some shots of the Key West light house about 1/4 mile back down the street

and then ran into the southern end (MIle 0) of US Highway 1

We were at the northernmost end of US Highway 1 last February on our way up to Nova Scotia so we’ve now seen both ends of the highway…although the northern end isn’t really marked with anything special except the border patrol station.

We went by the original office of Pan American Airways; their Flight No. 1 to Cuba was the very first international airline flight back in I think 1927.

We passed on Ernest Hemmingway’s house since (a) the line was 75 people long or so and (b) the only thing there is a bunch of 6 toed cats which we don’t about but we got a picture of Hemmingway’s favorite watering hole Sloppy Joes instead. This bar started with another name but was owned by a guy named Joe and the floor was always wet with spilled beer and the customer’s teased Joe about being sloppy…at some point the bar was renamed . It’s an open air bar with doors all around…Neil got a picture of Kara sitting between a couple of Margaritas.

We then stopped by the A&B Lobster House as recommended by our friend Lynn and had our big meal of the day. Connie had crab/avocado salad and Neil had Coconut Fried Grouper…both were very yummy as was the Key West Pale Ale we were drinking.

At that point we were tired from our 5 miles or so of hiking so we went back to the hotel, had a siesta, and soaked in the hot tub before heading out again about 1715 for the sunset and dinner. 

First stop was the Sunset Pier Bar where…amazingly enough…we watched the sunset. Here is a wide shot of the pier and crowd just as we arrived as well as Neil and Connie at our table.

and here is a series as the sun is…going…going…gone along with a couple of the sunset cruise sailboats heading back into the harbor in the afterglow.

Our next stop was the original Margaritaville bar owned by Jimmy Buffett. This was the first bar he started and is the cornerstone of a pretty decent sized empire of tropical and Jimmy Buffett song related establishments. Our friend Heather back in DC will really like these shots.

After a couple of drinks (Margaritas of course) and some conch fritters (you gotta eat these if you’re in Key West) we wandered a little more. Neil saw this neat looking bar but Connie wouldn’t go in with him.

So we stopped and picked up a couple of cookies for desert after we got back to the hotel. Neil’s never paid 12 bucks for 2 cookies before but then he’s never had 2 cookies that totaled over a pound in weight before either. Here is a shot after we ate about half of each of them; I left Neil’s reading glasses in the picture to give you a sense of the size of these things…they were gargantuan!!

Chocolate Chip-Pecan-Macadamia Nut for Neil and Peanut Butter for Connie.

After having part of our cookies it was off to bed.

We got up this morning, checked out and headed home. Didn’t stop to see anything since Connie was feeling a little under the weather today…she partied a little too hardy last night methinks. We unpacked the car and suitcase when we got home, Neil went on a ride, and we had a bacon and cheese omelet with Helluva Good French Onion Dip on top for dinner. Desert will be the rest of the aforementioned cookies then we’ll probably go to bed early. Don’t know what we’ll do over the weekend, we’ll think about that tomorrow although we are planning on a kayak trip on Monday if Connie feels well enough and the weather cooperates.

Cyas.