Key_West

The puddle jumper plane droned noisily through the Florida night as we
      approached Key West Airport. Flying low enough to nearly avoid radar we
      made preparations to land. Somewhere down there was the tropical paradise
      I had heard so much about, filled with the promise of plentiful drink,
      microscopic bathing suits and the laid back, anything goes attitude I
      crave so frequently. The hippie girl in the seat next to me droned
      on...seemingly in harsh competition with the craft's engines. We had
      spoken briefly after takeoff but as soon as the word "boyfriend" had
      passed her lips I immediately tuned out and and went back to the more
      important matter of mentally planning my days on the island.
      8 days, 7 nights. For the type of activities I pursue on my vacations this
      was just enough time to spend there and still make it out alive and with a
      few pesos left in my pocket. I had been searching for weeks for a getaway
      spot suitable to my needs. Then I saw a show on tv about Key West and I
      was hooked. Lazy days and wild nights. With a few daytime activities as
      well...for the days when my hangover would be beaten back enough to allow
      me to leave the room and brave the sunlight. I was nearly bursting with
      anticipation as the plane dipped towards the runway. I was ready to go. A
      feeling of near euphoria flowed through me as we touched down. I just knew
      this was the place for me and ths was going to be a hell of a stay on the
      island. I was not to be disappointed.

      Duval Crawl
      I stepped into the sweet air conditioning of my room from the the humid
      night, leaped into the shower dressed and went to the outdoor hotel bar
      next to the pool to get the Low Down. The Low Down is a necessity when
      visiting a new destination. It is the Where, When, Who and Why of your
      locale. And nobody knows the Low Down better than bartenders.
      I spent a few hours drinking rum punch and conversing with Tom the
      bartender about which places to go when...what types of crowds go
      where....where to avoid, etc. The main street downtown is Duval. This is
      where it all happens, the Key's version of Bourbon Street. This is where I
      had to be. I called a cab around midnight and zipped downtown...easy to do
      as the island is just four miles long by two miles wide.

      I was deposited at the foot of Duval Street and began my search...or my
      hunt. I have the trained eye of a professional drinker and I scanned each
      bar I passed for The Place. The Place is what I call any good drinking bar
      where you can be alone if you choose yet meet folks if you please. Not too
      crowded and no frat boys yelling "Woo" as they down jello shots.
      The search did not go well at first. Duval Street is much like Bourbon in
      that it is a narrow street and contains all the tourist trap bars. And of
      course, the tourists. Each place I scanned was full of sunburned
      midwesterners, college age kids or yuppie type couples looking slighly
      confused and more than a bit nervous. My disappointment grew as rapidly as
      the sound of swishing sweaty thighs from older couples grated on my brain.
      I think there may have been swingers in the crowds. I had to get off of
      Duval. I loved Bourbon Street but this was different; a pale copy complete
      with New Orleans themed bars populated by baying tourist types only. I
      searched my brain for the names of some other places Tom had listed as
      good spots. Finnegan's Wake...a few blocks from Duval Street...I lurched
      in that direction.

      Finnegan's was The Place. A good sized crowd filled with locals and just a
      few tourists from the UK. I quickly settled in with a pint and took up
      with the locals.
      Another feature of Key West common to New Orleans is that everyone living
      there is from somewhere else. I met up with a girl from New York City, a
      girl from Ireland and a guy from California. This is the group I would
      spend the rest of the night with...and a few succeeding nights as well. We
      drank and shared stories at Finnegan's until 3am then went to an open air
      bar on Duval where someone's friend worked and served us all free drinks
      for the next hour. Hooking up with locals is always the way to go when on
      holiday.
      By this point I had been drinking for about seven or eight hours. Things
      began to get hazy. I woke up in the front seat of someone's sport utility
      vehicle when the sun was coming up and the girl from New York drove me
      back to my hotel just in time to watch the sunrise. A successful first
      night on the island. I had scored the Low Down and made my contacts. But
      now I slept..until 1:30 the following afternoon.