It takes a few hours to get from Key Largo to Key West but we finally made it to our hotel on Duvall Street. You gotta be careful of the characters you'll meet on Duvall St (see picture on the left!) Is that a wild and wacky waitress? Or just one of my friends in disguise again?

After we unpacked and settled into the hotel, we decided it was time to explore the streets and shops and attractions! Key West is a great place to relax, no one is in a hurry there but, despite the slow pace, we managed to squeeze quite a bit of activity into a few short days.

Stick around for the highlights of our Key West adventure!

The Hemingway House

We visited this famous house, toured the rooms where Hemingway wrote and lived, made the acquaintance of many of his three-toed cats, and relaxed on his porch which overlooks the grounds.

The Key West Aquarium

The aquarium was small but fun. Built in 1934, it is one of the first open-air aquariums in the United States. Inside there are guided tours, shark and stingray feedings, and a 50,000 gallon Atlantic Shores exhibit which is similar to a Key West coral reef, including barracudas, sea turtles, sharks, and birds. We enjoyed the Touch Tank, where we learned about conchs, crabs, and sea urchins, up close and personal. One of the conchs decided to come out of the shell and get very personal with us! And of course the old sea captain who guards the tanks, we got cuddly with him, but I don't think it bothered him too much!

The Southernmost Point and The Cat House

We toured the normal spots, one of the most famous being the Southernmost Point of the US. We posed next to the large colorful buoy there, then off we went to shop. One of our favorite places was The Cat House shop. Now don't go thinking bad thoughts, it was because we all like cats and this store had lots of cat memorabilia. No other reason ... honest!.

Food, Food, Food

We had lots of good food while we were in the Keys ... we ate tropical dishes like Conch Fritters and Conch Chowder while listening to steel drum bands. One night we went to a nice place and ate on the porch overlooking the street. My usually calm and collected friend decided she wanted a challenge and started whipping the lemons from her iced tea towards the passing cars. One went into the cab of someone's truck! She's a good shot. (I won't tell you which one she is, she might still get in trouble for the lemon slinging episode!)

Other Entertainment

If you go to Key West, there are two things that you have to do - drink at the bars and watch the gorgeous sunset from Mallory Square. We did both! While waiting for the sunset we watched the odd assortment of street entertainers: fire swallowers, magicians, all kinds of interesting people. Afterward we hit the bars. Of course we went to Sloppy Joe's and Rick's and Hog's Breath Saloon ... and others that I've forgotten. The final night we went to Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett's place on Duvall Street. We had heard he was in town and were hoping to see him. He came in, schmoozed for awhile, got on stage and sang for over an hour, then schmoozed some more. We were one of the last tables he came to but he had enough energy left to give us a big hug and he autographed my friend's shirt.

Intro

Key Largo

Key West

Little Torch

Links

Margaritaville

Email me at janeyzee@yahoo.com with any comments about these pages