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Monday, May 18, 2015

So Long, Key West

It only took us ten years to return to Key West from our last visit.  We’ve vowed not to wait that long for our next visit, we’re already talking about next winter.

We had a good time, strangely our visit became more of a social experience, meeting up with blog friends, new friends, and of course our niece and our long lost “daughter”.

We did get into downtown Key West on a number of occasions, I really enjoyed looking at the treasure at Mel Fisher's store.  I tried to convince Marti that a Spanish Piece Of Eight coin would make a wonderful item to hang on a necklace, but the several thousand dollar cost made her nix that idea.

Mallory Square at sundown was really interesting, seeing some of the street performers.  Some were interesting, like this girl who twirled flaming hula hoops while wearing a bikini (how does one embark on such a career?).

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Most of the performers (and for some I use that term very loosely) forbid you from taking any pictures.  Then they wanted to sell you their own DVD.  Um, no thanks, your show wasn’t that good in the first place…but here’s a dollar, go buy yourself some soap and take a bath.

One guy our niece, Emily wanted to see.  The “Cat Man”.  My opinion of him was somewhere a mental institution is missing a resident.  All he did was chase around his cats, who for the most part didn’t want anything to do with him instead of perform.

But, it’s all part of Key West’s charm and was worth checking out.  I really got a kick out of some of the vehicles that reside in Key West.  This one apparently is parked under a coconut palm on a regular basis.

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We met Emily and her boyfriend Brandon and had dinner with them up on Stock Island. 

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Marti has a severe sea food allergy, so she had fried chicken instead of the fried Hogfish and Grouper the rest of us had.  Big mistake.  Evidently they fried the chicken in the same oil as the fish and she paid for it.  I was worried that I was going to have to take her to the emergency room, but after a bad night, she bounced back.  Next time, she said she’ll stick to salads.

We laughed over the way they forecast the weather on Stock Island:

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We spent some pleasurable time with our other “daughter”, Jen.  She grew up with our daughter Heather, and they were joined at the hip until they both went off to college.  Jen married a Coastie, who was stationed in Key West and had just retired.  They are moving back to New Jersey and Jen’s husband had already left to job hunt while Jen remained behind to finish out her school year teaching job.

We  sat each evening and ensured the sun went down while catching up on each other’s lives and families.  The last night I tried and tried and tried to get a picture of Jen and Marti, but Marti kept closing her eyes.  It became hilarious, so this is the best I could get out of about ten tries.

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We rolled out at 9:30 this morning and headed back up the long bridges towards the mainland, enjoying the beautiful blue waters.

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So unlike us, we only traveled 235 miles and we stopped for the next two days at the Naples RV Resort, where we stayed on the way down.  We actually arrived at 2:30, too. 

Probably as close to the 2-2-2 system that we’ll ever get.  :c)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

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17 comments:

  1. It's always tough to leave THE KEYS!!! Just a very unique and special place:o))

    Safe Travels....

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  2. Oh... I forgot... What's the Verdict on the Key Lime Pie???

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  3. Watch that 2-2-2 stuff. You might find that it becomes a pleasant habit :)

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  4. We hated leaving the Keys as well.
    The closest we get to the 2-2-2 rule is we drive two hours to get back on the road to drive too fast to get to our destination.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  5. It's certainly an "interesting" group of folks in the Keys. Good to see that you've slowed down your driving pace.

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  6. Wow that seems like a fast trip. You guys seem to know people everywhere you go. How hot was it in the Keys? They are cooking in DC and Virginia.

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  7. Lots of quirky sights in the Keys, you know quite what you might see.
    Too bad about the chicken dinner. cross contamination can happen it restaurants, so you need to be very careful

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  8. Glad to hear Marti's allergic reaction didn't warrant a visit to the ER.

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  9. The Keys are so beautiful. It's been about 10 years since we've been there too. I think it's time to head back that direction.

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  10. I'm glad you enjoyed your Key West visit. We're planning on leaving tomorrow after three months...and hating to go.

    I take tons of pictures of the performers and never have had a problem.

    We were lucky enough to meet Mel Fisher years ago and get a photo with him. Back in those days his museum was more of a storage container for all the treasures and it was FREE.

    I'm shocked you're not already in Missouri! We'll be staying only one night in Naples...

    Wouldn't you know now that we're getting ready to leave the winds have died down and it's good boating weather????

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  11. I'm glad you enjoyed your Key West visit - it's been years since I've even been to Florida. What a scare for Marti, but it's good it turned out OK...

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  12. I'm thinking you haven't tried all the pies yet, so you had better return.

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  13. Sounds like fun, except for Marti's seafood allergy. It a such an interesting place.

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  14. Glad Marti recovered without any big issues. Very scary. We're all waiting for the key lime pie verdict or is it going to have to wait until next year?

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  15. Glad you guys finally made to and enjoyed Key West. Now just imagine 400 RVs at the campground!!! A great time never the less.

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  16. RV is such a great way to save money and to still see the country! Looks like you guys had a lot of fun!
    Greg

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  17. We are also interested in the results of the key lime pie review for our future trip.

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