Key West (part 1)

Our trip to Key West… like most things we have done here in south Florida… Key West was full of surprises. First the narrow streets… well… it’s an old town and that’s what you have in old towns. Most surprising were all the cars, scooters, electric buggies, bicycles, tour busses, tour trains, and the sheer numbers of people walking around… everywhere. The streets are barely wide enough for two cars to pass, throw in bicycles everywhere… riding in the streets… with the cars, scooters etc… well… it seems quite chaotic… but everything moves along like a well orchestrated demolition derby where nobody hits anyone else…. go figure that. Few horns blowing… just everyone scampering about … everywhere. Free parking is a problem… just locate the big parking lots, pay the $16.25 to park all day… and consider yourself lucky. We took the bikes so we could park the truck and get around easy… seems like most people do the same thing. Bikes are everywhere on the streets and chained to almost anything that is stationary when the owners are off sight seeing. There are probably hundreds of bike racks around and they are all filled with locked bikes… so are the light poles, trees, telephone poles, fences, road signs, and most other things that are fastened to the ground… everything has bikes locked to them… everywhere. Most amazing! Vendors stand outside their shops trying to entice you to go into their store. Street vendors are everywhere… as are street performers that put on a little show or play music for donations. What a life… live in Key West, play the guitar, sing a little, have a little show, and have your tin can for donations…. work your own hours… and it’s all tax free. I figure I’m half way there… I can sing a little and I have a tin can…. oh yea… and I can certainly act… at least goofy. This was Shelly’s first trip to Key West, and my second. My first trip was back in 1976… so my memories were somewhat like a 30 year old faded photo… I remembered the water. The water and sky are so blue & so beautiful… It’s almost had to tell where one ends and the other begins. The charm of the buildings in the town, the history, the old timey things everywhere that whisper of a time gone by… the entire town speaks volumes. Fancy iron fences & gates, gingerbread trim on the porches & houses, houses that look older than time that blend together with the new that are made to look like the old. Buildings that have been maybe 20 or more things in the past two hundreds years…. nothing is torn down to build new… they just renovate to accommodate the new owners and business. If only some of these places could talk. If it weren’t for the new cars and modern clothes that people wear… you could almost feel that you have gone back in time… perhaps to a more simpler life, when living , at least to us now, seemed easy & uncomplicated. Many buildings are kept like new, some are showing signs of decades of neglect… but that too is part of the charm of the town. Most places are definitely tourist oriented… others mostly off the beaten path are the domain of the locals… some welcome tourists while others give the cold shoulder treatment… a polite island way to let you know to return to the tourist scene. All in all… the charm of the town and the bustling crowds everywhere combine to give Key West it’s distinctive character. So many places to see and things to do. To add to the festive excitement of the town, 2-3 cruise ships dock everyday and turn loose several thousand more people to join in the daily activities and fun. The old town waterfront, Mallory Square, and the dozens of attractions … well… 2 days wasn’t enough to see it all. We biked across the island several times on our two day stay. We spent our first night watching the sunset from the Fort Zachary Taylor State Park… way less crowded… plus there is a nice beach to enjoy while you wait for that special moment…. the sunset! Now in reality… as sunset is a sunset is a sunset…. but when you get caught up in all the excitement of the “Key West Sunset” … it seems all the more spectacular. The sky and water changing from a brilliant blue mixing with swirls of glistening golden orange…. ever changing minute by minute… until the sun meets the water… and moments later… it’s gone and you hear the cheers and applauds of the onlookers along the waters edge. Even Disney magic would have a hard time doing this! Where do you go from here? Well, a good dinner might be in order. There are lots of favorite places and famous places to enjoy a meal, most again in the main stay and excitement of the crowds. I’m not one generally given to crowds… but the excitement of it all is overwhelming. We checked out Margaretville for dinner and thought how nice it would be to see Jimmy… but he was now where to be found… but we did enjoy a good meal and the festive atmosphere. It was the early beginning of spring break so the kids added to the level of excitement. Groups of girls looking for guys… groups of guys looking for girls… guys finding girls who pretend they aren’t interested… guess some things never change. There are way too many places to enjoy in just a two days, but the Hard Rock Cafe was great for lunch, the red fish-blue fish was good for a quick snack of “Deep Fried Flipper” (dolphin bites) and Key Lime Pie. Lunch was also good at the “Hogs Breath Saloon” and we got the see some famous places like “Sloppy Joes” and “Captain Tony’s”. Other great landmarks and places of interest were everywhere… there’s the Hemmingway House ( too crowded to go in) and the huge concrete marker that marks the southern most point… only 90 miles to Cuba. What you see is what you get… it’s a marker at the end of the street where the water meets the town…. normal houses beside it and nothing else special about it… no other great buildings of monuments… just this marker in the midst's of a normal neighborhood… and there it is. It’s also on the other side of the Key from all the big tourists spots like Mallory Square where all the Cruise Ships dock… so the ship board tourists have to take the Conch Train, tour bus, or rent bikes or scooters to get to this monument … one mile away…. glad we had our own bikes. On our second day in Key West we wanted to see the sunset from Mallory Square and enjoy the thrill of the crowd. Sunset was at 7:33:15… and the crowd starts to gather shortly after 6pm. There’s plenty to do and see… street vendors selling goods and food, street performers singing dancing, throwing fire-torch batons, statue people… just something everywhere. Pick a good spot early or you will be trying to see the sunset with 20 people in front of you… we got front row standing… side by side… together… a midst’s several hundred onlookers all there for the same thing…. the perfect sunset in the perfect place! What a great time! Hundreds of memories… hundreds of pictures. It was truly amazing and enjoyable. All the sights, sounds, smells, and excitement of the crowds… and everyone got along super good. I would have expected to be annoyed by at least a couple of dozen people given the thousands that we ran into in just two days… or at least witness others disagreeing… but everyone got along friendly with a fun loving carefree attitude… one big adventure party for everyone. People even got along better here than they usually do at Disney. The big party crowd stayed in the bars and didn’t bother anyone… and everyone else enjoyed themselves… scampering about… doing their thing… and having fun! A real treat! Well… this is enough on Key West – Part One…. more to follow later! A sunset may be just a sunset in most places… but it is truly something spectacularly special when seen in Key west!… especially with the one you love! Spending the best times of my life with Shelly… what more could I ever want!