Sunday, May 1, 2011

Key West, Florida – “Quaint” Is the Word of the Day

Bright and early Easter Monday, stocked with water, soda, coffee and breakfast sandwiches we set our sights on Key West from Ft. Lauderdale. After much debate of whether to take 95 or the Turnpike to Route 1 (the often 2 lane highway that takes you from Miami to the Southernmost Point), we settled on the Turnpike. Either way would have been fine, my suggestion is take a look at the traffic reports and go with whichever one looks clear.

TRAVEL TIP: When vacationing to Key West, or any of the Keys, you have several airport choices. Ft Lauderdale, Miami, or 2 airports within the keys: Key West International or Florida Keys Marathon Airport. Ft Lauderdale will 9 times out of 10 give you the best price from anywhere in the country, but leaves you with the longest drive. Keep in mind most find the drive through the Keys a destination in itself, so if you think you’ll enjoy a scenic 3.5 hr drive…skip the more expensive flights into the keys and rent a car from either Miami or Ft Lauderdale.

There are over 4500 Keys, some of which include Marathon Key, Scout Key, Long Key, Grassy Key and of course Key Largo. The views along the drive are supreme, but most of the 180 miles consists of a 2 lane highway which makes the drive a little more stressful when you’re stuck behind someone driving slower than you’d like. But with Key West as your ultimate destination, we just sat back and relaxed, knowing the beautiful weather, views and drinks that awaited us.




We decided on a Bed and Breakfast on the southern end of Duval street, the main street that goes through town, called Avalon. It was the definition of quaint and a perfect place for us and Brian’s parents.


Definition of Quaint: Charmingly odd, attractively unusual, especially in an old-fashioned way.


Everywhere we went in Key West, we found ourselves using the word “quaint” to describe our surroundings; our bed and breakfast, the restaurants, Duval Street, etc. We also found the description “quaint” on handbags, towels and mugs; so we are not the only ones who felt this way.

We also found that a great deal of European families around town, which was quite surprising considering Key West with all its bars busy nightlife and liberal nature, is not the most family friendly Florida Key. We did our own bar crawl of our favorites, kicking it off with Fogarty’s and the Flying Monkey drinks




Next was the Earnest Hemmingway’s favorite, Sloppy Joes, followed by Hog’s Breath and eventually Pat Croce’s Rum Barrel for dinner, watched the sun set at Mallory Square and hit up an Irish bar for after dinner cocktails and a country musician / comedian for entertainment.

The next morning, Brian’s parents walked across the street from the Avalon to The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory which they raved about! Check for coupons which are everywhere, and you should be able to find at least $2 off an adult ticket. http://www.keywestbutterfly.com/

Meanwhile, Brian and I got the four of us tickets to the World Famous Key West Conch Train Tour http://www.conchtourtrain.com/index.htm. The train leaves every 20 minutes from several locations in Key West, and zig zags through historic Key West. The amount of history, stories and get commentary they pack into the tour is truly amazing. The only time the train drivers were silent was during a few multi-block quiet zones. We hopped on and hopped off a few times, picked up a pair of Kinos http://www.kinosandalfactory.com/, handmade flip flops made for men, women and children and only cost $14 on average! I’ve had my pair for 2+ years and while they are worn in, they are still going strong!

A few more Flying Monkey drinks, shopping excursions and a brief afternoon rest back at the Avalon, we made our way to The Half Shell for our seafood dinner. http://www.halfshellrawbar.com/index.html

Everyone choose a different seafood entrée including fish and chips and crab and shrimp, as well as a few appetizers. My personal favorite was the conche ceviche! Sufficiently stuffed, we walked back to the Avalon were we sat on our front porch recapping the day and all the fun we had…sad to have to leave the next morning for the 7 1/2 hour drive to Tampa.

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