We are traveling with friends to Key West, Florida for our first time visit. It’s been on our bucket list for quite some time now. Three people in our travel party (Rob, Danny and Tom) are celebrating their birthdays in March, so it’s the perfect time to spend a week exploring the Key West sites and discover what the city has to offer.
Our Key West trip begins with a rocky start
We decided to car pool and Danny drove four of us to the airport. After parking and hopping on the shuttle, Danny discovered that he had lost his keys somewhere between the shuttle bus and the TSA security checkpoint. Oh well, we now have a week to figure out how he’ll get us all back home!
I then noticed that our flight is scheduled to arrive 30 minutes early. Let the party begin! It’s time to take off, or so we thought. We sat on the tarmac delayed over an hour due to flight traffic. So much for that early arrival. Thankfully, the flight went well and we arrived in Key West safely. I had a great view of Fort Zachary Taylor State Park from my seat. You can see the fort in the corner of land to the left of the passing ship.
Although Danny and I didn’t check any luggage, everyone else had. So we waited in baggage claim…and waited…and waited. Staff commented that the United crew already left for the day because of our lengthy delay. So, other airline staff brought out the luggage after they unloaded their own flights first.
We grabbed an Uber to our hotel as we had dinner reservations. The luggage finally appeared for our friends over 2 hours later. What a mess. Another example of why we never check luggage in the first place. The final insult of the day for Danny is the realization that his airplane seat had chewed gum on it, which is now stuck to the back of his pants! Cocktail time is long overdue.
Fun facts about Key West
Ponce de Leon discovered Key West in 1521 during his search for the Fountain of Youth.
Key West is an island about 4 miles long and 1 mile wide off the southern end of Florida. It’s located about 90 miles from Cuba, which makes Cuba closer to Key West than Miami. The Southernmost Point Buoy claims to mark the southernmost point in the continental United States, though this is technically incorrect. The actual southernmost point in Florida (as well as in the continental United States) is 10 miles away at Ballast Key, an island south and west of Key West. However, Key West is in fact the southernmost city in the USA.
Famous Key West residents include Ernest Hemingway, John James Audubon, Harry S. Truman and Calvin Klein.
Everywhere you go here, there is key lime pie and key lime flavored everything. However, I learned that key lime pie is not made with Florida limes! Key limes haven’t been commercially grown in the US since 1926 when a hurricane decimated the key lime crops. Today, Key limes are imported from Mexico or the West Indies. This shop does claim to be the birthplace of key lime pie since 1856. I must admit that we tried the coconut key lime pie from here and it was awesome. In my previous post about K-Pie in Memphis, that one is still my favorite, but this pie also stands out as delicious!
Finally, you’ll notice chickens running around everywhere. They are protected by the city and it’s illegal to harm or feed them. Early settlers to Key West brought chickens to the island in the 1820s. About 40 years later, Cubans brought over roosters to use in cockfighting. This was later banned and the majority of people stopped raising chickens for meat and eggs. They now roam freely and don’t really have natural predators so, they are everywhere.
Conch Tour Train
To familiarize ourselves with the many sites of Key West we hopped aboard the Conch Tour Train. This one hour train tour made a loop around old downtown and the conductor shared entertaining history about the town’s sites and residents. It’s a great way to learn about the city and pick out which sites you’d like to explore later on during your visit. Here are a few photos from the tour.
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and Rob’s Birthday
We began our day at an Irish pub, one of several we visited throughout the day. Duval Street is the lively party hangout in Old Town Key West. Lined with shops, bars and restaurants that celebrate all day long and into the late night hours, you can find live music and entertainment all day long. Only about 1.25 miles long, Duval Street stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. There are dozens of bars on this street alone. Let’s hope our liver can stand the journey. We had a great day, a wonderful dinner and a nightcap of sparkling wine and key lime pie to complete the birthday celebration.
Hiking around town
I spent the day hiking around town and enjoying the water views. It was a day of warmth and sunshine with pristine and sparkling water. The sunset is also beautiful.
Buildings and architecture in Key West reminds me of New Orleans
One of my first realizations while exploring the sites of Key West is how similar the buildings and architecture are to New Orleans. There are many Queen Anne and Victorian homes with detailed gingerbread trim and smaller shotgun style cottages all with metal roofs, front porches and picket fences. Many of these historic homes date back to the 1800’s. Key West contains what is believed to be the largest predominantly wooden historic district in the United States, with some 3,000 structures. Many of these structures have historic markers to provide more detailed information. You can spend days just walking around on a self tour of all the historic sites in Key West reading about its history.
The second similarity to New Orleans is that Duval Street is very much like Bourbon Street with all the bars and shops I previously mentioned. However, I must admit that Key West does a great job to keep the streets very clean and without the graffiti you sometimes find in tourist spots. Unlike the more common sights of intoxicated people passed out on sidewalks around Bourbon Street, we didn’t see any of that here. But, I’m sure it does happen on occasion.
We also never felt uncomfortable walking around late at night. This is quite the walking city and if you stay in old town, you’ll never need transportation. If you do choose to venture out, there are lots of convenient options to get around.
Out for an evening stroll
The city is just as beautiful at night, so I wanted to include just a few evening pictures too. The old Strand Theater that opened in the 1920’s is now a Walgreens Pharmacy.
A boozy sunset catamaran cruise
Everyone who knows me also knows I will be the only one NOT setting sail aboard this catamaran cruise. It’s way too small for my comfort level. However, everyone else couldn’t wait to hop aboard. I’ll enjoy my sunset cocktails on shore tonight. They booked the 2 hour Sebago Watersports Sunset Sail which includes live entertainment, appetizers and unlimited cocktails. That’s a dangerous combo for our group, though I did ensure someone is responsible for not letting Danny fall overboard. Trust me, if you know Danny’s escapades, it can happen! Sebago is known as the longest established day-charter catamaran operation in the continental United States, operating since 1988.
Everyone had an amazing time onboard and the calm waters allowed for smooth sailing. The music kept the party lively and best of all, Danny didn’t fall overboard. If you happen to enjoy this type of sailing, we highly recommend adding it to your itinerary when you’re in Key West.
Saying farewell to Key West
On our final day in Key West, we woke up and walked over to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean side. We then met up with our group for a great lunch of Cuban food at Fritas Cuban Burgers. Their award winning burgers and Cuban sandwiches are delicious. We enjoyed lots of great food on this trip. If you’re looking for good eats, check out Moondog Cafe & Bakery, Mangia Mangia and Onlywood Pizzeria to name just a few hotspots. You won’t be disappointed.
Although our week exploring the sites of Key West is now up, there are still lots of things we didn’t get to see and do. So, I guess we need to plan another trip. Our final night we enjoyed drinks at the hotel pool, a sunset happy hour in Tom & Cary’s hotel room, a wonderful dinner and a nightcap at a neighborhood bar where we listened to karaoke. Notice that I wrote listened to karaoke as you do not want to hear us sing loudly out of tune. Although, Robyn and I did threaten to sing “It’s raining men” by the Weather Girls 🤪. What a wonderful finish to an amazing week celebrating with friends. The final photo is a view over the keys from my seat on the plane flying back home.
Oh, I almost forgot to share what happened with Danny’s lost car keys. When we arrived at the airport we took the shuttle back to the parking lot. He went into the office to check the lost and found. THEY HAD HIS KEYS! Someone had found them on the shuttle bus and turned them in. So they were safe and sound after all. Prayers answered and special thanks go out to the kind person who turned them in.
See you again on our next adventure!
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