Florida Keys (high 84, low 73)
We made the 38 mile drive down to Key West yesterday. We found a parking garage and started walking down towards Duval Street.
There are tons of shops and some beautiful art galleries. You can find some extremely pricey stuff in Key West. One thing about living in a motor home, you aren’t tempted to purchase anything.
We took an hour tour bus around the city.
We learned some interesting history about the island. For instance, Duval Street is the main street where all the action is. It is 14 blocks long and has 150 bars! Pan Am Airways got it’s start in Key West with the first flight going to Cuba. There are many beautiful old houses that have been turned into Bed and Breakfasts.
Half of Key West wasn’t there before 1942. The navy base needed more space, so they filled in the island, and doubled the size of the island. There are a lot of houses on Key West but nobody has a yard. There is a minimum of space between houses (maybe 5-8 feet). It sounds tacky, but it’s not. It’s actually very pretty because there are lush plants all around. It just looks “Key Westy.” This is a tiny island and people want to live here because it’s such a wonderful place. Space is at a premium. There are some beautiful homes which start at 3 million and condo’s across the street starting at $500,000.
People are buried above ground, like New Orleans.
There is a deep water port which will accommodate the largest of ships.
Lots of beautiful yachts. Notice the one below has a jet ski, motor scooter and small boat on deck.
Beautiful flowers.
We walked, and walked, and walked. Unfortunately we didn’t see anywhere near of what we wanted to see, so we need to go back.
We decided to have a quick drink before sunset.
We went to the Sunset Pier bar. There is a long pier right along the waterfront. It’s part of a nice hotel. They had live music and a beautiful view. Unfortunately they didn’t offer happy hour drink prices. One beer and a mixed drink was $12. I guess we were paying for the beautiful view and entertainment. It was okay, as it turned out it was worth every penny.
Before sunset, many ships come out through the channel, so we had a great view.
We met a nice young couple from northern France. Here is Michelle and Jordan. They have rented a car and are touring Florida. They are off to Naples today.
We really didn’t want to drive home at dark but we were having such a good time that we stayed longer than we planned and did indeed get home at dark. Our main concern was having to drive through Big Pine Key, which is the home to the cute little Key Deer. We surely didn’t want t his one of those guys. (and we didn’t)
We had such a good time that we intend to go back today. We can use our tour tickets again today. Its one of those tours where you can hop off and on all day. It will give us a chance to explore the cemetery, Hemingway house and a few other interesting places. I think we’re going to try to take the Florida Keys bus. It’s only $.50 for seniors.
Things were getting a little crazy as we walked back to our car.
One of the many nightly ghost tours.
Yes, it was a very good day! Key West is a really fun town.
Sherry, to answer your question. Yes, our neighbors stay here all winter. They stay 5 months for $7800. There are a LOT of people who winter here in the Keys…and I can understand why. I really don’t think there is any better place to winter, at least in this country. The place is addictive, and we intend to spend as much time as possible here as we can next winter.
I don’t believe every night in Key West is like that, but they have a certain festivals where it gets pretty wild.