Tourists Covered in Oil

 

Cudjoe Key, Florida (high 82, low 75)

 

I’m sure glad we’re not at our place in north Georgia.  They just got 10 inches of snow on top of the 2 inches they already had.  They are having a lot of snow this winter. We’re sure glad we’re not there. 

No snow here thankfully, but we wouldn’t mind if it was a little cooler. I don’t see that happening, but at least it is warming up the ocean water temperature.

We started the day with a $3.50 pancake breakfast here at Venture Out.  You got freshly made pancakes, sausage, blueberries and orange juice for the price.   Not my favorite breakfast (no grits) but you can’t really beat the price.

 

We decided to run down to Key West again.  We went a different direction and along a different part of the pier.  We stumbled on quite the party place.  Most of the people in the Keys are older retirees, like Al and I.   The young people here are generally the locals that work here.  I don’t think many younger people can afford it here.  It’s not a popular spring break destination, thank goodness.   However, this place was quite the happening place for the younger generation.

How about his pool?  It was more of a shallow “wet bar” than a pool.  We wondered how clean that water was.  There were all kinds of people there, doing all kinds of things.  You’ll have to use your imagination.  I wanted to take some pictures, but I felt like a stalker.  We didn't see any nudity, but there was one guy with dreadlocks sashaying around with his pants a little too low and we saw way more crack than we would have liked.   :(

 

 

I did do a little stalking, and managed to catch this little dog with a Go Pro Camera attached to his collar. 

Can you imagine this video?  

We walked past the bar over to the pier.  There were a lot of beautiful boats there.

The Key West Ferry leaves from Fort Myers, if you ever want a day trip to Key West.

This was a beautiful wooden tall ship.  I couldn’t quite get it all in the picture.

There was a museum about the Dry Tortugas, and nearby was one of the boats that will take you  there.  If you ever get to the Keys, a day trip to the Tortugas is amazing.

There were a lot of huge tarpon swimming near the dock.  These pelicans were keeping an eye on them.

 

 

 

Here is a parasailing boat coming back in.

I hope they didn’t forget anybody.  :)

We walked over to Mallory Square, trying to stay on the shady side of the streets.  Man, was it warm.

We hadn’t seen a Disney cruise ship before.  It was a beauty.

Just like Paul and Marti said.  Everything was spotless.

We walked in town and this lady reminded me of the old Jimmy Buffet song about “tourists covered in oil.”  I’ll bet she was sore today because her skin was a nice shade of hot pink.

 

Most every bar had a musician playing and it’s fun to walk down the street and hear a different sound every few minutes.  Some were really good, but we didn’t stop because I was on a mission for a frozen margarita.

These guys set up shop right on the street.  I don’t know if they have to get a permit, or how that works, but they were pretty good.  Notice the tip jar?

As we got down to Mallory Square, the street performers, portable bars and vendors were starting to set up shop. They decide who gets a space on Mallory Square by a lottery system.  I guess that’s why you see different people each night.

 

We found the Flying Monkey bar we were looking for and sat down at the outside bar to cool off and have some refreshments. They have a row of swirling machines, each holding a different “frozen concoction” (another Jimmy Buffet song).  I thought about trying a Banana Breeze or a Chocoholic, but ended up with a margarita.  It was hot out and  it tasted really really good,.  They have mist machines and fans blowing the mist around.  It did help to cool you off but the mist did wonders for my hair!  

We went back to the shop that sold  the OOFOS Sandals.  Al has been having trouble with his feet hurting and he decided he might like to get a pair.  He wasn’t sure about the thong style and the sliders are kind of ugly, so he’s still thinking about them. 

We only stayed in Key West a couple hours.  Our nice shady and breezy rv spot was calling our name, so we headed back to the bus stop and on home.

This is a popular bar/restaurant we passed on the way back to the bus stop.  It looks a little iffy, but it’s always crowded and the food smells wonderful.   I’ll think we’ll pass.

Today, we’re going up to Big Pine Key to the flea market.  The locally grown produce from Homestead is sold there.  It’s always fresh and good and the price is right. 

I think we’ll stay home the rest of the day and maybe even make it to the pool.