Exploring Key West

For two days we explored Key West by foot. There are plenty of places to rent bicycles, mopeds, Segways & carts. We thought about it but not for long. We had just arrived & had already observed several "accidents waiting to happen." Key West is congested. Cars, pedestrians, tourists, mobile tiki bars & too many inexperienced riders on rented wheels. We played it safe & decided to hoof it.

​​Key West had the highest COVID density of all the places we visited in Florida. We decided early on that we would stick to outdoor spaces and walk the less congested streets. (It doesn't take long for Duvall Street to fill up.) There are many places I would like to go back & tour when it's safer to do so. For now, we were content with an exterior view. We decided to wander without a map & managed to find most of the locations we had hoped to see.

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Mile Marker Zero

Southernmost Point Buoy - 90 Miles to Cuba

Hey, who are those people? We have no clue. Like everyone, we wanted to see the Southernmost Point Buoy. Unlike those people, we were not willing to stand in the L-O-N-G line of people for our chance to pose. We snapped the best shots we could from a distance & kept on trucking. The photo below shows the line up down the street. People were distancing but still, that line was a block long! No thanks.

Emma Carrero Cates Pier - Southernmost Pier

Our next stop was the Emma Carrero Cates Pier, the southernmost pier, just down from the Southernmost Buoy. Absolutely nobody there but us Pillywiggins. Go figure. We thought it was a much nicer spot.

Historic Landmarks

I love architecture & we're both history buffs. Had it not been for Covid, we would have toured each of these historic landmarks. I was bummed to miss out on the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. Next time. It was too hot & muggy for me to want to don a mask to enter a glass house.

Notable Landscapes

Same with the Audubon House & Tropical Gardens although we were able to catch a glimpse from the sidewalk. There was still plenty to see outside. We went in search of the Banyan Resort to admire their huge banyan tree. Later, we stumbled upon a Kapok tree too.

Famous Watering Holes

We did not visit any of Key West's famous watering holes. We were too busy exploring to stop for cocktails. But, we did pop into the gift shops at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville & Sloppy Joes to pick up souvenir koozies & shot glasses for Grandma Pillywiggin's collection.

Eclectic Art

I would have loved to visit The Key West Museum of Art & History and experience more of the local art scene. It didn't take long to realize, if you want to see it all it's going to take more than 2 days. We caught a performance artists in Mallory Square & spotted some cool artwork on our walks though.

Little Red Roosters - Everywhere!

I was terrorized by a mean ol' rooster named Dominic when I was a kid growing up on the farm. That dang rooster stalked me. He'd pop out of nowhere & chase me around the barnyard, scaring the bejeebers out of me. I haven't been a fan of chickens since but the Key West roosters are protected and they seemed fairly docile...

Up with the roosters.
Waiting for coffee to brew. Grrrrrrr.

Wrong! In a tree just beyond the resort boundaries, a flock of roosters crowed nonstop well past midnight. Then, those buggers started up again between 4:00-5:00 am. Needless to say, I'm still not a fan. We didn't get much sleep on Key West thanks to the roosters. I'm not sure how the locals keep their sense of humor with all that racket... but they do!

On This Site in 1897
Nothing Happened
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Recommendations

Jason was on a mission to find the best seafood in Key West. He handled everything including our reservations. He chose A & B Lobster House for our last night on the island. Hands down, A & B Lobster House served the best meal we have EVER eaten! We dined outside on the balcony overlooking the harbor. We watched huge tarpon swim through the green light under water. The service was excellent & our meal was beyond compare. If you visit Key West, we highly recommend A & B Lobster House.

Of course, I found the best coffee on the island. But, here's a surprise. The best Cuban coffee in Key West is brewed by Georgians. Not the State of Georgia, I'm talking the country! We met the nicest couple from Georgia running the Cuban Coffee Queen located in the Shops at Mallory Square. Excellent coffee! We visited several times for hot & iced coffee drinks. We really enjoyed our interesting conversations with our "new friends" from Georgia too. Check them out!

Holy Smokes!

Someone will appreciate this info so I'm just going to throw it out there. There are plenty of Cuban cigar shops on Key West but cigarette smokers should bring their own or expect to pay $12-$14 per pack. The high prices didn't seem to discourage smoking though, only what was being smoked. A surprising number of people smoked fragrant "left-handed" cigarettes openly in public spaces.

We packed a lot into 2 days. This post is just the tip of the iceberg! Our upcoming blogs posts are photo journals exploring four of Key West's historic locations.

• ​​Mallory Square
• Fort Zachary Taylor
• Key West Cemetery
• ​Mel Fisher Treasure Museum

We hope you will join us as we continue to explore Key West. We're wandering over to Mallory Square next to see the sights & catch the sunset. Stay tuned!