Key West Florida February 2010
Our vacation began at 2:30 AM when the alarm signaled it was time to get moving. Our flight left at promptly 6 AM and before we knew it, we had landed in Miami . Now the real south Florida mood could kick in as we found ourselves eating sushi at the airport, at a great place called Sushi Maki which seemed to be tied into Whole Foods Market. From there, we went to the Mojito Bar. Airport bars can be very entertaining. For one thing, the Tiger Woods “apology” was on TV and it was fascinating to see travelers and airport personnel stop in their tracks to listen. We also watched this not so attractive NY woman seemingly pick up two different guys in the course of 30 minutes.
The plane to Key West , not unlike a trip to Vegas, was a party in itself. Even in 45 minutes, they found time to serve drinks. The view was quite nice as we landed into the 6 gate airport and hopped a taxi to Pearls. This was our second trip to Pearls and we were checked in by one of the Pearl girls who happened to be from Cape Girardeau originally. What a small world. We wasted no time getting unpacked and were quickly out on Duval Street headed to find lunch.
We found a place called Fogarty's and sat on the outside patio. After weeks of tempatures in the teens, that felt so nice. We had the sampler platter which included mahi mahi, shrimp, and conch fritters. As a starter, a bowl of red chowder conch and clam soup. It was going to be all about the seafood. And with our stomach's full, we wandered on down to Mallory Square. We watched a fire-eater escape artist and later realized that we had actually seen the same guy 7 years ago there. I asked and verified that save a couple years, he has come to winter in Key West and perform since he was 18 which was 13 years ago.
But we had been up early, so we stopped for a bottle of Ron Zacapa rum to have for the week as a night cap and crashed early, falling asleep to Olympic curling on the television.
We woke up Saturday to a beautiful, sunny day. Pearls now serves a full breakfast each day so we kicked off our day with French toast for Carol and an omelette for me. Before long, we were out enjoying the sunshine at the Southernmost Point. I tried to see Cuba, to no avail and from the pier, we walked to the famous buoy. To maximize our time and see a lot of the island, we decided to rent a small electric car (think golf cart) for a couple hours and hit the beaches. Once our tour was complete, we stayed south and had a great seafood lunch at the Southernmost Hotel cafe, overlooking their beach. We enjoyed a smoked sampler platter, a mahi-mahi sandwhich and tuna tartare.
We then walked the entire length of Duvall, stopping to see the amazing art of Chris DeRubeis and finally ending our day with drinks at the Westin Hotel outdoor patio, overlooking the harbour, the boats crusing in and out, and a very nice sunset. Walking back, we stopped for dinner at Mangoes. Carol had a duck breast and I had the Cuban pork. We each enjoyed a glass of Sterling merlot and the keyboard music until out of the blue, the old guy who was playing started making fun of Chas Bono and Pearl's Rainbow where we were staying. I complained to our waiter, who turned out to be a gay guy and was just as astonished that this would happen in Key West of all places. We finished our evening back at Pearl's Patio. We watched some of the Olympics and a few mediocre karaoke performances.
Sunday started off as another beautiful sunny day so we laid at the pool. But the tropical Florida rain moved in around noon. We had a caesar salad and cheese quesadilla at the Patio for lunch and hit the hot tub, even though the rain continued. Once we ventured back out to Duvall, we hit the Coffee and Tea shop for the second day in a row. What great people watching and the place was packed with locals. We picked up a bottle of Cellar No. 8, a California Zin and sat on our porch, watched the rain, read, and relaxed. As the rain did not let up, we walked right around the corner to Camille's, with a coupon from Pearls. It was a great place and we enjoyed Florida snapper and veges, with a free bottle of wine. At the neighboring table, there were a few gals from Detroit that we had seen at Pearls earlier in the day. We ended up hanging out with them during the upcoming week.
That evening, we had an absolutely fabulous time at LaTiDa's. We met a local named Mary Jo, a gay guy and his son who was visiting from Minnesota, and his Latin boyfriend. Mary Jo was a crusty Key West character. By the time we sat down, she had already had a bit too much to drink. She went way back with Lenore and railed on to us for 15 minutes about Princess Diana’s death-not sure how we got there? But then she told us her own personal struggle with cancer and what a fighter she was. She must have been quite the hospital patient, though she assured us that the nurses all loved her and that I do not doubt.
Our new Detroit friends, Sandy, Vicki, and Cindy were there too. We were all watching Lenore, a keyboard playing Key West phenome. The bartender was great too. He was a bear and very funny. We felt like a family that night and it reminded us so much of the Christmas Eve we spent in this very place, in 2002.
http://www.lenoretroia.com/home.html
Monday, the rain continued to make a presence. So after a lighter fare breakfast of yogurt and granola, we were off to the Butterfly House. We had lunch at the nearby Banana House, a French restaurant specializing in crepes. Carol had the three cheese and I had one filled with apples, walnuts and goat cheese. We each had a small salad and a cup of coffee (skipping our coffee house day just this one time). We then adjourned back to our porch for more wine, a Cellar No. 8 Cabernet, and more reading. While it was rainy, it was still warm and we sat outside in shorts, no jacket needed. Dinner was at LaTiDa. I had the duck and Carol had snapper. Lenore was playing there again and most of the gang from Sunday night was back for another show. We got pretty crazy that night dancing and at one point formed a conga line and took a photo of our group in a chorus line. It was us, the Detroit gals, two other gals from Pearls and 2 more from NY.
Tuesday, the rain had passed and this was to be the pick weather day. I had pancakes at breakfast and Carol had eggs. Thus energized, we went and rented bicycles for the day. We rode everywhere on the island, including Fort Zachary Taylor and the beach. We had lunch at Conch Republic Seafood, overlooking the water. We shared an order of shrimp and conch tempura. That evening, we had booked a sunset cruise called Wind and Wine on Danger Tours. It was a wine tasting that started with champagne, moved through an amazing CA Sauvignon Blanc, LaRoca, a Bordeaux, and so on. The sunset was not to be as an unusual fog moved in and socked out any view of the sun completely. But it was still a lot of fun. We met a fascinating couple from Toronto and another couple, two women from somewhere else cold. We rode a pedi-cab back to Pearl's and made it an early night, catching a little bit more of the Olympics.
Another front moved in late Tuesday and we heard rain and even some thunder over night. Wednesday’s temperature range was to be 66-73 degrees, which was still not bad. We started our day with Pearl ’s excellent BLT breakfast sandwiches and then headed for a better cup of coffee at our new favorite place. From there, we walked down Duvall and did some shopping. Carol bought a beautiful black linen outfit that she can use this summer. Overall, we did more shopping than normal because the prices were so good and actually bought several items that were not just the vacation variety T-shirts. We had coupons, so we decided to lunch at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. I had coconut shrimp and Carol had the crab cakes and we did buy a vacation T-shirt there. We then walked down to the La Concha Hotel, the rooftop bar was not open yet but it is the highest point in Key West (aside from the lighthouse we climbed last visit). It was built before the current zoning restrictions were imposed. Famous guest included Tennessee Williams, Harry Truman, and Ernest Hemingway and there was an awesome view of the entire island.
We had dinner at Duffy’s for their featured Florida lobster tails. Carol even had the lobster bisque as a starter but I stuck with a Caesar salad. The dinner was very good and was accompanied by a bottle of Penfold’s Merlot. From there, we met our Detroit friends at Aqua to see the drag show. There was a bachelorette party group there so the best moment was when one of the queens asked them to enjoy their celebration but to go home and write their legislators to please allow everyone to share in the opportunity to get married. So while most of the evening was fun and light-hearted, that was so cool and made me much less resentful of the fact that they were there in what was once our “world”. The show was good. We took some awesome photos afterwards with the adorable Asian queen.
Thursday was on the chilly side with the temperature dipping overnight to 58 degrees. We decided a nice walk to the bird sanctuary was in order. From there, we walked back along the beach and the public gardens. We had lunch at a great beach Italian joint called Salute. We had the most amazing Wente chardonnay and a Florida lobster sandwich. By then, it was time for our women only Sebago sunset cruise, the same one we went on the day of Carol’s 40th BD in 2002. There was a nice sunset and we enjoyed it despite the chilly temperatures. We met some gals from Baltimore who were both in law enforcement. They joined us on the walk back to see Lenore one last night. This time she was at the Piano Bar. There we got a chance to see Mary Jo one more time and that was special. When Lenore finished playing, we all went to LaTiDa but before long, Carol and I were ready to call it a night.
I had blueberry pancakes for our last Pearl ’s breakfast and Carol had eggs. We soon met the Detroit gals for a quick tour of their condo which was very impressive. When we would consider another trip to Key West , this might be an option though I do love staying at Pearls. We had lunch at Croissants de France after packing up and checking out. This was the only day that I splurged and had dessert-a banana crepe which was amazing. Pearl ’s called us their gal taxi driver and off we went to the airport. We had a nice surprise in the airport bar when our Detroit friends popped in to share a drink and say goodbye.
http://www.centercourtkw.com/aboutus.htm
The plane to Key West , not unlike a trip to Vegas, was a party in itself. Even in 45 minutes, they found time to serve drinks. The view was quite nice as we landed into the 6 gate airport and hopped a taxi to Pearls. This was our second trip to Pearls and we were checked in by one of the Pearl girls who happened to be from Cape Girardeau originally. What a small world. We wasted no time getting unpacked and were quickly out on Duval Street headed to find lunch.
We found a place called Fogarty's and sat on the outside patio. After weeks of tempatures in the teens, that felt so nice. We had the sampler platter which included mahi mahi, shrimp, and conch fritters. As a starter, a bowl of red chowder conch and clam soup. It was going to be all about the seafood. And with our stomach's full, we wandered on down to Mallory Square. We watched a fire-eater escape artist and later realized that we had actually seen the same guy 7 years ago there. I asked and verified that save a couple years, he has come to winter in Key West and perform since he was 18 which was 13 years ago.
But we had been up early, so we stopped for a bottle of Ron Zacapa rum to have for the week as a night cap and crashed early, falling asleep to Olympic curling on the television.
We woke up Saturday to a beautiful, sunny day. Pearls now serves a full breakfast each day so we kicked off our day with French toast for Carol and an omelette for me. Before long, we were out enjoying the sunshine at the Southernmost Point. I tried to see Cuba, to no avail and from the pier, we walked to the famous buoy. To maximize our time and see a lot of the island, we decided to rent a small electric car (think golf cart) for a couple hours and hit the beaches. Once our tour was complete, we stayed south and had a great seafood lunch at the Southernmost Hotel cafe, overlooking their beach. We enjoyed a smoked sampler platter, a mahi-mahi sandwhich and tuna tartare.
We then walked the entire length of Duvall, stopping to see the amazing art of Chris DeRubeis and finally ending our day with drinks at the Westin Hotel outdoor patio, overlooking the harbour, the boats crusing in and out, and a very nice sunset. Walking back, we stopped for dinner at Mangoes. Carol had a duck breast and I had the Cuban pork. We each enjoyed a glass of Sterling merlot and the keyboard music until out of the blue, the old guy who was playing started making fun of Chas Bono and Pearl's Rainbow where we were staying. I complained to our waiter, who turned out to be a gay guy and was just as astonished that this would happen in Key West of all places. We finished our evening back at Pearl's Patio. We watched some of the Olympics and a few mediocre karaoke performances.
Sunday started off as another beautiful sunny day so we laid at the pool. But the tropical Florida rain moved in around noon. We had a caesar salad and cheese quesadilla at the Patio for lunch and hit the hot tub, even though the rain continued. Once we ventured back out to Duvall, we hit the Coffee and Tea shop for the second day in a row. What great people watching and the place was packed with locals. We picked up a bottle of Cellar No. 8, a California Zin and sat on our porch, watched the rain, read, and relaxed. As the rain did not let up, we walked right around the corner to Camille's, with a coupon from Pearls. It was a great place and we enjoyed Florida snapper and veges, with a free bottle of wine. At the neighboring table, there were a few gals from Detroit that we had seen at Pearls earlier in the day. We ended up hanging out with them during the upcoming week.
That evening, we had an absolutely fabulous time at LaTiDa's. We met a local named Mary Jo, a gay guy and his son who was visiting from Minnesota, and his Latin boyfriend. Mary Jo was a crusty Key West character. By the time we sat down, she had already had a bit too much to drink. She went way back with Lenore and railed on to us for 15 minutes about Princess Diana’s death-not sure how we got there? But then she told us her own personal struggle with cancer and what a fighter she was. She must have been quite the hospital patient, though she assured us that the nurses all loved her and that I do not doubt.
Our new Detroit friends, Sandy, Vicki, and Cindy were there too. We were all watching Lenore, a keyboard playing Key West phenome. The bartender was great too. He was a bear and very funny. We felt like a family that night and it reminded us so much of the Christmas Eve we spent in this very place, in 2002.
http://www.lenoretroia.com/home.html
Monday, the rain continued to make a presence. So after a lighter fare breakfast of yogurt and granola, we were off to the Butterfly House. We had lunch at the nearby Banana House, a French restaurant specializing in crepes. Carol had the three cheese and I had one filled with apples, walnuts and goat cheese. We each had a small salad and a cup of coffee (skipping our coffee house day just this one time). We then adjourned back to our porch for more wine, a Cellar No. 8 Cabernet, and more reading. While it was rainy, it was still warm and we sat outside in shorts, no jacket needed. Dinner was at LaTiDa. I had the duck and Carol had snapper. Lenore was playing there again and most of the gang from Sunday night was back for another show. We got pretty crazy that night dancing and at one point formed a conga line and took a photo of our group in a chorus line. It was us, the Detroit gals, two other gals from Pearls and 2 more from NY.
Tuesday, the rain had passed and this was to be the pick weather day. I had pancakes at breakfast and Carol had eggs. Thus energized, we went and rented bicycles for the day. We rode everywhere on the island, including Fort Zachary Taylor and the beach. We had lunch at Conch Republic Seafood, overlooking the water. We shared an order of shrimp and conch tempura. That evening, we had booked a sunset cruise called Wind and Wine on Danger Tours. It was a wine tasting that started with champagne, moved through an amazing CA Sauvignon Blanc, LaRoca, a Bordeaux, and so on. The sunset was not to be as an unusual fog moved in and socked out any view of the sun completely. But it was still a lot of fun. We met a fascinating couple from Toronto and another couple, two women from somewhere else cold. We rode a pedi-cab back to Pearl's and made it an early night, catching a little bit more of the Olympics.
Another front moved in late Tuesday and we heard rain and even some thunder over night. Wednesday’s temperature range was to be 66-73 degrees, which was still not bad. We started our day with Pearl ’s excellent BLT breakfast sandwiches and then headed for a better cup of coffee at our new favorite place. From there, we walked down Duvall and did some shopping. Carol bought a beautiful black linen outfit that she can use this summer. Overall, we did more shopping than normal because the prices were so good and actually bought several items that were not just the vacation variety T-shirts. We had coupons, so we decided to lunch at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. I had coconut shrimp and Carol had the crab cakes and we did buy a vacation T-shirt there. We then walked down to the La Concha Hotel, the rooftop bar was not open yet but it is the highest point in Key West (aside from the lighthouse we climbed last visit). It was built before the current zoning restrictions were imposed. Famous guest included Tennessee Williams, Harry Truman, and Ernest Hemingway and there was an awesome view of the entire island.
We had dinner at Duffy’s for their featured Florida lobster tails. Carol even had the lobster bisque as a starter but I stuck with a Caesar salad. The dinner was very good and was accompanied by a bottle of Penfold’s Merlot. From there, we met our Detroit friends at Aqua to see the drag show. There was a bachelorette party group there so the best moment was when one of the queens asked them to enjoy their celebration but to go home and write their legislators to please allow everyone to share in the opportunity to get married. So while most of the evening was fun and light-hearted, that was so cool and made me much less resentful of the fact that they were there in what was once our “world”. The show was good. We took some awesome photos afterwards with the adorable Asian queen.
Thursday was on the chilly side with the temperature dipping overnight to 58 degrees. We decided a nice walk to the bird sanctuary was in order. From there, we walked back along the beach and the public gardens. We had lunch at a great beach Italian joint called Salute. We had the most amazing Wente chardonnay and a Florida lobster sandwich. By then, it was time for our women only Sebago sunset cruise, the same one we went on the day of Carol’s 40th BD in 2002. There was a nice sunset and we enjoyed it despite the chilly temperatures. We met some gals from Baltimore who were both in law enforcement. They joined us on the walk back to see Lenore one last night. This time she was at the Piano Bar. There we got a chance to see Mary Jo one more time and that was special. When Lenore finished playing, we all went to LaTiDa but before long, Carol and I were ready to call it a night.
I had blueberry pancakes for our last Pearl ’s breakfast and Carol had eggs. We soon met the Detroit gals for a quick tour of their condo which was very impressive. When we would consider another trip to Key West , this might be an option though I do love staying at Pearls. We had lunch at Croissants de France after packing up and checking out. This was the only day that I splurged and had dessert-a banana crepe which was amazing. Pearl ’s called us their gal taxi driver and off we went to the airport. We had a nice surprise in the airport bar when our Detroit friends popped in to share a drink and say goodbye.
http://www.centercourtkw.com/aboutus.htm
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