Key West and the Florida Keys

I met Alicia, Aimee, and Laurie when we lived in North Carolina in 2002. After we moved to Illinois, they invited me to meet up in Miami with them in 2003...and we've been traveling together ever since!

(Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Belize should have gotten a writeup for sure. The time the bridge detour was driving on two planks over a ravine...trusting a guide will catch you before you plunge down a waterfall...riding a galloping horse when you have zero experience...)

This time we decided to explore Key West. Alicia and Laurie had been there long ago, but Aimee and I never had.

Day one
We all met up in Fort Lauderdale. The car rental line Aimee and Laurie had to wait in for Budget at the airport was so long, but I don’t know how to make the car rental process any better. They are still expensive and the lines are horribly slow, because there’s only ever one person working. I thought by now there would be a better option, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Aimee and Laurie were a couple of hours behind us, so Alicia and I took an Uber to the Fort Lauderdale boardwalk, where we walked a long way in the warm sunshine, people watched, and put our toes in the water. It is a beautiful beach and there are many choices for eating – I had my first blackened mahi sandwich, which I then ate at almost every place we went on the trip. So good!

Aimee and Laurie picked us up and we headed to Key West, stopping along the way at Mile Marker 88 for dinner and sunset. It’s right on the water, they have a serene, picturesque spot, and it was super pretty and popular.

We made it to Key West in the dark, wishing that we had the two hours back they waited in line for the car so we could see the drive but – not to worry! We’d be back the same way in the light.

Alicia found a rental house right off Duval Sreet (the main strip) on Petronia, and it had a back yard and pool! We hung out in the backyard and were surprised by a possum, but hey – that’s a city. Everybody wants to be there.

Day Two

I got up early and ran to the southernmost point, noting that there were chickens and roosters and chicks the entire way, the roosters crowing so enthusiastically! I then realized they were everywhere, and a lot of people put out feed for them. I thought it was super charming.

Alicia got us croissants from Croissants de France, and I ate my first chocolate croissant.   

We rented bikes at Blue Sky Rentals, which were $10 a day, because it was within walking distance of our place. We rode to Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, and it was fantastic! Name any facts you can about Zachary Taylor. Done? Didn't take long? You will have MORE when you leave! We walked all around, rode our bikes on the trails, and then went to the beach there. It was picture perfect. White sand, blue sky, rocks, a little concession stand - and warm! Looked like paradise. Definitely a great spot.

Riding bikes around Key West is great if you aren't afraid of traffic. Even though you're riding a vintage bike, no helmet, right with cars...I still felt safe since it's the city, so no one can go very fast, and there are bikers and walkers everywhere so people are always watching for them. There are also lots of bike racks for locking up.

We rode to Schooners Wharf and ate right by the water, where a couple of charter boats were coming back with their fish. The pelicans gathered around and hoped for scraps, and the people all admired the fish. There were giant tarpons and nurse sharks in the water too. The pelicans were so tame! I've never gotten that close to them.

We rode to South Beach because Alicia said it had great people watching, and it did! Real characters there.

We walked to Mallory Square for the sunset, and there was a big crowd there to applaud it and watch street performers. On the way we stopped at the Mile 0 sign and then the Mile 222 sign - my favorite number!

We stopped by the Green Parrot for a drink and to watch the MSU basketball game, and then we went to Blue Heaven for ping pong (yay!) in their outer spot and dinner across the street. I love outdoor ping pong, even though you spend most of the time chasing the ball.

Day Three

Another run to see the sunrise...but this time as I started down the block, a rooster started chasing me! He was fast and chased me so long that I even took a video while running! This was a definite first.

We had booked paddleboards the day before with Lazy Dog in Cow Key. We drove the six miles there. The guide gave us a map and a suggested route, which we tried to follow but have no idea if we actually did. Do you know how alike mangroves look? THEY ALL LOOK ALIKE. So you're paddling and turning, pulling yourself through mangrove tunnels, looking at a map that basically is meaningless to you, and just hoping you make it back in time because maybe one of you has a work meeting you can't miss! (Yes, me.)

Alicia: I should have told you I wasn't listening to the directions.

Laurie: This is not the direction we came.

Aimee: The salt pond might be this way.

Me: This mangrove has a rope tied to it for people just like me.

Right as we were heading back, we saw manatees! One came right up beside my paddleboards and it was so cool! We were all so happy we saw them. Then a man in a kayak with a child leaned over to look, fell out, then jumped back in when he realized his phone had been in his pocket. He did not find it. Meanwhile, while on the trip my waterproof phone case somehow broke, so I was really careful on the way back so I didn't end up like him.

Near the end, we also saw many, many nurse sharks below us in the water. They were huge! Even though they don't bite people, it is a little bit of a thrill to see them waiting for you under your board to fall off.

Alicia picked up key lime pie from the Southernmost Key Lime Shop on Duval. It was frozen and covered in chocolate and perhaps the best food I ate all vacation. I'm not even a huge fan of pie, but this was more to me in the cheesecake family.

We swam in the pool, and then Aimee and I biked to Higgs Beach and see amazing kite surfers and some sort of other surfers with butterfly-shaped sails. They were doing tricks, there's a long pier to walk out on, and it was a cool spot.

We then had to get back in time to return our bikes and shower before we had to leave for the sunset sail. It took us longer than we planned, since we thought we knew the way and did not, but it turned into a nice little 50 minute bike ride!

We walked to Schooners Wharf dock to go on the Schooner Spirit of Independence sail boat. As soon as we got on, they asked it there were any volunteers to help, and I was so excited! I thought it would be pretend help, but I had to pull on ropes to lift the sail the same speed as the girl beside me, and it really did take some work. The skipper (is that the right word? It feels right. Or ...starboard.) said that when no one volunteers it's a real pain.

It was a beautiful sail! The weather was so warm, the water was so pretty, and we sailed for about two hours and watched the sun set.

We went to Caroline's, Irish Kevin's, and then to my favorite place Sloppy Joe's, because they had a live band and everyone was dancing! The band was the Lima Bean Riot,  and they were so fun to dance to - they hit the highlights of cover songs, so you didn't even have time to get tired of the repetitive parts!

Day Four

I ran to Higgs Beach to watch the sunrise and to figure out the way home. Unfortunately, it was hard to watch, because when Aimee and I went on our bike ride, I forgot my sunglasses and sunburnt my eyes. Can you tell I don't live close to the equator?

We left Key West and stopped in Marathon to eat at a waterfront restaurant called Key Fisheries. We drove on to Long Key State Park and went on their nature trail and through the park. Very secluded, very serene, and very hot if you went away from the water.

We drove over the Seven Mile Bridge and admired the view all the way to Islamorada Key. We stayed at Chesapeake Resort and went right out to their very open and pretty beach, pool, and hot tub.

We ate at Lazy Days, which was really popular, but it was right on the water so we didn't mind waiting - and saw more tarpon and nurse sharks. We ended the night by going to Florida Keys Brewing Company in their beer garden, where - this doesn't get old - it was so warm we didn't even need a jacket.

So! Key West was different than other places I've been in Florida, and I liked it and can see why it's popular. Hot, nice beaches, tourist town feel, and everything is open to the outside. I particularly liked biking and running around, the urban chickens, paddleboarding, and sailing. And of course - the company. Here's to lifelong travel partners!

And finally ... our first trip in Miami in 2003: