The Keys

t took us around 4 hours to travel from the Everglades to Key West; from swamp to Caribbean colored water. We are staying in Boyd’s Campground. It’s very tight but our spot is nice because we have neighbors only on one side. The other side and the back have palm trees.

Friday, March 23rd: We departed from our campground around 8:00 AM for Key West. Once there and set up we walked to a local restaurant, Roostica, for some wood-fire pizza. We had the “Hippy” which was topped with roasted red peppers, onions, fresh spinach, garlic, smoked mozzarella and roasted artichokes. It was very good. Hadn’t had pizza since we left Pittsburgh.

Saturday, March 24th: We were picked up at the campground at 9:00 for a trolley tour of Key West The town is much larger then we

remembered. We were there about 15 years ago with the kids. That took about an hour and then we were on our own. We had an early lunch at Blue Heaven. It had thousands of reviews on TripAdvisor so we figured it should be good. We ate outside on a lovely courtyard but had to wait for an hour for a table. We sat at the outside bar and listened to live music while we waited. Pat sipped on a “Cold Glazed Coffee” with Frangelica, Kahlua and Cream . Tim had a Bloody Mary. Once we were seated we shared Shrimp and Grits topped with bacon (low calories for sure ;) and a hamburger. Both very good.

Afterwards we walked around town visiting the oldest house in Key West built in 1829; a larger-than-life sculpture by Seward Johnson depicting the iconic 1945 image of a sailor planting a kiss on a nurse after WWII in New York; Mallard Square where the cruise ship dock; Harry Truman’s Little White House where during the winter of 1946 President Harry Truman visited Key West and sought refuge from the harsh DC winter. We walked side streets seeing beautiful white-clad homes surrounded by palms with lots of roosters strutting around.

Sunday, March 25th: We attended Mass at the Basilica of Saint Mary Star of the Sea. It is one of the oldest Catholic parishes in the state of Florida and the oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Miami built in 1851. This was an active, welcoming community. The church was packed with everyone participating. It was a beautiful building. On both sides of the church tall french doors opened up letting breezes flow through. This is one thing that we liked about Key West - no bugs! After Mass we shook hands with the pastor. Turns out he has relatives in Loretto back in Pennsylvania.

We then strolled back towards out car visiting the grotto on the grounds. Leading up to the grotto a walking rosary bead garden.

Since we had a 2-day trolley ticket, we headed back to the parking lot at one of the stops on Stock Island. We decided to have breakfast. We spied a sign for Key Island Creperie, a restaurant in the shopping center and thought “who could ruin breakfast.” Turns out to be one of the best meals we had. Pat had the Atlantic Omelette with smoked salmon, brie, tomato and scallions with rosemary fingerling potatoes and a sweet crepe . Tim had an Organic Crepe with sausage, cheese and fried egg. Both excellent.

Back onto the trolley we returned to Key West. We jumped off at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to check it out. Beautiful resort. We got back on the trolley to southernmost point in the continental U.S. As usual, there was a line for a picture of one of the most photographed attractions in the United States.

Off we walked to the Curry Museum, now a hotel, which was named for William Curry, a penniless Bahamian immigrant who made his fortune reportedly as a salvager. These where men who preyed on shipwrecked travelers whether by actual wreck or by pirates. He was Key West’s first millionaire. Although the grounds are for those staying at the hotel, you can sit out back at the bar which is by the pool with a view of the water. We decided to have the drink that is always associated with Key West - a margarita.

From here we went to the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. They have 50 to 60 butterfly species along with birds and 2 resident flamingos Rhett and Scarlett. It’s not very big but enjoyable watching hundreds of colorful butterflies flutter around you. We hopped back on the trolley thinking of heading to another part of town but realized that we were out of time.

Monday. March 26th: We had a tour of Pigeon Key this morning. It was about an hour drive north of Key West to the marina where we boarded a boat. Henry Flagler extended his railroad from Homestead FL to Key West in the early 1900’s. He believed that with the opening of the Panama Canal, the deep waters off of the Keys would provide increased commerce. Up to 400 workers lived on this island during construction. Now the island provides housing for educational groups, a museum and administrative offices for the non-profit Pigeon Key Foundation.

After the tour we headed north to see if we could find the location that the Netflix series “Bloodline” was filmed. Turns out that the Rayburn home is actually a private home surrounded by cabins that can be rented. They don’t allow anyone in the compound unless you rent there. Across the street was a restaurant that looked amazingly similar to the one in the show so we took some pics.

We had a late lunch at Lazy Days another top pick on trip advisor. Good choice. Sat right new to the water. Pat enjoyed Mahi Mahi with their special sauce. Tim had Coconut fried grouper blackened.

Tuesday, March 27th: Today was a free day. We spent that time washing clothes, paying bills and reviewing plans for our upcoming cruise and trip home. In the evening we headed into Key West to see the sunset.

Wednesday, March 28th: This is our last day here. Every caravan has a final banquet. Ours was held in downtown Key West at the Prime Steakhouse. Pat had yellow snapper and Tim had steak. Good food and enjoyable company.