Days 11 and 12 in Key West

We just returned from the ferry trip out to Dry Tortugas National Park. What a day. We got up at 06:00 to make sure we were there by the appointed check in time, so no time this morning for writing. Yesterday, we toured Key West quite a bit. We spent some time in the pool in the morning, and then wandered around Duvall St. etc for the balance of the day. We had lunch at the famous Hog’s Breath Saloon, and appeared on their web cam during lunch. We had drinks and dinner at the Roof Top Café on Front St. watching the sun go down and then joined the Sunset Celebration. At the Roof Top Cafe, we sampled 2 of their specialties. They have Blue Crab Bisque that is better than anything I’ve had in a long time, and they are famous for one of the best Key Lime Pies in town. Both were incredibly good. We wandered around town as the evening wore on taking in the redundant junk stores, and the increasingly interesting street life. This place reminds me of New Orleans before it was devastated. It sort of comes alive at night. Only difference is they don’t close Duvall like they did Bourbon St. As I said before, we had an early morning today catching the Fast Cat to Dry Tortugas. We boarded the boat and enjoyed a good continental breakfast as we left the harbor. The Fast Cat is a catamaran that can hold about 100 people. We had about 60 or so folks on today for the trip. We hadn’t quite expected how rough the trip might be. The further we got out into the Gulf, the rougher it got. Vickie and I both managed to not blow chunks, by sitting quietly, concentrating, and looking out at the horizon full time. The trip takes about 2 hr and 20 minutes. I would have loved to read my book, but was not possible. We finally arrived at the park (Ft. Jefferson) and got onto dry land. They offered a tour of the fort, but Vickie and I sort of went off on our own, and saw most everything. The history of the fort is amazing. They had to haul all the supplies to build it there by ship, along with all the supplies for the builders. There must be 10 billion bricks in the thing, and it’s 70 miles from Key West in the middle of the Gulf. They had a horrible time just keeping the garrison in food and water. The fort was constructed with 1,500,000 gallons of cistern storage for rainwater. Even today, the park rangers that man the place use stored rainwater for sanitation, and reverse osmosis for potable water. It said the rangers do 3-year tours of duty on this remote island. Must take a special breed to want to do it. Just beside the Fort Island was a bird island that is host to millions of nesting Sooty Terns. It was nesting season, and the racket from the swarming birds was incredible. After touring the Fort, we had a great lunch on the boat, and then set out to snorkel. We met some folks from Michigan that had been camping on the island for 3 nights. When I say camping, this place has no water, no ice, no showers, and no food. It is totally primitive camping. You ride t he ferry out, and bring everything you need with you. They said they’d been three days without a fresh water shower, but after all the tourists left and they were there with only a few campers, it was worth it. Like being on a desert island. We were afraid the water would bee too cold for snorkeling, but as it turned out, it was cool but not unbearable. We had a great afternoon sharing the water with coral and fish. We saw a great big Parrot Fish, a bunch of Groupers, Yellow Tails, and I saw about a 3-foot Barracuda. I’d have loved to have a wet suit and about 2 days to spend there (hence the camping). We also learned from the boat crew, that Dry Tortugas is very often the landing place for Cuban refugees. The way it works is, if they make it "feet dry" to the island, they get to go to the US. If they get intercepted prior to that, they are sent back to Cuba. Someone told Vickie that to get on a "fast boat" with some guarantee of success costs about $6,000. By the time we got on th e boat and headed back, I must have had my "sea legs" because I picked up my book and read it most of the trip back. The book and I were swaying in unison, and other than continuously having to refocus my eyes, no ill effects. We got back to the harbor, took advantage of our 10% discount at the Fast Cat’s T-shirt store, and can literally say "been there, done that, bought the T-shirt". We cruised back to the Simonton and enjoyed the early evening with a good drink, good shower, and time just sitting on our porch overlooking the bustle on Simonton Street as twilight engulfs the buildings sort of like a blue and pink fog. Will have to search out some food and drink for the evening, but then as they say, "the evening is young" Tomorrow its back on the road to the Everglades. More later. Well didn’t get this sent last night, so now it’s Saturday morning. Last night we got to experience Key West on a Friday night with a full moon. Place was wide open. Unless you were DUI or peeing in th e street, whatever you were doing was probably OK. We found out today that Kenny Chesney made an unannounced visit and 3-hr concert at the Hog’s Breath Saloon. Oops, we were out snorkeling and surviving the boat trip. Folks we talked to said it was quite a crowd however became extremely rowdy.

Wes and Vickie

Day 10 Landed in Key West

After a beautiful drive down the Keys yesterday, we landed in Key West. Our room wasn’t quite ready, but our parking space was. Parking in Key West is problematic at best. To illustrate, we walked past one parking lot that had a sign "All Day Parking $10". This was around 1pm. A couple of hours later this same lot was "All Day Parking $15" (less time for more money assuming the day ended at midnight). Our pre-reserved parking spot was one of 8 spaces owned by the inn that go for $20 a day. With the car safely disposed of we adjourned to the Conch Republic located on the waterfront for Margaritas (many) and lunch. Vickie and I split a cup of conch chowder and a Caesar salad with blackened tuna. End result was a $63 lunch but the scenery was great. After lunch we wandered around the harbor and then went back to claim our room. The room is unique and great. This whole inn is like an oasis in the middle of old town Key West. There are four small heated pools and a labyrinth of corri dors almost completely engulfed in lush tropical foliage. The structures are all tin roof and clapboard that appear to have been here for a hundred years (which may be true because the inn was created from the original Simonton cigar factory and outbuildings. Mr. Simonton was the man who originally purchased the island of Key West for $2,000 from the Spanish). In any event, it a superior establishment that warrants it’s relatively steep rates by non Key West standards. After claiming our room, some mysterious time warp happened that may be due to the Key West latitude. But somehow, there was an interaction between the room clock, Vickie, and a derelict watch (left over from the Aruba trip in a beach bag). End result, we thought it was two hours later than it really was. We went to the pool to get some relaxation prior to heading out to the sunset celebration. I should have been suspicious when we were at the pool for a long time and there was no hint of the sun going down. Finally I decided we had better get going or we would miss the sunset. Once again I should have been suspicious when we got to the room and it was 6:30 and there was still no sign of the sun going down. We changed clothes and headed for Mallory Square only to get there and realize that it was only 5pm according to the cell phone. We found a spot in the shade and watched the wild chickens run in and out of the restaurants while the Mallory Square sunset celebration slowly materialized. The performers have a unique method of establishing their turf. They lay out ropes on the ground around the perimeter of their performance area. This pseudo fence keeps the crowd at bay and establishes their territory. The performers are a motley crew of jugglers, sword swallowers, acrobats, unicycle riders, and generally all around lunatics. The stars of the "show" are first the sun and second the Cat Man. The Cat Man is indescribable but I’ll try…..He is a performer who trains common alley cats to do intere sting tricks like a mini lion tamer. However, he is a late 40’s Frenchman with long blonde hair and about three bricks shy of a load. He reminds me of a mime that talks. I understood one percent of everything he grunted. The cats, however, responded to his every command. He is a total demonstration of the saying that there is a niche for everyone. The whole sunset scene at Mallory Square has to be experienced to be totally appreciated. There were boats of all descriptions going in seemingly random directions. A pirate ship passed by in full sail. All the performers were plying their trade. The vendors were selling all manners of trinkets and outrageously overpriced food and drinks. I bought Vickie a small $4.00 bag of popcorn which she said was excellent but I thought tasted just like popcorn She questioned the vendor about the price in jest and he simply said "Hey it’s Key West….what do you expect?" From here the evening gets slightly blurry. During the Cat Man’s performance I dis covered an interesting little bartender quietly plying his trade across from the Cat Man. He made something for a man in front of me called a rum punch with a Bacardi floater. Not sure exactly what was in it but it looked big and tasty. I ordered one of the same. I suspect the Bacardi floater, which was an extra cost option, was 151 proof dark rum. All I know is that it tasted real good and had a nice hunk of pineapple on it. After cheering the Cat Man to glory, I invited Vickie to join me for another rum punch with a Bacardi floater. We got our drinks and she commented on how tasty they were. After that I remember buying a couple of over priced hotdogs from a vendor with a huge assortment of mustards and hot sauces. We at our hotdogs sitting on the curb and then attempted to trek back to the inn. What time we arrived is anybody’s guess (or for that matter how we even found the inn). The next thing I remember is the garbage truck coming in the middle of the night and sounding like it was crushing a car directly under my window. The operator cycled the mechanism on the truck numerous times at the maximum engine rpm to make sure everything was crushed. Since we were on the second floor, his exhaust stack was about even with my window. I was glad the old glass had been hurricane tested. Then he proceeded to leave with the compulsory beep, beep, beep, of the back up alarm and yelping air brakes. I went back to sleep only to be awakened by Vickie telling me we had to get up for breakfast because it was 8:30. I once again was suspicious of the time as it was still dark. She went outside to check and low and behold the sun was just coming up and it was really 6:30. We ended up down at the pool around 7:30 awaiting breakfast at 8:30 and me dictating this report to Vickie as I sip my Bloody Mary. The clock has now been assigned to the correct time zone. All is well with the world and Key West is pretty close to Paradise. As we saw yesterday on the police car "To Serv e and Protect Paradise". Send money….we love it here.

Wes & Vickie

PS More pictures