Day 3 – Key West

We got up a little bit before 7:00 AM got ready and had breakfast before hitting the road down to Key West for a day trip.  The drive was just a little over two hours, with some construction and a quick little stop along the way.    We got down to Key West around 11:00 AM and then had to figure out parking.  We found a place to park and then took the Duval Shuttle (free shuttle in Key West) down to Hemmingway’s house.  We walked around the gardens and the house and saw all the kitties.  There are around 60+ cats living on the property, and they are allowed to go wherever they want, even on the furniture.    From there we walked 10 minutes down the road to the southern most point in the US.   We were not about to stand in line for 10 – 15 minutes to get a picture next to it, so I just grabbed a shot while people were switching out.   

From there we went to Louie's Backyard for lunch, based on a recommendation from the ladies Jim works with.  Unfortunately, while walking to the restaurant, about 50 feet from the door, I fell and scraped up my knee and hands, thankfully no big cuts.   We chose to eat inside for the air conditioning, as I was getting too hot from the sun.   The food was good, I had conche fritters and Jim had a pork confit sandwich.   From there we walked a couple blocks to pick up the shuttle again, to take us over to Malory Square and the Aquarium.  It was nice riding in the air conditioning of the bus.     We walked around the square and then over to the Key West Aquarium which is one of the oldest Aquariums in the US.    It was small but well maintained for being 90 years old.   After that we debated heading to the Truman Little White House, but I was just getting too hot and tired from the sun and heat.  There was absolutely no shade or breeze that day.   So, we called it a day and made the drive back to Key Largo and got in around 5:15PM to have dinner at the hotel. 

I’m not sure what I was expecting from Key West, but I really thought the historic district was going to be car free due to the way things were worded on the tourist information sites.  What they were really saying is you don’t want to drive in Key West because the roads are super narrow due to people parking on both sides of the people driving around don’t obey stop signs.   I also was expecting way more palm trees and cute little houses.   It just felt like an overgrown tourist suburb. I’m glad I didn’t book us a hotel on Key West.    

On Thursday, we plan on doing nothing but sitting in a cabana by the pool.