Key West We Love You

You kept us warm and sunny for two weeks while Rome and Atlanta froze. We biked almost every day either along the Atlantic or the Gulf. We didn’t come here last year and realized how much we missed it, so it was good to return to the southernmost City that we have been visiting since 1979.

In recent years we have been staying at Boyd’s Campground which is well run but very crowded. We couldn’t get a reservation this year, but luckily got in down the street at El Mar RV Resort that has only ten spaces that are very roomy with concrete pads. We got a reservation at El Mar in July only because someone cancelled. We had a beautiful waterfront lot that is arranged for coaches to park head first, thus having a water view out the windshield. We enjoyed it so much that we went ahead and put in a request for a reservation for next year.

         

         

George and the boss enjoy the water view.

         

Key West has to be the best bicycling city anywhere. It’s because the city is small and has      the dimensions of a New England village. The streets are narrow and parking rare and expensive. Getting around town on a bike is definitely the way to go. Our typical daily pattern would be to bike along the Atlantic beaches on the A1A route,

          

past the Casa Marina Hotel, then into town and down Duval Street, the main drag of town.

There are a lot of “pedicabs” on Duval that are slow and hard to pass in a car, so many cars take one of the parallel streets instead of Duvall, but not all.

         

Here Irene is trying to find her bike in the bike parking lot of the Key West Artisans’ Market.

         

On the other end of Duvall we would make our obligatory visit to the cruise ship docks to see who is in port. The Holland America ship in this picture is the one we were on last February when we sailed to the Eastern Caribbean. On days when one or more cruise ships are in port, the streets of Key West, especially Duvall Street, get very crowded. Biking down Duvall is definitely the best way to see what’s going on.

         

After checking out the cruise ships we would then typically bike to a lunch spot like Paseo Caribbean Food located in an old gas station. They are known for their roasted corn which is unique and very good.

         

         

         

The water front bistro at the Westin is one of the most scenic places we like to have lunch.

         

Typically after lunch there would be an urgent need to find an ice cream place. Matheson has a larger serving and a slightly lower price than Kilwins or Hagen Das. We’ve been to them all.

                   

After ice cream, we might pedal to Cole’s Peace Bakery for fresh bread and a marvelous chocolate chip cookie to eat later.

Rick the street artist

One of the first things we wanted to do was check to see if we could find our street artist friend, Rick, who did a painting for us one year. Yep, he’s still on his favorite corner near the Casa Marina. Rick is a tradesman from Connecticut. Not long ago a girlfriend must have noticed something about Rick and suggested he take an art course at the college. The rest is history. Rick is retired, and in the summer he runs a hotdog cart back home.

          

Key West Man

We always love to see what we call a “Key West man.”  That is typically a man on a three wheel bike, and usually they are carrying one or two dogs in the basket. The Key West man we saw this year looked like a junk collector, but oh yes, no doubt, he is a genuine “Key West Man.” His three wheeler is adorned with every possible decoration. It is such a visual blitz that you can’t tell what anything is except the American flag.

                        

         

Even local craftsmen have business slogans unique to Key West. Several years ago we saw a roofer who advertised, “We’re smarter than the water.” This year we saw a new one, a heat and air van claiming, “Licensed to Chill.”

Also, while biking in Key West you never know what you’re going to see along the way: This guy makes the Key West cemetery home.

         

Key West Haircuts

Before leaving the next day, we both went to a hair salon for what now appears to be a “Key West Haircut.” Oh no, there aren’t  going to be any pictures. Irene describes her cut as “froufrou.” George’s reminds him of the fifties barber shop where there would be a selection of “tonic” bottles that the barber would liberally shake into your hair. However, he got an updated version that came out of a plastic tube like sunscreen. We had asked for a stylist who had some experience, and we were assured that Cissy had been there forever. Now don’t get us wrong, Cissy knew how to cut hair on a man and a women. We just both need a good shampoo. What really added to making this a Key West haircut was Cissy herself. Don’t get us wrong here either, Cissy was a really warm and nice lady who hugged us as we left, but with every breath there was a shit, damn, and SOB. Again, nice lady, but she was raised in Key West and most likely around some sailors we expect.