I got to go to a “destination wedding” in Key West in April 2008; our visit was perfect in being much too short (these notes are also published on TripAdvisor).
1) Getting there: Since it was our first trip, I thought it imperative that we fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale and do the scenic drive down the Keys. This is NOT necessary. The drive is long, not all that scenic and at times it feels like the mall sprawl of Merritt Island, Florida. The traffic moves slowly, and it took us well over four hours to get there. We stopped for lunch at some place along Route 1, just south of Key Largo (I think it was Captain Sean’s or some such thing). We had our most expensive lunch of the entire trip and it wasn’t that good. (The “famous” lobster chowder was bland and floury, the ‘most popular’ Caesar Salad was weirdly covered with sprouts and tasteless shrimp, the fried oysters was chewy and overly-battered. Enough said. Luckily we knew we wouldn’t want to do the drive both ways and had already arranged to fly home out of Key West. One couple at the wedding paid a lot of money to do the same after experiencing the drive down.
2) Attractions: The Hemingway House. This was the best. It is a beautiful, historic house with two story verandas, tall shutters, lush gardens, and, of course, cats everywhere (per Hemingway: “one cat leads to another”). The guide seemed a tad jaded, but told all the expected stories (the many wives,;the “last red cent” that is now embedded by the pool; the cat drinking fountain; etc.). The photos on all the walls are worth taking the time to peruse and the cats are fun to observe.
–The Key West Art and Historical Society at the Custom House was my next favorite thing. First of all it is a beautiful old building, and there was an excellent exhibit by J. Seward Johnson (the guy who does the lifelike plaster molds of people) called Icons where he duplicates great works of art as plaster statues. It sounds weird, but it was neat. By floating a frame in front of the statue, you can get the sensation of looking at the actual picture, but then you can stand in the frame with the subject. There is also a pretty good exhibit about the history of Key West which answers the question of “why, why would anyone build all these bridges just to get to this remote island?” The Hemingway room is not to be missed as it has more photos and artifacts and give a slightly different perspective than gained at the House tour above ( the video is long and tedious and can be given a miss).
-The Historic Harbor walk. A lot of people seem to just stick around Mallory Square, which is nice enough and deservedly popular; however, we loved walking to the end of Front Street and getting on this boardwalk that takes you along the docks that are lined with beautiful boats on one side and restaurants and shops on the other.
-Other fun things: the “Southernmost Point” marker, the art galleries at the southern end of Duval (we liked So Du) which featured local artists.
3) Refreshments:
-Best restaurants – The Conch Republic (went twice and would have gone again just for the grouper sandwich. Nine One Five – wine and tapas bar on Duval Street. Great food and service in a artsy, funky setting. We thought Blue Heaven was overrated, though it was nice sitting in the courtyard. Red Fish Blue Fish right on Front Street had good food as well.
-Best music – The Hog’s Breath – there were great bands playing every time we walked by.
4) Regrets: never rented a scooter or a jet ski. Both looked like a fun way to see the island. We did a lot of walking though, which was great.
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