Mel & Trinity

OMG I love Key West!

I feel like a kid in a candy store bursting with excitement and not knowing which treat to try out first.

I arrived later than I had planned on Thursday night – around 9.20pm. The guys at BMW Motorcycles Miami squeezed Trinity in for a service so they had to do her last – fair enough. This meant I only hit the road at  6.20pm – peak hour! If you have ever seen the traffic in Miami you know that’s not good. It is hectic!

Google maps said it would take nearly four hours but I managed to do the trip in 3 hours. The speed limit may be 45-55mph but I was just following the traffic and they were definitely going faster. Phew!

I spent the last hour driving in the dark, which I’m not generally keen on, but it was so worth seeing the sunset.

I was on a long bridge during the last 5 minutes of the sun setting. It was spectacular! As the sun ‘hit’ the water it looked like the sun was melting into the water off the Gulf of Mexico. It was breathtaking! I had to remind myself to watch the road.

By the time I settled into my accommodation for the night at the Albury Court Hotel it was 10pm. I popped out hoping to find a bite to eat but the restaurants had stopped serving food, so I popped into a corner store and bought water (essential at 30 degrees Celsius or 86 degrees Fahrenheit), a Rebel IPA (it wasn’t bad) and a bag of Cheetos. Not exactly the healthiest of dinners! 😂

I woke up around 8am and was rearing to go given that I only had one full day in Key West. What a shock when I opened my door and it was hammering down with rain outside. That was not in the weather forecast! I’ve realised the weather changes quickly here. Just as well as 30 minutes later the rain was gone, which gave me just enough time to call my mom and sister. Perfect!

Breakfast at the Albury Court Hotel takes place at the pool. This is not great when it’s been raining. Everyone was standing and eating. Hmmm! At this point I was really missing the Hyatt in Miami, which had a great breakfast selection and AMAZING staff! Their fantastic staff award system probably helps with that – Rene at the front desk got a drone as a staff award (DJI Spark). Amazing!

After my short breakfast I headed to the docks closest to me. I had been there a night before and saw a train museum. All I could think was, ‘Julian (Phatarfod) would love this’, so I couldn’t resist going back.

I never actually made it inside the museum, as I got distracted by the train like trolley car outside that did tours around Key West. I couldn’t resist riding it instead.

Doug, the tour guide, is from Long Island and was so chuffed to have someone from London on his train. He has been teaching English to students in China for a number of years and had just got off the phone to a few of them that are currently touring around London.

Our first stop was the Shipwreck Museum. It was fantastic! There’s more about the museum in the below post.

The next stop was the Aquarium. Another great attraction. I joined the sea turtle and stingray talks which were incredibly informative. I asked a number of questions which also helped. My favourite moment was definitely stroking Peanut the stingray. He was born in captivity but unlike the other stingrays actually pops out of the tank for ‘a cuddle’. He reminded me of a little puppy. He was so bloody cute!

Below are some photos and a few fun facts that I learned at the Aquarium.

From there I popped back on the train and did a loop around Key West. Key West has such an interesting history – very much centred around wrecking, the railway line that was superseded by the bridge and finally tourism that started in 1935. It was also interesting to learn that the reason the houses all have tin roofs is because of the fire of 1886 which nearly wiped out all the houses. The tin roof also helped capture water for the cisterns.

The final thing of note on Key West is the chickens – they are everywhere. They are seen as the island mascot but it is also illegal to kill them.

I had lunch at a place called Two Friends and watched the people and the chickens. It is also impossible to go anywhere in the main strips in Key West without hearing live music. In many ways, Key West is like New Orleans – it’s a party town just next to the water.

There was an offer of a free Pina Colada with my lunch and I couldn’t resist. Look at that happy face!

I walked around for 1.5 hours and then headed to my favourite activity of the day – a 1.5 hour jet-ski tour around the Keys. It was incredible! It absolutely broke me though. I had no idea how physical that ride was going to be. The calmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico were okay but when we hit the Atlantic it turned into a gym session. I look like John Wayne trying to walk at the moment. It was however the most fun I’ve had in years.

After the jet-ski ride I went in search of the southernmost point in the USA. At that point, you are closer to Cuba then the nearest Walmart. My aim was to copy a photo my brother and sister-in-law took in Key West about 20 years ago. It was great to see it hasn’t changed.

My final stop before heading to bed that night was dinner on Millory Square. I ate at a Cuban restaurant which was great, although I wasn’t particularly hungry so I ate a salad. I sat in the restaurant and watched the sunset across the square. It was not as spectacular as the night before but it was lovely.

It was good day!