Tortuga Tour Day 30: Exploring Key West
Destination today using Uber is to explore Key West with Adriane. She has never been. We treated her this morning to pancakes, hot off the griddle – of course at the Captain’s request.
The morning was catch up time for the travel log and email. The Captain worked on an alternative plan for the trip. Adriane had some postings she needed to make for her work. Before the morning was over, the Captain shared the new plan which the Admiral and our guest (now cruise director) did approve. There is still hope for the Dry Tortugas! The weather/wind looks more conducive by the weekend.
By mid-day we were ready to call Uber to come and take us to Key West. Timing was not the best. No sooner did we get to the pickup point and the sky sprinkler opened. This meant a run back to the boat for rain gear. We made it! Our Uber was a very pleasant young woman who maneuvered well through the traffic and dropped us right where we wanted to be in Key West.
First on the tour was to find a good place to have lunch. There is no shortage of good restaurants to choose from and everyone posts their menus. We ended up back at Tarpon where we had already eaten once. The Captain and I both ordered the grouper sandwich and Adriane ordered the mussels. It was a delicious lunch. The restaurant is down where many of the marinas are located and so we took Adriane on the harbor walk. All the variety of excursion boats were docked due to the weather. This made it possible for Adriane to see the different opportunities: fishing, diving, snorkeling, parasailing, kayaking, dolphin watching, sailing and more. There was even an eco-tour.
There was no specific plan for touring. We decided to walk and stop when we saw something of interest. If you get bored in Key West, you are either not really there or you haven’t stepped outside. By the time we were ready to get back to the boat, we had gone into two rum distilleries (tours at the Hemmingway Rum Distillery were booked through Friday), eaten locally made ice cream at Mattison’s, taken pictures at Jimmy Buffets Margarita Café and store, encountered lots of wandering chickens and roosters, stopped in a cigar factory store, walked past the oldest house, oldest school house, multiple shops and restaurants, the Smallest Bar (a narrow space tucked in between two buildings), the old Strand Theater – now a Walgreens. The history is rich in Key West so there are many museums you can visit. We were limited by time and distance to walk, but Adriane did want to tour the Hemmingway House. We left her there and headed to find the old port area. On our way we passed the Lighthouse Museum which we did want to tour. Unfortunately, it was closed. We continued towards the water, but the location of the historical site we were looking for was further than we thought. We did come to the Truman Waterfront Park (new) which was a lovely place for families to come and be by the water. Along the waterfront there was also a large Coast Guard ship you could board.
By this time, it was late afternoon, and we were more than ready to get back to Betty Lou. We selected a corner to meet Adriane. The Captain had chosen the end of Route 1. I am sure most of you are aware that Route 1 follows the entire East Coast from Maine to Key West. Adriane again called Uber to take us back to the marina. This time we had a very nice young man with a wild SUV. He had a light show on the ceiling and a TV playing music videos in the back seat. Since we were picked up in a completely different spot from where we were dropped off earlier, the route back was different. The driver took us right by the beach. Wow!! He pointed out several people that were kite surfing. It was really an amazing sight, seeing them swoop up in the air with the surf and a sail!
It’s Adriane, Betty Lou’s cruise director here. I try to be as entertaining as possible but really, Sue and Fred make the most hospitable host. The cuisine has been lovely with pancakes, lasagna, salad, chili, BBQed chicken, green beans and carrots…all washed down with a glass of wine every night. The company is warm, welcoming, and exquisite. Who could ask for more?!!
An extra surprising blessing is that I am experiencing on Betty Lou the best sleep I have had in years. I kid you not. Which leads me to my final words… Nighty Night!
Captain’s Comments: Route 1—the End is the Beginning. Another life lesson?
Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an end to ice cream choices. We’ll definitely go back to the one we tried today. Rum tasting was interesting, too. At the Key West First Legal Rum Distillery I was treated to some free samples. The “Raw and Unfiltered” aged in locally salt water cured new oak drums had a unique flavor, but I probably would have preferred the “Blonde Bad Bitch,” named after Spanish Marie, a rumrunner who smuggled rum from Cuba to Key West. Now she has her own music video. Still prefer ice cream.
We met back up with Adriane at the End of Route 1, and Uber picked us up at the Beginning of Route 1 to take us back to Betty Lou. Life is cool.
fks
