Last summer before we left our homeport of Charlevoix, Michigan we made plans with a few of our friends to meet in Key West near the mid to end of January. Last time we did the Loop we all planned to meet in the Abacos and it was so much fun we had to plan to meet again this year. We were pretty busy our last week in Key West while our friends from home flew in within days of…
We’ve been in Key West long enough (three weeks) now and we’re beginning to recognize some of the locals. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not!I (Jim) visited Floyd’s Barber shop last week. This little shop has been in operation for over fifty years and my barber’s family is a fourth generation family having been here 110 years. The only reason I mention this is to let everyone know that the locals are not 5-year transplants.Key…
Key West has so many colorful restaurants and bars. As we said before we like to visit places that are off the beaten track. The more local the better. The Seafood and Cuban restaurants have been tops on our list and we just can’t get enough.Jim and I both wish this ENTRANCE sign (left) was real.We went to dinner with Rick and Elene last week to try Hogfish Bar and Grille, a local place definitely off the beaten path on…
Our friends Rick and Elene just arrived yesterday in Key West for the winter. We have looked forward to spending some time with them before we leave for the Abacos at the end of the month. So, after lending us their car the night before, we met them for breakfast downtown at Pepe’s Cafe the next morning. Pepe’s, which is open every day, is the oldest restaurant in town. Opened in 1909 it is celebrating its hundredth anniversary this year…
This afternoon we hopped on a bus to go down to Bayview Park for the fourth annual Key West Seafood Festival. Lots of choices for some good seafood at low prices along with a great local band, Mr Nice Guy. Lisa got to satisfy her sweet tooth with a huge cone of cotton candy.There was a petting tank provided by the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary, Fish & Wildlife. The salt water tank was staffed with real live scientists who can…
More cemetery photos. Flowers, tombstones and statues. Well worth a visit while in Key West.We loved the sign on the fence of the cemetery.
A few days ago, Lisa and I ventured out in our dinghy to the protected Sand Key reef area in the Atlantic Ocean side of Key West to go snorkeling. The day had all the characteristics of the perfect day, clear blue sky, calm waters and no wind. On the way to our destination we saw a good sized turtle, feeder sharks, crabs, flower pot sponges and lots of fish from the dinghy in only 4-5 foot water depths. Our…
Steve and Pat are from Omaha, Nebraska, we had the pleasure of meeting up with them in Key West. They boat in Lake of the Ozarks and have an interest in doing the Great Loop and thought we might be able to answer their Looping questions. We had a fun lunch at Hog's Breath, downtown and we think they'll be venturing out some day in the near future on the Loop route.For us, boating has been a way of making…
We dinghied into town on Thursday to visit our boating friends Charlie and Linda, on Freedom’s Turn, at their slip in one of the downtown marinas. We were with them last at Tarpon Springs in December before they flew home for the holidays. Today we decided to do a walking tour with Charlie and Linda to the historic Key West Cemetery only five blocks away from their marina. The cemetery is located on the highest point on the island and…
Our marina is teaming with fish. There are at least a dozen Tarpon, some over three feet. They swim near the harbor office with lots of smaller fish, today I saw two stingrays. I think they hang out in this spot waiting to get fed, along with the friendly pelicans, by the returning fishermen who clean their fish on the dock. Lisa bought me a fishing pole so I’m sure we’ll be having some fishing photos soon. I have been…
It’s a good thing we’re spending a month in Key West as there’s so much to see and do. We are looking forward to getting “Key’s Disease.”We decided to spend Skyler’s last day with us by going downtown mid afternoon to relax some more and explore a little. We found this great little bar, B. O.s Fish Wagon, that is more like having a drink in a treehouse.We headed downtown for our first, of many while here, Key West sunset.We…
Yesterday we took a long dinghy ride all the way around the Key West Island. It was a little choppy on the outside and we got a little wet but we enjoyed seeing the Portuguese Man of War Jellyfish float by us using their gas filled bladders to catch the wind. Today, we took the boat out to Sand Key (sorry, Lisa lost all the photos on the card today) to go snorkeling, however the water was a little too…
Our son Skyler Nelles, a graphic and web designer in northern Michigan - http://www.skyboxdesign.net, had never been to Key West before so we hopped on a bus from the marina and headed downtown. The downtown area was buzzing with lots of tourists filling the streets. We picked Hog’s Breath Saloon for lunch because it looked like a fun place. Funky decor and quality entertainment. After lunch we walked around some more and then went to the southernmost point in the United…
