Key West 4-9 and 4-10 2011

Sunset, at Mallory Square

Sidewalk entertainer on Duval Street

The blue waters from the Glassbottom boat ride

Kirk and Reina at Sloppy Joe's

Beginning of 7-mile bridge

You have to visit Key West if you are anywhere even remotely close to there. Kirk and I left early Saturday morning from Ft Myers and drove to the Keys. It was about a 6 hour drive. Because we left so early we were able to view a beautiful sunrise. We stopped at the 7 mile bridge to stretch our legs and take pictures. A very cool bridge. It was interesting seeing the old bridge no longer in use. We were able to check into our hotel early and then left for downtown Key West, headed for Duval Street. We enjoyeed sloppy joes at the famous Sloppy Joe's, a frequent stop for the now deceased Ernest Hemmingway. We also toured the Hemmingway Estate and saw the famous 6-toed cats who have free range of the in-and outside of the estate. The cats are spoiled and have small quarter's built for them outside. There is a lighthouse across the street, but we did not tour it. Of course, we went to the "southern most point" and had our picture taken there. It is about 90 nautical miles from Cuba. We thought the glass bottom boat would be a lot of fun. The boat ride itself was great. The water is as blue as it looks in the pictures. The glass bottom part of the ride....not so fun. Besides being nauseating from looking down, it was rather cloudy and not so much to see. I had a margarita at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, a fun little bar. We had drinks and appetizer's at the Sunset Pier waiting for the famous sunset, which was well worth the wait. Mallory Square is a "must go to" on Key West in the evening. There are street entertainers, local crafts (which have to be made locally to be sold there), bars, music, dancing, roosters, etc. On Sunday morning we had brunch with the roosters at the Blue Heaven (recommended by Lauren) which was great. If and when you plan to go, you really need to plan several days or more to be there. Twenty-four hours was not nearly enough.