Welcome to Key West

Sunset at Key West

First glimpse of land! It is Key west!

Before we write about Key West, we want our readers to know that currently, we are in Key Largo.

Freedom’s Turn arrived in Key Largo on January 12, four days earlier than anticipated.
Due to threats of some pretty heavy winds building to 25-35 knots by the 15th Charlie and I decided to get to Key Largo sooner than later; promising ourselves to rent a car at a later date and go back to see more of the Keys that we still wanted to see. You just don’t guess with the weather while boating on the Atlantic Ocean.

And so it is that Freedom’s Turn and her crew are currently tucked into her assigned slip # 8 at a very nice Marina Del Mar until February 12. We realize this is a unique time in our lives to relax in this beautiful place for a whole month.

A synopsis of our trip in the Keys so far:

Arrive at Key West Bight City Marina on January 5
Arrive for anchorage at Big Pine Key in Newfound Harbor on January 9
Arrive at Vaca Key to stay at a private dock in the city of Marathon on January 10
Arrive at Key Largo on January 12


Arriving at Key West January 5

We traveled 75 miles from our Little Shark anchorage off the mainland of southwestern Florida to cross the open waters of the Gulf to Key West. The weather was perfect for a cruise. And the water became cleaner looking, the sand on shore whiter, the water color a beautiful shade of turquoise. It was a thrill for us to see land, (see photo above) knowing our adventure in the Keys was about to begin. (Like a Gilligan’s Island kind of feeling.)







We chose the Key West Bight City Marina and as we entered the Historic Seaport Harbor, we laid our eyes on an exotic and resort looking shoreline.

We felt this was a cornerstone of our entire trip. It was like we were in a novel, not in our real life.

We were seeing first hand the beginning of one the world’s most premier spots; for charter fishing, diving, snorkeling, all the water sports imaginable, and sunset cruises.
We were about to experience a very laid back atmosphere; you don’t want t o be in a hurry or make anyone hurry at any time!









There were boats everywhere, coming and going; mostly bigger and unique than we had seen at any one place.













On our first night, we walked a couple of miles into the heart of downtown Key West to observe the ambiance. The shops and restaurants were all open to the outside air and there were no bugs to see or feel anywhere. The air was fresh and breezy and smelled like the sea.




The festive holiday spirit was still evident everywhere we looked. Here is the Curry Bed and Breakfast.



The next day Charlie and I got on our bikes and went to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. I tried to find my way by land! Charlie swam but I said the sand hurt my feet!





Below, this is not your ordinary beach view!

That night, we had fun at the Lazy Gecko Bar and enjoyed 2 for 1 draft beer and great pizza. We celebrated the fact we had made it to Key West!

Among the evening’s highlights were watching a good MSU victory over Kansas and calling our longtime friends Dave and Marcia. They were just walking into the Breslin basketball field house on MSU’s campus for the beginning of the game when we called them. (We four have had seats together for many years and have had wonderful times there! ) It sounded like Charlie rubbed it in good when he told Dave about our weather at the present and Dave said he was just walking into Breslin, freezing his “blank” off. Dave recently emailed us complaining that he never gets mentioned by name in the blog so Dave, I hope you are now satisfied. In fact, I'll write that this paragraph is really all about Dave. He likes it when things are all about him. :)

We got our picture taken at the bar with our waiter to document the night.

Jimmy Buffett came to Key West in the 70’s and stayed for awhile, helping to create the laid back and according to some, ‘wild and crazy’ image coming out of Key west. His original “Margarita Ville” Restaurant on Duval Street in downtown is still operational. We had another place picked out for dinner so did not eat here. They say this place has really good cheeseburgers. Imagine that.

Visitors get their fill of looking at colorful sights; even fences with painted decorations.

We separated on the third day and each of us did our own thing. Besides some sightseeing, Charlie chose the West Marine store, a hardware store and two ice cream stores (!) I chose shopping for our gifts for our girls, then getting something for son-law Jody’s birthday present, and then I went to the Key West Historical and Art Museum. (of course I did not take pictures of the gifts!)

And my last stop was the home Ernest Hemmingway lived in with his wife Pauline.

Ernest Hemmingway came to Key West in 1928 and stayed for 10 years. The remoteness and freedom of Key West to write attracted him, but it was the fishing that was his passion here, according to my guide.

Below is the Hemmingway Master bedroom. The cat is real! It lives on the grounds.

Here is the living room. The colors are indeed lovely.

Side view of the Hemmingway home.

I spotted several cats with their fancy cat houses on the grounds; supposedly descendants of Hemmingway’s six-toed cat.

Everywhere you go, you will see rooster and chicken decorations and motifs. That is because these fowl are like the unofficial icon for Key West. For hundreds of years they have been roaming freely; protected by the government, pedestrians and vehicles. Years ago there was a movement by some locals to get rid of as many birds as possible so they hired ‘chicken catchers’, until these catchers walked away from their jobs, saying this was not a chicken problem but a people problem! Hearing the roosters crowing was a frequent sound! They are seen everywhere, even at the post office.

We greatly enjoyed visiting with our friends Gene and Kathy who came to visit us for a day from their winter base of Marathon. They are staying with Gene’s brother and his wife and Gene’s mother. We know Gene and Kathy from our home marina at Duncan Bay in Cheboygan, Michigan.

Our friends Jim and Lisa from the boat Kismet are staying in the Key West area on Stock Island for a month and they came for a visit where we four walked through the cemetery. This is Jim with Charlie. Notice the plots for families with above ground vaults.

On our last night here, we joined the crowd gathered along the harborwalk to participate in a ritual here: the “celebration of the sunset” at Mallory Square. Not too far from here is a place along the beach known as the southernmost point in the continental United States!

The food was great, the weather perfect, the people friendly and very laid back. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. No wonder Key West is known as one of the most ultimate destinations in the world.

After our stay, we concluded that Jimmy Buffett song “Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude” captured the essence here in Key West!

Sincerely,

Linda and Charlie