FL Keys / Key West

[maid memories]

Lefty - the ferry isn't bad considering you're already in Ft Meyers. Much better than renting a car and driving the extra hours.

I can't believe so many of you come to visit and don't contact the locals. I don't know much as others, as I've only lived here two months, but lord knows I love meeting you all.

[catsway]

Lefty - the ferry isn't bad considering you're already in Ft Meyers. Much better than renting a car and driving the extra hours.

I can't believe so many of you come to visit and don't contact the locals. I don't know much as others, as I've only lived here two months, but lord knows I love meeting you all.

We would love to visit with you when we arrive on July 18th (Cat's b-day) for Hemingway Days. We always look up Popcorn Jack and Quint when we are in town. We stay at the Tropical Inn on Duval. Lets meet for boat drinks!

[clearlakeparrot]

Starting Nov 4 Southwest Airlines will serve Key West with 2 daily flights. No more AirTran

A direct flight from Baltimore to Key West would be sweet!!!!!

They will serve Key West out of TPA and MCO for now. If demand is there they will add flights. There are easy connections in TPA and MCO.

[maid memories]

Lefty - the ferry isn't bad considering you're already in Ft Meyers. Much better than renting a car and driving the extra hours.

I can't believe so many of you come to visit and don't contact the locals. I don't know much as others, as I've only lived here two months, but lord knows I love meeting you all.

We would love to visit with you when we arrive on July 18th (Cat's b-day) for Hemingway Days. We always look up Popcorn Jack and Quint when we are in town. We stay at the Tropical Inn on Duval. Lets meet for boat drinks!

Looking forward to it!

[IrishPirate]

Lefty are you going to MOTM? I have not seen you in 7+ years??

No MOTM for me this year... I'll get there one day!! (When I finally get off my a$$ and join a PHC...)

Me and the future Mrs. Lefty are taking a day or two from our trip to Fort Myers to go during the US Thanksgving week. She's never been and is dying to go!!

Cool!!! Stop by Sloppy Joe's one night and see my cousin's band, Modern Bliss, and tell'em I sent you!

Starting Nov 4 Southwest Airlines will serve Key West with 2 daily flights. No more AirTran

The prices are higher than Airtran's but that could come down between now and Nov. Philly to KW $193.00 and three flights to choose from!

[maid memories]

Lefty are you going to MOTM? I have not seen you in 7+ years??

No MOTM for me this year... I'll get there one day!! (When I finally get off my a$$ and join a PHC...)

Me and the future Mrs. Lefty are taking a day or two from our trip to Fort Myers to go during the US Thanksgving week. She's never been and is dying to go!!

Cool!!! Stop by Sloppy Joe's one night and see my cousin's band, Modern Bliss, and tell'em I sent you!

My roommate bartends there.

[spadilly]

sorry for the delay getting back on here after my trip.

AMAZING!

first time to go down there, and in no particular order, here are my takeaways/thought/memories:

-the drive from ft lauderdale was good, but honestly if i go back, i'll pay the extra money and fly into key west. 2-4 lanes at 45-55mph the whole way and the trees in the keys were so high you dont see much water until the bridges.

-we stopped at chad's deli & bakery in key largo on the drive down. awesome little place. good to get out, stretch the legs, and have a bite to eat. we had heard great things about the place and it didnt disappoint. mrs spadilly and i split a small seafood pizza and it filled both of us up. excellent, and i'd recommend this to anyone making the drive down there.

-we stayed at the sheraton suites by the airport. got a great deal on the hotel. shuttle from the hotel to the other side of the island everyday.

-the hotel shuttle dropped us off at the corner of elizabeth and greene. if you know what's there, you know why i was so excited. if you dont know what's there, this was literally the first thing i saw when i stepped off the bus. i about had a heart attack. bucket list item number one had finally been completed and checked off my list:




-sunset at mallory square the first night we were there:



-having a beer at captain tonys was great. it was cool to see all of the Buffett/Capt Tony stuff in the bar.

-saw BN's favorite bartender while i was there. got a tip from someone that he was working a particular day and introduced myself.

-Blue Heaven - best meal we had on the trip. i had the shrimp/grits and mrs spadilly had benedict. this was our favorite spot on the trip. great meal, and it was cool to have roosters running around our feet while we ate.
-a side story to the place: mrs spadilly is a texas a&m grad, and i married into the aggie family. we ended up sitting near a couple from college station (home of a&m) that morning and started chatting some a&m baseball with them (i had on an a&m shirt/hat). they left, we kept eating. when we finished, the waitress said our meal had been paid for by the couple sitting by us. simple act by them, but really meant a lot to us. i think jimmy said it best..."there's still some magic left in this tourist town."

-i'm in the minority on this, but BO's Fish Wagon was disappointing. i imagine it's because it was built up by so many people that i had super high expectations. decent food, but for the price i was a little let down.

-original margaritaville was fun to have a drink at. didnt order food because i've been to several others, but i guess that's the mecca of all things buffett. got a few shirts.

-scooters are harder to drive (actually park) than i thought. pretty big learning curve, and a new mirror and front panel ended up costing us $125. well, at least i didnt have to file it w/ insurance.

-the buoy you see in all the pictures is hidden away. you'd never know it was there if you didnt have a map or directions. hello cuba.

-went to the national park for our beach time on the island.

-i love airplanes. i love jets. i loved seeing the Navy fly over several times a day.

-conch fritters are amazing. my mouth is watering right now thinking about them.

-key west is a very interesting mix. i love the old town part, but it's crazy seeing all of the tourist traps around. really makes me wish i was alive in the 70's to take a trip down there before it became a vacation destination.

-we did a sunset snorkel with a company called Fury. not bad, but it rained and was cloudy so we didnt see the sunset from the water.

-as a texan, i try to get my yengling fill whenever i go east of the mississippi river. drank a ton of it and enjoyed every last drop.

-ended up missing the woodlands show the day we came back, as our flight landed at 8:55pm that night. bittersweet, but i think jimmy would be okay with my 'coming back from my first key west trip' excuse. just means i have to find a show later this year i can travel to.

[conched]

Great that you had an AMAZING trip. Nice writing...

Missed ya at the Woodlands. "It was hotter than the hinges hanging from the gates of hell."

B.O.s was one of my favorite places, because I have never had the same Picadillo anywhere else. While most people rave about the fish sandwich, I'll have that Picadillo every time.

[Left Field ParrotHead]

Lefty - the ferry isn't bad considering you're already in Ft Meyers. Much better than renting a car and driving the extra hours.

I checked the drive time, and giving you have to be at the ferry an hour and a half early, and they say its a 3 and a half hour trip, but it's often longer, plus time to disembark, it's about the same amount of time. And, since we are driving down from Canada, we'll already have a car with us.

And, I would rather spend the morning driving down A1A than sitting in a ferry terminal...

[maid memories]

Lefty - the ferry isn't bad considering you're already in Ft Meyers. Much better than renting a car and driving the extra hours.

I checked the drive time, and giving you have to be at the ferry an hour and a half early, and they say its a 3 and a half hour trip, but it's often longer, plus time to disembark, it's about the same amount of time. And, since we are driving down from Canada, we'll already have a car with us.

And, I would rather spend the morning driving down A1A than sitting in a ferry terminal...

You're driving from Canada? Lord have mercy. I thought the drive down here from Nashville was long.

[Bfan53again]

Hey spadilly....nice post!!!

So glad you had a great time......when you going back??????

[Crazy Navy Flyer]

Hey Spadilly, thanks for the report, it is a magical place for many. My years there in the early 70's were some of the best of my life, back in the days of 2 lane bridges and few tourist traps, Mallory Square was totally different, the sunset experience was a locals thing.

[flipflopgirl]

Lefty - the ferry isn't bad considering you're already in Ft Meyers. Much better than renting a car and driving the extra hours.

I can't believe so many of you come to visit and don't contact the locals. I don't know much as others, as I've only lived here two months, but lord knows I love meeting you all.

We would love to visit with you when we arrive on July 18th (Cat's b-day) for Hemingway Days. We always look up Popcorn Jack and Quint when we are in town. We stay at the Tropical Inn on Duval. Lets meet for boat drinks!

Wayne and Cathi have a great trip to KW!!! Please stop by Greenworld Gallery at 712B Duval St and see my friend Koz! he has some awesome art in his gallery and is a huge supporter of Trop rock....sells alot of the artists cd's in the Gallery! and he is just a really cool, really nice guy!

http://www.greenworldgallery.com/

[flipflopgirl]

PS for everyone i have posted this before......El Siboney 900 Catherine St. awesome Cuban food and SANGRIA!!!!!!!! and great prices!

and the Hogfish Bar and Grill on Stock Island awesome food....and some fun people watching....lots of locals there!

[catsway]

Lefty - the ferry isn't bad considering you're already in Ft Meyers. Much better than renting a car and driving the extra hours.

I can't believe so many of you come to visit and don't contact the locals. I don't know much as others, as I've only lived here two months, but lord knows I love meeting you all.

We would love to visit with you when we arrive on July 18th (Cat's b-day) for Hemingway Days. We always look up Popcorn Jack and Quint when we are in town. We stay at the Tropical Inn on Duval. Lets meet for boat drinks!

Wayne and Cathi have a great trip to KW!!! Please stop by Greenworld Gallery at 712B Duval St and see my friend Koz! he has some awesome art in his gallery and is a huge supporter of Trop rock....sells alot of the artists cd's in the Gallery! and he is just a really cool, really nice guy!

http://www.greenworldgallery.com/

Christine! You can tell Koz to look out for the guy with African Grey parrot on his shoulder in mid-July. Cat and I look forward to meeting him.
We are looking for a web site that might list all the live entertainment available in KW during our stay. Any help out there?

[flipflopgirl]

Wayne i don't know of one website.......each bar has it's own, Jack or Lesley could give you better info on the local musicians that play on a regular basis. Sloppy Joe's has Matt Quinton and Brian Roberts and the Smokin Tuna and Green Parrot always have good music!!!

[maid memories]

Wayne i don't know of one website.......each bar has it's own, Jack or Lesley could give you better info on the local musicians that play on a regular basis. Sloppy Joe's has Matt Quinton and Brian Roberts and the Smokin Tuna and Green Parrot always have good music!!!

Check out http://6toejam.com/. They try to condense all the calendars from all the venues into one.

[piratenurse]

Heading down tomorrow. It's about time.

[dnw]

Heading down tomorrow. It's about time.

Safe travels and have fun!

[catsway]

Heading down tomorrow. It's about time.

Safe travels and have fun!

We are thirty days behind you! Have Fun!