Late Season Sunshine…

This was a holiday just for Sue and I where we could please ourselves and enjoy each other’s company. It had been a while in the planning and took some time to come around, but we were ready for it when the date drew near.

We were going to take a driving holiday of the Florida Keys (though deliberately not driving every day), and we flew into Miami arriving in the early evening where we picked up our car from the airport (when the garage manager saw my height she asked if we wanted to free upgrade, secretly hoping for a Mustang convertible we ended up with a big black SUV). We drove into the busy traffic towards Miami Beach where we found our Art Deco hotel, the Albion and checked in (again were asked if we wanted a free upgrade, this time to the penthouse suite. A bit more impressive sounding than it actually was as the décor was in need a freshening up, however it was several rooms with its own sundeck on the roof overlooking the city).

Ignoring the fatigue of the flight we ventured out up to the nearby pedestrian area of town where we watched the world go by, had a beer and a bight to eat and then turned in for the night.

I knew there was a good chance the time difference would mean we were up before sunrise so I had planned for this and we walked the couple of blocks to Miami Beach where we witnessed the sunrise as it came up over the sea in a spectacular fashion. Then we walked along Ocean Drive to the 24hr News Café for a hearty breakfast.

After getting some provisions we drove out of the busy metropolis and off towards the Everglades. Near the entrance to the park is an interesting information centre and not far from that a lovely boardwalk around a couple of ponds where we saw crocodile, snapping turtle and plenty of birdlife. As we had time we drove down to the coast to hopefully see more. We packed up in the shade and walked across the grass towards the information centre there and immediately became engulfed in a cloud of voracious mosquitoes (in the centre there was a notice saying the insects were horrible today and recommending people stayed of the grass and remained in the sunshine – now they told us). This soured our experience and so we drove away towards our next accommodation  

Ocean Pointe Suites near to Key Largo which was a complex of apartment blocks on a secluded area with a pool, small marine, bar and café and a small beach. The apartments were reasonable appointed and had small balconies with views out over the sea. We had already planned to use the kitchen facilities to cook our own meal and relax for the evening.

The next day we ventured out to see the old African Queen boat at Key Largo, from the Humphrey Bogart movie Key Largo.

We visited the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and although we did not plan to dive or swim the waters we still enjoyed our journey out in the glass bottom boat that took us out  over the reef.

In the evening we had a pretty forgettable meal at a local establishment that had been recommended (we started to find that a lot of American meals were huge, bland and usually deep fried).

The following day we packed up and took a leisurely drive down towards Key West. We stopped at the Lazy Days South restaurant that was recommended to us and from the outside it did not look like much. The covered deck overlooking the harbour was more like it and the food was very good, in fact it was the best meal Sue had in our time there. We also had to discourage an iguana from joining our table, fobbing him off with a bit of tomato.

In the afternoon we arrived at Key West and our centrally located La Concha Hotel. After settling in we ventured off to see a bit of the town along the busy Duval Street towards the western shore.

As we perambulated along we came across the Hog’s Breath bar (hog’s breath is better than no breath at all) and we stopped for a refreshing drink and to listen to the music before moving on to settle for a while

at the Sunset Pier where we watched the sun go down with a drink in hand and live music in our ears.

Sue had found out about an intriguing place called the Little Room Jazz Club where we ventured to after dark. It was a fabulous little venue, eclectically decorated and cosy. It was virtually empty when we arrived and it didn’t sell hot food or spirits, but the wine menu was good and the beer was fine too. The place became a little busier later and when the

Hal Howland Trio took to the little stage there was a nice, relaxed atmosphere starting. We had a lovely evening listing to fine music.

The next day I had planned as a cultural one. We had learned from the concierge that the hotel had two sister hotels, one at either end of Duval St by the sea, and that there was a golf cart shuttle that travelled between them, so we bore this in mind. We walked out for breakfast and then took the shuttle from one coast to the other where we had a snoop around the lovely hotel on the eastern side. From there it was a short walk to the southernmost point (not actually the southernmost as that is nearby on Navy land), then up towards Hemingway’s house, and then onto Truman’s Little White House. The weather had turned a little damp so we ventured back into town via a small bar and tested out a couple of Hemmingway’s preferred watering holes. Capt Tony’s and Sloppy Joe’s (for a Sloppy Rita – margarita that is), both were understandably busy and loud with loads of people and enthusiastic live music.

A recommendation to us by friends who had visited Key West before was to take the ferry out to the Dry Tortugas and see Fort Jefferson. Unfortunately the weather was such that the sea was quite choppy which Sue was not best pleased about (not quite a repeat of the ferry trip from the Shetland Islands, but still). The place though was fabulous, a massive civil war fort, lovely beaches and some fabulous wildlife, but I think Sue was unable to relax too much as we still had to return on the boat (at least on the way back the bar was open and we found a more stable position in the sunshine).

We thought we would try a nice fish restaurant as a treat and although the food was lovely it did not feel welcoming and we did not feel encouraged to linger, an expensive mistake.

The next day we got the car out and went for a little drive to see a couple of gardens. First was the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden, which was a grander title than it perhaps deserved, though we did see loads of smaller turtles, and some interesting birds and insects, the plants though were less dramatic and the garden was more naturalistic. The small Key West Garden Club in the remains of the West Martello Tower was more dramatic, partly because of its location amongst the tower’s ruins on the coast and partly because of the more exotic choice of planting.

In the evening we again ventured out to see the sunset, this time at the much vaunted Mallory Square, where we had a couple of Mojito’s to celebrate another fine day.

We then strolled through the lovely Memorial Sculpture Garden full of bronze bust to significant local peoples of the past.

This time we ate at a busy establishment right on the bustling Duval Street, capitalising on the happy hour to relax and watch the world go by.

We returned to the Little Room Jazz Club again, this time to see Larry Baeder and Bill Blue play some very accomplished blues while telling us amusing tales of their earlier careers.

On our final day we took it easy in the morning and drove leisurely back up the Keys having lunch at the beach at the other Lazy Days restaurant. The view was better but we didn’t have quite the same success with our choices of food.

We had a bit of a wait at the airport, which is not the most impressive of places, but we had our final indulgence of the holiday was a sturdy chocolate pudding and large margarita.