Ahhh…. Key West, Florida. There is no place in Florida or perhaps anywhere in the U.S. that is quite like Key West. It is located in the southernmost point of the United States with only 90 miles to Cuba from the famous Buoy. Key West is like a whole different world. It feels like you are in the Caribbean. The drive through the keys to Key West is absolutely gorgeous. The pretty blue Caribbean colors of the ocean surrounding the highway on both sides and the small islands are breathtaking. I have to admit, at first I was a bit nervous at the thought of driving across the ocean on a two-way highway up in the air while pulling a camper. But it was not as bad as I thought. In fact, it was quite relaxing. The bridges were actually quite short with the exception of the 7 mile long bridge. But even that was not nerve wrecking. You basically island hop between all of the islands so the bridges are quite short. There were so many keys that I lost count of them. Many are so small that they are more like stop offs. There is something to do for everyone in Key West. There is plenty of shopping, food selections, drink options (you can drink openly on the streets here), music entertainment, transportation rentals (bicycles, golf carts, mopeds, etc), museums, tours, and much more. You are going to need a few days here to enjoy everything the island has to offer. I must warn you, it is very hot and humid here and you may become drenched in your own sweat while doing nothing but standing there. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids including water.
Boyd's Key West Campground - Now this is the place to stay in Key West! They had all the amenities: pool with a lounge area, laundry facilities, and a camp store upfront. The park is ocean front and offers spectacular water views. The RV sites offer plenty of room and the area is cemented, which helps cut back on dirt. There were bushes in between the sites so it felt more private. Our site was on the ocean with a mangrove partially blocking the view. We liked having the mangrove because it attracts the Iguanas and lizards. They seem to like to climb in them and eat. The Iguanas and lizards roam free here and they are huge in size! They are harmless though. If you try to walk up to an Iguana, it will get away from you really fast. So I took that as they are not too thrilled with us trying to get too close, so I did not try again. It was kind of strange to see reptiles that some people have as pets in their homes. They also have free roaming roasters everywhere. They are actually friendly. They really just want you to feed them some food. The roasters will walk right up to you if you are sitting or standing there. I suppose they are used to humans by now and don’t mind our kind too much.
1. Mallory Square
Every evening at the square they have a Sunset Celebration, a nightly arts festival. There is a diverse crowd of people that gather for entertainment such as musicians, artists, etc. and to see Key West’s most beautiful sunset. There are many restaurants and shops to choose from. Mallory Square is the old historic area of Key West.
2. Sloppy Joe’s
So this place is probably one of the most famous places to go in Key West. It is famous for having the famous patron, Ernest Hemingway. He was a well known writer in the 1930’s and Sloppy Joe’s was known as his regular hangout. Sloppy Joe’s is pretty large. They had a band playing on a large stage in the main area. They also have a live web cam right outside the entrance. A couple of our friends logged onto sloppy Joe’s website to see if they could see us. They did see us and snapped a screenshot of us waving at them. Sloppy Joe’s was very busy so we did have to go to their taproom to avoid the waiting list. There was much more room in the Tap Room and the bartender was a very cool guy. He was quite knowledgeable about the different drinks and mentioned he had about 20 years experience in the bartending industry. So we did get top notch service while visiting this establishment.
3. Coolcast Fishing Charter
We booked a half day shared fishing charter with Coolcast Fishing Charter. Our captain was John. We did not catch much of a variety of fish that day. There were other charters out there that were having a hard time catching fish. Captain John mentioned that it was an off day and that normally the fish bite more. We did still catch quite a few yellow snapper though. Our other shipmates were a grandfather and grandson. They were leaving on a plane that evening so they weren’t able to take their portion of the fish we all caught with them. So we did get lucky with extra fish. We really could not complain about that. The sun was out and the water was gorgeous. It was perfect! I highly recommend going on a fishing charter while you are here.
1. El Meson De Pepe’s Restaurant & Bar
This is an authentic Cuban Restaurant located at Mallory Square. We wanted to try authentic Cuban while we were in the southern part of Florida since there was a lot of Cuban influence in the area. So we stopped in for lunch after retrieving Shane’s wallet. We both ordered the classic Cuban sandwich, which is ham, pork, lettuce, mayo, pickles, pressed on a bun. It was nice and crispy. It was very good. The restaurant felt very Cuban and so was the staff.
2. The Conch Shack
We knew there was one thing we had to try while we were here and that was a lobster roll! When I was doing research on the area before visiting, there were a lot of recommendations to try the lobster rolls in Key West. So we had to do it. This place did not disappoint! The lobster was made with a mayo base. It reminded me of a lobster salad. It tasted so fresh on a buttered grilled bun.
3. Conch Fritters Stand
We had the conch fritters with a creamy reddish dipping sauce that had a bit of spice. They were edible but not great. We also tried the crab cakes and onion rings. The crab cakes were just okay. The onion rings were good.
