pitzerwm
Active member
Has anyone traveled to Key West recently and if you did where did you stay? What kinds of things do you think is a must see/do?
Visiting Key West
- Thread starter pitzerwm
- Start date
frside1
New member
must see hemingway house, sloppy joe's, i stayed at "the southernmost hotel" i am pretty sure that was the name of it. you might go during fantasy fest, if you are brave and strong enough. look it up. great place to visit would not want to live there.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Bill, last time I was in the keys was 2001. wow, time flies. Anyway Key West is kinda like a tiny little new orleans. It biggest feature is a laid back lifestyle, and if you are so inclined all the pole you could smoke. I would not take my kids out at night. I remember seeing some 6'2" black guy dressed in a white nurses uniform walking down the street in stilettos. But don't let me scare you, there's lots of straight people, and pretty girls (well, they looked like girls to me anyway) to look at too.
Anyway, the big thing is to go and kick back. Watch the sunset. A crowd and carnival atmosphere develops down at the pier. There are many bars to go to, As far as the day Hemingway house, the southernmost point (just to go there) Mel Fisher's treasure museum come to mind. If you like the water, diving and snorkeling would be great, but better in the upper keys.
I stayed at a place with "character" while I was down there- called Courtney's place. It was in old town and was basically a few shotgun houses turned into a B&B. There was a little courtyard with a tiny pool to swim in. Kinda neat, but not for everyone, especially those that like the relative sterility of a Hampton Inn. Be sure and stay in old town to get the feel of the place. Parking is a bitch in old town. http://www.courtneysplacekeywest.com/
BTW, all the upper keys are the polar opposite of key west, they pretty much roll up the streets at night.
Anyway, the big thing is to go and kick back. Watch the sunset. A crowd and carnival atmosphere develops down at the pier. There are many bars to go to, As far as the day Hemingway house, the southernmost point (just to go there) Mel Fisher's treasure museum come to mind. If you like the water, diving and snorkeling would be great, but better in the upper keys.
I stayed at a place with "character" while I was down there- called Courtney's place. It was in old town and was basically a few shotgun houses turned into a B&B. There was a little courtyard with a tiny pool to swim in. Kinda neat, but not for everyone, especially those that like the relative sterility of a Hampton Inn. Be sure and stay in old town to get the feel of the place. Parking is a bitch in old town. http://www.courtneysplacekeywest.com/
BTW, all the upper keys are the polar opposite of key west, they pretty much roll up the streets at night.
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Ben's Car Wash
Conveyor & self service
Bill at Fantasy Fest! that's a laugh!
Been there dozens of times. I usually rent homes in Marathon or Islamorada, long time ago on big pine and cudjo key. When I did stay in key west (if not camping 20 years ago) I stayed in the hotel built by Henry Flagler (he built the overseas Rail road trying to get to Cuba before the 1932 hurricane in the Keys that distroyed it). I think it is a Westin now. There are a ton of bed & breakfast Inns.
Lots to do. DRINK, GET DRUNK, STUMBLE to Malory square (about 2000 feet from Sloppy Joes or Ricks) to watch the Sun set. The Sun set is a carnival like event with street performers begging for your cash... some hokey, some funny, some well known and national.
I'd suggest taking a seaplane or boat to Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Ft Jefferson was a Civil war prission where Dr. Mudd was impressioned for rendering aid to John Wilkes Booth. Mudd helped care for soilders in Ft. Jefferson are a bad case of Yellow fever even though he was a prissioner. You can snorkel, dive and fish (great Hog Fish). The best diving I've ever done on a live aboard was in the Dry Tortugas! Ft. Jefferson was interesting to me.
Key West is a small town. The natives call themselves "CONCHS". In the 1980's the signed a bill declaring themselves SEPARATE FROM THE US.... they ceceded from the US! For one day.... they left the American States! Big PR stunt... but funny $hit... they call it the "Conch Republic" ever since.
Key West has a high Gay/Bi community. It had one of the first AID out reach programs in the US. On New Years Eve they drop a BI-cross dresser from a huge slipper at a local drag theater! Be careful who you think is a woman!
Hemmingway loved Key West. His house is a neat tour. Famous for it's 6 toe cats (hundreds of them).
Been there dozens of times. I usually rent homes in Marathon or Islamorada, long time ago on big pine and cudjo key. When I did stay in key west (if not camping 20 years ago) I stayed in the hotel built by Henry Flagler (he built the overseas Rail road trying to get to Cuba before the 1932 hurricane in the Keys that distroyed it). I think it is a Westin now. There are a ton of bed & breakfast Inns.
Lots to do. DRINK, GET DRUNK, STUMBLE to Malory square (about 2000 feet from Sloppy Joes or Ricks) to watch the Sun set. The Sun set is a carnival like event with street performers begging for your cash... some hokey, some funny, some well known and national.
I'd suggest taking a seaplane or boat to Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Ft Jefferson was a Civil war prission where Dr. Mudd was impressioned for rendering aid to John Wilkes Booth. Mudd helped care for soilders in Ft. Jefferson are a bad case of Yellow fever even though he was a prissioner. You can snorkel, dive and fish (great Hog Fish). The best diving I've ever done on a live aboard was in the Dry Tortugas! Ft. Jefferson was interesting to me.
Key West is a small town. The natives call themselves "CONCHS". In the 1980's the signed a bill declaring themselves SEPARATE FROM THE US.... they ceceded from the US! For one day.... they left the American States! Big PR stunt... but funny $hit... they call it the "Conch Republic" ever since.
Key West has a high Gay/Bi community. It had one of the first AID out reach programs in the US. On New Years Eve they drop a BI-cross dresser from a huge slipper at a local drag theater! Be careful who you think is a woman!
Hemmingway loved Key West. His house is a neat tour. Famous for it's 6 toe cats (hundreds of them).
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Ben's Car Wash
Conveyor & self service
The key's are 120 miles long and consist of thousands of small islands. In Florida Bay it's called 10,000 Islands.... fisherman and convicts have been know to get lost and not find there way out.
The Spanish first named the keys "the Island of Bones". The native Indian tribes fought brutally. The Seminole Indian (the only Indians that the US is still officially at WAR with) chased these other groups of Indians island to island until the eventually made it to Key West.... then the Seminoles wiped out all other tribes! Because the keys are made of reef coral... the native indians left their dead on the ground. The Spanish discovered some Islands covered in human bones.
Key West began as a SALVAGE TOWN. The reefs of the keys were famous for running ships aground. I dove many wrecks and fished many too. That's the basic history.... a salvage town.... they never leave in Hurricanes (at least the hard core ones).
The Spanish first named the keys "the Island of Bones". The native Indian tribes fought brutally. The Seminole Indian (the only Indians that the US is still officially at WAR with) chased these other groups of Indians island to island until the eventually made it to Key West.... then the Seminoles wiped out all other tribes! Because the keys are made of reef coral... the native indians left their dead on the ground. The Spanish discovered some Islands covered in human bones.
Key West began as a SALVAGE TOWN. The reefs of the keys were famous for running ships aground. I dove many wrecks and fished many too. That's the basic history.... a salvage town.... they never leave in Hurricanes (at least the hard core ones).
You just have to love a place where one of the more popular tshirts says "Rehab is for quitters." I can just see Bill with an eye patch, parrott on his shoulder, half bottle of rum on the table, and a couple of scantially clad ladies bringing fresh limes.
pitzerwm
Active member
I hope that works out that way, I'll take a picture. Doug, you'd be surprised what I can handle. I have been reading about the festivals and history, it does sound like I'll have a good time.
JMMUSTANG
car wash owner
If your going down to the keys check out Palm Island, close to Key West.
It's a private island with 35-40 private bungalows, indoor and outdoor showers and about 10 steps away from the water.
You can take their boat over for lunch or dinner to check it out.
NICE
It's a private island with 35-40 private bungalows, indoor and outdoor showers and about 10 steps away from the water.
You can take their boat over for lunch or dinner to check it out.
NICE
Ben's Car Wash
Conveyor & self service
Yea.... well that island started out as a trash pile for the US navy! It was a navigational tool for me years ago (or a hazard depending on how much I had to drink)! Hard to beleive what they can sell now a days!
