Our visit to Key West is now a few weeks back, before the intensity of COVID-19. Since then, we heard that Key West has temporarily closed its doors to tourists. We hope this post finds all of you and your family doing well!
Key West is a happening and busy place! Tourism is their only industry. They have 4 million visitors per year in their 5 square miles. People arrive by car, motorcycle, charter boats, ferries, cruise ships, air and bike. Nothing is too far away but getting around isn’t fast! The city sits just barely above sea level, but the reef provides cover so there is no surf. The water is a beautiful turquoise all around the island. It’s a very treacherous area for boaters with the reefs and sudden shallow areas.
Some of the area attractions include Truman’s Little White House, Ernest Hemingway house, Old Town, the marina area, Jimmy Buffet recording studio (not a fancy building, but it’s right on the marina and we were told he only records there) and of course Duval Street! There are 160 bars on Duval Street. We were never there late and never saw anything getting too crazy though. The old town district is fun to see. Any building restored must be done as original. We’ve included one Walgreens picture. If you look closely, you can find their old logo in a very interesting looking building.
We took a trolly ride and tour, which was a great way to get an overview of the island. We also did a tour of the Key West Oldest Rum Distillery and learned the Cuban style of making a great and not too sweet Mojito. While in the Keys and much of the time in Florida, it seems we have been on a nearly all fish diet for dinner. We love all the fresh seafood! We ate out the most in Key West -- a lot of fun restaurants! We were also fortunate to have a great seafood market within walking distance of our resort, so have cooked many meals from our rolling house!
Roosters crow constantly at all hours of the day . . . and yes . . . very early in the morning! The roosters and chickens are protected and roam freely throughout the island. We continued to “hear them in our head” for a couple days after leaving the Keys!
While in Key West, we purchased two Specialized Turbo Vado e-bikes. They are amazing and very fun to ride! We did multiple trips around Key West on the bike trails and getting around town was much easier on bikes than with the Jeep. We purchased them from Island Bicycle. They both sell and rent bikes, and we would highly recommend them.
Pictures, in order shown:
- Biking in the new district along the beautiful turquoise water
- Old Town, rooster and all!
- Famous Custom House restored to a museum, originally built 1891
- Key West Light House
- Walgreens (look under "ND" of "STRAND")
- Truman's Little White House
- Mile zero of the famous Highway 1
- Jimmy Buffet Recording Studio (at the Marina)
- Set-up back at our Motorhome to practice newly acquired Mojito skills! The unsweetened coconut rum is quite good.