Day 3 - I made my way to Ft. Zachary Taylor Park for Yoga on the Beach. It was incredible to practice with all of that ocean and open air around and I walked away feeling very relaxed. I didn't walk far though, only a couple yards down onto the beach, laid out my towel, and started working on some sleep while the beach was still fairly empty.
For reasons I do not understand, a huge family came and picked a spot only 2 feet away from me to set up their day at the beach. The beach was still virtually empty so why they decided to come right up next to me like that is totally beyond me. I thought about just inviting them to come sit in my lap, since they may as well have. I didn't move my towel though until they did the ultimate offensive thing, which was to set up a huge umbrella right next to me and put me under the shade. They messed with my tan, so it was time for me to separate myself from my perplexingly rude adoptive family. There were no words in our goodbye.
I did get up at some point and do some walking on the beach, a little frolicking in the water, and some climbing on rocks. And when I say climbing on rocks, I'm even just talking about walking on the beach. There isn't a lot of sand in Key West, the beaches are very rocky. I think almost all of the fine sand on the island is actually imported from the Bahamas. There were also some very large rocks though that came out into a mini peninsula and others that made these kind-of mini rectangle islands. It looked man-made but what their purpose is, I have no clue.
I love dolphins and think they're one of the most interesting and amazing animals so I knew going into this trip that if I was going to spend money on one super-touristy thing, it was going to be a wild dolphin-watching excursion. I'd asked the front desk at the hotel to recommend a good one for me and the woman working said "Oh yea, I know this one run by two really nice ladies that only take a few people out so it'll be a really private and exclusive experience and it's a reasonable price, etc etc etc." Sounded good to me, so I asked her to book me. Well, today was the day of my dolphin tour. I got ready after the beach and started walking to the marina where I was supposed to meet the boat but the problem was, I wasn't sure which boat I was supposed to be on. I whipped out my phone and googled the name of the company that the front desk had jotted down on a sticky note for me and what I saw first on the website was, "Key West's only women only, lesbian friendly dolphin tours!!!"
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..............wait a second... am I going on a...? I am? The hotel probably thinks I'm a lesbian? Well, whatever. I like all kinds of people. I was not upset, but I couldn't help but laugh. I mean come on, that is a funny thing to just accidentally find myself doing. Girls-only love boat!
Oh.. and it was also scheduled to be a sunset cruise. So an extra romantic girls-only love boat. Even though the girl at the hotel left this little detail out, she was not kidding when she told me it would be exclusive. The only people on this 3-hour tour was me, Captain Angie, and Pam and Kristin, who were a really nice couple. We all had a lot of fun talking and laughing and they didn't think any less of me because I am straight. Or at least not to my face, I think they might have been a little curious about what in the world I see in men. I admit that sometimes I wonder that too. Don't we all, ladies? What I love about men though is that they put up with us, too. I could not date me. We didn't see any dolphins but we did get some snorkeling done and I got to test out whether or not my new digital camera was actually water proof. Good news, it is! I did get to see the sunset from the boat and it was even more beautiful than that night before.
We said our goodbyes and then I met Art, my friend from Eden House, for dinner at Bagatelle on Duval Street because we'd seen a lot of good reviews for it. The food was delicious and Art has a gift for conversation, so it was a recipe for a great dinner.
Day 4 - Finally made my way to the bakery on the corner that everyone had been raving about and got something you will almost never see me eating, a danish. I decided since I'm about to go to India to eat very healthy and do yoga every day, I may as well fatten myself up a little bit so that I have something to lose. It was delicious because it was sinful, and sinful because it was delicious.
This was my last full day in Key West and I hadn't made an official decision about what I was going to do with it, but I decided this could be my"party" day. I hadn't been focused on that aspect of the island yet. I was OK with that, but I thought it might round out the trip nicely.
The only real decision I had made though was to continue spending some time deciding by the pool. What a life. Eventually Art, Gordon and Linda, and Dottie and Ken (another couple I got to know), all converged around the pool as well. We got to talking, one thing lead to another, and the first plastic cups of wine were poured. So began my party/ last day in Key West; wine by the pool with the friends I'd made. Percet!
The transition between everything that followed that first glass of wine could be "one thing lead to another and…"
Very little was planned in advance, we all just went with the flow. Things lead into a very good dinner out. I just can't remember the name of the restaurant. And at dinner, the conversation lead to the group deciding to go see the female impersonators show at Aqua.
You're welcome because we went ahead and did that research for you, and we found out that you don't need to go to that show. Not when there are far better ones like at La Te Da in town. It was fun because we were all together and there were some good songs (one of them did Sister Act!) and a really energetic and flattering waiter named Chris. But, the three talents there only lypsynced and walked around begging for tips the whole time. We agreed that we were glad we went so that we would know never to go back again.
After that show, we lost Dottie and Ken to the night, but Art, Gordon, Linda and I pushed ahead and walked to the Green Parrot where we'd heard there was a must-see band playing. I don't recall their name, but if I could describe them, their sound was something like rock with a Cuban/Miami flavor to it.
We were all bopping around, having a good time, and noticing this one group of men noticing us. One of the men finally came over to me and asked, "are you here in Key West with your parents?" He was gesturing toward Gordon and Linda and my response was "Oh yea, we're here celebrating my birthday and their 30 year wedding anniversary." I'm not sorry I lied. Sometimes the opportunity for a solid bar lie is too good to pass up. We chatted a bit and I was feeling pretty full of myself so when I noticed everyone was low on beer I told Gordon, "watch this, I'll get ALL of us free beers," and I turned to my new friend and said I was going to the bar to get a beer. Sure enough, he punched his buddy who was leaning against the bar in the arm and told him to get me, my parents, and "Uncle Art" all beers. Everyone got a beer expect for Linda, who the buddy passed a glass of Patron too. Turns out this guy had a thing for Linda. "You have to drink that whole thing," he demanded. "I don't have to do anything," she responded between tiny sips. I think that just further fueled his crush. Poor guy, he didn't stand a chance. Not to mention we noticed all of their wedding bands.
Day 5 - The bakery from the day before made a positive impression, so I went back. I got a danish and a coconut water and as I was walking back to the hotel, the shop owner ran out the door after me. "Excuse me miss…" I was thinking I must have short-changed him on accident of something… "can I check the expiration date on your coconut water? I think I might have given you a bad one." Wow. That would never happen back at home. I was going to miss the pace of life here. I packed up and said goodbyes. Oh, and I went ahead and pre-booked a room in October for Fantasy Fest weekend. I'm told it's an experience and the friends I'd made plan to be there, so it will be a reunion weekend!
The drive from Key West to Miami was a little less than four hours, although it wasn't long before I needed some lunch on the way. The hotel had a list of the best sights/restuarants on A1A throughout the Keys, so I picked a restaurant in Key Colony Beach that they said were known for their fish tacos and blue cheese chips. I found Sparky's Landing about a miles off of A1A, which I liked because it didn't have as many other tourists dropping through since that was considered "far" off the direct path from Point A to Point B. I went to the bar and the bartender took my drink order and then lead me to a spot on the outside deck overlooking the water. We got in the whole where are you from/what do you do conversation and I learned that he had a masters degree in (insert some big word that has to do with lobsters here) and that he came to the Keys to do lobster research with Florida Game Commission. Bartending was his side job to help pay off student loans. My response? "Lobster research? Don't we already know everything we need to about lobsters? They taste great in butter and rolls." His response, "Yea I know but don't tell my boss I won't have a job."
The blue cheese chips were in fact amazing. Fresh fried chips with a generous helping of blue cheese crumbles on top and a drizzle of an herbed olive oil. I'm salivating just thinking about them again. The plate they give you is huge though and there was no way I could finish it on my own and still have room for fish tacos. Perfect timing for a group of people to sit down next to me! I offered them the rest of my chips, explaining that it wasn't because I didn't like them and that I just wanted to save room for my next dish. They were really excited and grateful and once again, I got into the where are you from/what do you do conversation. They were two couples in which the men had been doing some work in Key Largo for the past couple of months and had flown their wives in for the weekend to head down to Key West for some fun.
When my fish tacos came, it was just too hot for me to eat them in the sun, so I told them to enjoy their trip and took my plate to the bar inside. A couple of minutes afterward, one of the husbands approached me at the bar and handed me some cash saying "this is for the chips." I informed him that that was more money than those chips cost and he replied, "yea, but we're not trying to survive for the next few months like you are, I'll make more money. This is all the cash I had in my wallet, otherwise I'd donate more. Have an amazing journey. I insist you take this." And then he walked away. How touching to have a stranger want to support and encourage me like that. Not a bad way to transition from the Keys to Miami.
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