Ok, so....whoever read my post a week ago today knows that a visit to Key West was something that I had longed to experience for quite sometime, but had never made the opportunity to...until now. And with any desire to do something, you tend to create this mental picture of how an experience, or a place will be based on pictures, information and the experiences of others. Now that I have experienced it for myself, here is my official travel review. ....Florida is a beautiful state to drive through on I-95. There are palm trees and tropical plants everywhere, and the lay of the land (flat, with not a lot of tall trees) offers wonderful distant views and the Big Sky feeling that so many in Texas speak of. Being a weather nerd myself, this was awesome for watching storms form, or developed storms dropping copious amounts of rain far in the distant horizon. .....The drive on Hwy 1 through the keys was a beautiful and awesome experience....and we got to do it twice! Sure you go through the built up tourist areas of the Islands, like in Marathon, Key Largo and Islamorada, but you also get to experience breath taking views of the gorgeous shorelines, and the wonderful hues of light blue and green water created when the sun shines onto the white sands of the shallows. Definitely a highlight of my experience. ......And speaking of Islamorada.......it is a key that you must pass on your 137 mile journey through the keys to reach Key West, but this little key is also one that forces you to take notice. The most beautiful water and beaches that I found on the entire trip were those around Islamorada. This little island may not have the notoriety or history of the last Key, but it sure is beautiful, and made me want to spend more time there. .....And speaking of water, I had unrealistic expectations that there would be beautiful white sandy beaches at Key West, and that the water was going to be clear and beautiful....but in reality, there were only a few beaches on the entire island, the nicest of which was at a very crowded state park that charged an entry fee per person. The water around Key West was a greenish brown color very similar to Myrtle Beach, and there was a slimy plant substance that filled the water and constantly washed ashore, requiring that a large rake type scraper be brought out daily to scrape it away. Besides being a little disappointed by the ocean condition, I was also very surprised by the fact that there are NO waves at any of the shoreline. Maybe it is just because I am use to waves at the ocean that I even noticed, but it felt kinda like we were at the lake instead of the ocean. .......The island itself was pretty cool, and being able to park my vehicle and ride bikes everywhere was definitely a positive experience. I knew of the history of Key West before going, and guess that I had unreal expectations that the old, weather worn, salty conch life down there still existed, but reality was much different. It is a very commercial place, quickly filling up with the likes of tourist traps and higher end retailers. The locals say that it has really changed for the worse since the local government dredged and started allowing the cruise ships to stop there. I did find a little diamond in the rough though...an old, outdoor establishment down by the docks named Schooner Wharf that was as ragged and worn as the salt dogs who you could find enjoying a cold beer at the bar at 8 in the morning. They had great food served on paper plates, and even better live music daily and nightly. I would definitely recommend that place as a must for anyone who would travel there. ......And speaking of food....as would be expected, seafood dominated the menu at every restaurant. Many of the establishments bring in fresh seafood right off of the boat, and the quality and freshness is noticable, but for the life of me, I could not find a good pizza on the entire island. Michael Lowe, Tessia Harman...maybe we need to change this :)
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 01:07:30 +0000
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