After the survey, we went to a great little restaurant in Marathon for breakfast called Castaways (We also did dinner there a few nights before that). The breakfast was just as good as the dinner - but for the dinner we got to try lion fish, so that was a unique experience!
Bean and I decided to splurge a little and we got a hotel right on Duval street so we could walk everywhere and explore the sights. The first day, Wednesday, we were still coming down from the stress and excitement of the survey, so we didn't do much. We walked a little on Duval street, checked out the hotel property a little and then just relaxed in the room.
The second day we started with a quick breakfast at Frenchie's cafe across the street from the hotel, very delicious start to the day! Then we decided to visit the Butterfly Museum - it was right across the street from our hotel and had been recommended by our friend (and broker's wife) Michy. It was an amazing experience! It was beautiful, peaceful, educational, and just amazing. We spent a couple hours there wandering very slowly through the area. If you haven't been there, I HIGHLY recommend it - if you like nature of course!
After that we decided to a little shopping. Of course, the first thing we found was a mojito place, so we grabbed ourselves a couple of mojitos and continued shopping. I didn't know until this trip that Duval street is like Bourbon street in New Orleans - you can carry alcohol while you walk and shop :-). We went up one side of Duval street, stopping in almost every store, but behaved ourselves pretty well, and made note of places we might like to try for dinner. We went back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool for a couple hours to let our feet rest from all the walking ;-p
After we felt rested up, we decided to hit the streets again - we made plans to hit Jack Flats for a late lunch/early dinner, and then do some more shopping. Jack Flats food was great, but the host was even better. He was a longtime resident and told us a few must see places, so after our meal, we headed out and hit the Southernmost point, and the Chart Room Cocktail lounge for another drink. Of course we had to join in the tradition and left our own decorated dollar bill!
We started heading back to the hotel, but decided to take in one more experience, a Key West drag show. We chose the one with the earliest performance (we were getting tired from all that fresh air and walking!), which happened to be the Aqua Bar. We had a ton of fun and very much enjoyed the show. The family next to us was celebrating a birthday, so of course they were all egging on the birthday boy and that gave us a few extra laughs.
The next day, we were planning to meet up with our broker, Daryl, and his wife, Michy. They have lived in the keys for a long time and were willing to show us the sights. It was great to hang out with them on a more personal level and get to know them, they are great people. We started the day with a little more shopping - up and down Duval street again! Then we hit the Butterfly museum again - it was so beautiful we had to do it twice! That, and it is Michy's favorite place in Key West, so we couldn't miss it! It was actually a neat experience - we went at different times of the day, so we saw things each day that we didn't see on the other. All in all, I would highly recommend it. Then they took us to the boardwalk, and the dinghy tie up area where there was some more shopping and some neat entertainment. We stopped at Sloppy Joe's for dinner together, and then saw the sunset at Sunset Pier.
It was a whirlwind trip, a little work, a little vacation, but it was time to head home and figure out next steps!
Until next time, stay derpy friends!
Comments