Put Your Walking Shoes On – May 19, 2013

Since we are not “party animals” we decided to explore Key West by day and not do the typical nighttime activities.  One of the items on Jim’s bucket list is to visit all four corners of the United States.  We have already been to Lubec, Maine which is the eastern most point in the U.S. so naturally we needed a picture of the southern most point here in Key West.  We even got a shot of mile marker “0” on US 1.

Next on the list was the Key West Lighthouse which was originally on the spot where the Southern most point is now located.  It had to be moved because of damage sustained in a hurricane.  It has 88 steps to the top, but we decided neither of us had either the energy or knee functionality to do it.

From here we went to the Key West Cemetery.  This cemetery was established in 1847 after the hurricane of October 11, 1846 when the storm washed away the existing cemetery including most of the bodies.  The old graveyard was on the southern edge of the town and it’s rumored that some of the bodies were found in the trees.  The cemetery reflects the spirit of the people with some inscriptions that are light-hearted such as, “At least now I know where he is at night”, or “I told you I was sick”.  There is a mixture of below ground graves and, reminiscent of New Orleans, many are above ground.

One interesting fact about Key West is there are colorful roosters, hens and baby chicks everywhere.  They are protected and  actually have the right of way in the roads.  

Also, everywhere you look you see Royal Poinciana Trees with their spectacular blooms of reddish-orange.

We walked around the shops on Duval and Front Streets for a while but my bucket list stop of the sandal shop was closed.  Maybe, another day.  As we got closer to evening, you could hear the crowds getting noisier and the street vendors were multiplying.  Everything from leather bracelets to body art.  Time to find a restaurant for dinner!

We found a place called Two Friends Patio Restaurant right on the corner with open air dining, which I love, and had some really good food.  I order coconut shrimp with pineapple-orange sauce that was fabulous.  I had to get a small box for half of the shrimp because I wanted to leave room for Key Lime Pie.  According to our waitress the restaurant uses the same recipe since 1967 so that it’s authentic and it was good.  One the way out-of-town we stopped at Mathessen’s where they make 1/2 pound cookies.  Not only do these monster cookies look like something you have to have, when you taste it, your glad you did!  I got a chocolate chip, pecan, macadamia nut cookie.One of the many quaint homes we saw along the streets in Key West

One good thing about all this walking is you can eat more without feeling guilty.