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KEY WEST Day 3 part 3


Ok.....after seeing how wonderful Fort Zachary Taylor's beach looked we quickly walked back to our condo and gathered our beach gear. As we prepared to leave the condo my feet started talking to me, they said " HEY Jackazzz, you rented a beautiful red convertible mustang how about using it?" I replied OK good idea! I wish I had one of those walking step counters because I know we racked up some miles on this trip! After showing our pre-paid tickets at the gate we drove directly to a half empty parking lot that sits real close to the beach, separated only by a small pine forest.






We found a great spot on the far right side of the beach to laze around for a couple hours. We actually found that the far right side of the beaches we visited held better sand above the high water line. This was a great spot , there were some rocks/coral mixed in the sand, but it's very easy to walk on. My wife escorted me to the snack shop so that I could grab a BEER, wisely they do not allow you to take the bottles onto the beach, actually I think a sign said no alcohol permitted but plenty of folks had cans of beer on the beach. My wife decided to rent some snorkeling gear to explore around the rocky cays just offshore. She said the visibility was fine but there was no vegetation. She described seeing plenty of fish such as schools of blue tang, surface cruising needle fish, jacks, and the largest parrot fish she has ever seen. She said the fish were all hiding on the backside of the rock cays in about 10-15 feet of water, easy swim.





Sunset was quickly approaching so we had to have a plan? Earlier in our trip we saw s/v America 2.0 on the seaport docks, she's a beautiful 100+ foot schooner . From the beach I called them and was disappointed to learn that they were on private charter this evening DRATS! We weren't interested in one of the mega-cats that we saw in the harbor, looked too much like a booze cruise for us. Well, let's just save the schooner in the proverbial bucket until our return trip! We decided to skip going back to the condo and head straight to Mallory Square for a snack and the sunset. We found a great parking in a convenient lot next to the square. We walked around the side streets for a while wishing we had a couple more days to explore such things as the Shipwreck Treasure Museum and the Aquarium. On our drive over from the fort we traveled through the Truman annex area that is loaded with some spectacular homes, even discovered President Truman's "Little White House" there.






As we walked around these fantastic streets my daughter and I started to feel the effects of low sugar, FEEEEED MEEEEE! We were fortunate to find 3 premium corner bar stools at the EL MESON de PEPE restaurant, home of delicious Cuban Conch Cuisine! We basically devoured wonderful appetizers of Cuban pork Nachos with homemade plantain chips and fresh guacamole, shredded roasted pork and something tasty all rolled up in a corn husk, and not a grain of rice nor black bean would survive our feeding frenzy. As we leaned back satisfied on our bar stools my daughter and I looked at each other and with topped off sugar levels we simply grinned and said sheeeeeew!





We really enjoyed the atmosphere at EL MESON de PEPE and even with a full house and crowded bar the service was exceptional. It was hard to leave our premium corner bar stools and the fun calypso music, but the sun was almost on the horizon. We shuffled across the square and once again found a nice vantage point at the water's edge.



What is it that draws so many strangers to gather in one spot at the same time.........................



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After applauding the sun for doing what the sun does best we made our way back to the car.

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As darkness falls the town takes on a new persona. Crowds are drawn to Duval Street like moths to a flame, laughter could be heard on the sidewalks all the way down Duval, fun!

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I won't bore you with the details of our evening, basically the ladies shopped until they dropped, I escorted them and bar hopped until I "almost" dropped and we finished the evening by returning to our favorite Southern Most Pizzeria ONLYWOOD.

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To be continued......... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

Brilliant Beerman!
Those corn husk things are tamales and quite different from the Mexican variety.
Mel Fisher Museum is meh!
Cheers
irina

"meh!" ???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meh
Yes meh. It's just to sell you some mediocre fake doubloons etc. Not that compelling. Spending time there and money instead of being outside? No way.
We went in there and were underwhelmed and the staff was even "meh" about it.
Why are we even discussing this? Fort Zachary Taylor is much better time spent.
irina

Sorry, my question wasn’t meant as a smart a$$ remark. I agree the PUBLIC part of Mel Fisher’s is a whatever. You should see what’s behind the walls. I first met Mel back in 1986 B-4 he lost his son. We ran into Mel again in his office @ the museum when we removed the hyperbaric chamber used in the original dives from the lean-to next to the museum back in 98. We had security thru the entire place. The things from the Atocha behind security would blow your mind.

Ok Rhans,
Got it. Yes that's what I meant.
Fabulous trip report huh?
Cheers
irina

GREAT trip report, Beerman! Looking forward to the conclusion.

As always, a great trip report. The tour of Truman's "Little White House" is well worth the time. The docent that lead ours made it an absolute hoot, because Truman was quite a character.

We also enjoyed seeing the history of Flagler's railroad in the old train station. I thought it would be boring, but it was not.

Sue

Awesome sunset pics once again!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

wreck ashore!

We saved plenty to see for our next trip! Mr Flagler's story is an interesting one for sure. I read a little about him somewhere along the way. He had a dream and was fortunate enough to see it completed, but first he had to become one of the richest men in the world with the help of Rockefeller! I didn't see the old train station??? where is it? and is there a museum? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

BEERMAN,

Great report and pics! Thanks for sharing. There is a Flagler Museum but it is his huge mansion in Palm Beach. There is also the Flagler Railway Museum on Key West that is down by the seaport near the Half Shell restaurant. I believe that this station was the terminus of his railroad. This Railway museum is also one of the stops that the Conch Train Tour makes. You can get off here to visit the museum and grab the next 'Conch Train' when it comes. I guess now you have a reason to return. (as if any of us really needs a reason, lol)

Wayne <><