It was rainy season and we expected to get some rain and we did on several of the days but we always had sunshine as well. The Casa Marina is a fairly old complex but lots of action going on with several beach weddings on Saturday. It has the flavor of the Caribbean. The sister property to the Casa Marina, The Reach had breakfast every day, a nice happy hour and some good food so we would walk over there and have a nice relaxing time just watching the waves come in. The employees at both properties were great, friendly and accommodating.

Several days we just hung out relaxing and for me reading. Nothing better then beach-side reading times. It was so relaxing. Once again, Carolyn and I did not rent a car. For what we had planned a car was just an added expense that we could avoid. Lyft to and from the airport, cruiser bikes, and walking, that’s our style. Our times at the beach are fun and relaxing. I finished several books, beach type reading, an Allison Brennan “Lucy Kincaid” novel Nothing To Hide, and a mystery that takes place in Florida by Rick Mofina, The Lying House. Easy, beach style reading. Of course, every beach deserves several good beers and Key West has some excellent choices.

Hotel Beach

Hotel Beach Walk

Beach and Beer

Storm off the coast

Carolyn enjoying Key West

We learned that the best way to get around was renting cruiser bikes for several days. We could get plenty of exercise, yet get to where we wanted to be fairly fast. We rode many miles around the island and into town checking out the various places. Duval Street is the party street area and Covid may have slowed it down some but it was hard to tell. Most places have some outdoor seating areas and most have happy hours and most have seafood options. I’m not certain what I ate but sure enjoyed it all.

As an avid reader, I had to visit the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. You can take a self guided tour or have one of the guided tours. I did a combination of both. Hemingway was an interesting individual who died relatively young just short of his 62nd birthday. Married many times, he died by his own hand whether intentional or accidental is debatable.

His house in Florida looks just like it did when he resided there. We rode our bikes by the Truman Little White House but we ran out of time to visit. It is very historical and I guess it will be the next time. I love history and was a bit disappointed that I didn’t find the time to visit.

Carolyn and I visited Fort Zachary Taylor Historical State Park several times during our stay. It is a beautiful beach area with plenty of picnic tables, grills, sand, bike paths, and an actual fort that you can visit. Very cool and once again very historical as it was a working fort for many years. We walked around (no masks) during the hot humid times of day. The beach times were fun even though there were storms way off the coast and the water was rougher then normal. Still a great place to hang out. Our bike rides along the beach were epic.

Our time at Key West had to come to end and once again we flew on Silver Airways back to Fort Lauderdale. Carolyn’s cousin Lauranye Croke picked us up at the airport so we could visit with her and her husband Kevin Croke in Jupiter. Uncle Frank and Lorraine Cerar came down to visit and we went out to walk on the beaches and it was great to be able to visit with all. We even got to hang out at one of Kevin’s favorite places The Dive Bar and Restaurant. Good food, good drinks, but even greater company.

Carolyn and I decided to change our flight and overnight plans and we ended up staying in West Palm Beach at a beautiful Hilton only three miles from the airport. Southwest currently only has one flight a day leaving West Palm Beach to Baltimore and we were nervous about whether or not we were going to make our flights due to limited seats available. No problem as we made it to Baltimore and immediately left for Phoenix arriving in the middle of the day.

Key West has many venues that host musicians and music seems to be a big part of the scene. I’ll leave you with this Key West classic by a gentleman that has performed there for years, Gerd Rube with the Florida Keys Song. This guy reminds me of a Payson local legend, John Carpino. It is magical.