Key West Florida, an Island known for vacation getaways for the hard working man to release his stress from the daily grind. A great destination to take the family to let loose and bond. Perfect weather year round, and plenty of outdoor activities to ease the mind and sooth the soul.
You can get there by air, road, or water. I prefer travel by water, but for those who don't have the means of water transportation, I also recommend the scenic drive. Although the flight is much much quicker, you'll miss out on the luxury of driving through the vast connecting Islands of the Florida Keys. The drive from Miami will take you through excitingly treacherous Florida swamp lands (Everglades) and next the peaceful scenic views of the beautiful crystal clear ocean.
It's about 161 miles, and a 3 1/2 hour drive to Key West from Miami. Along the roads are many family owned shops and water-sport businesses. One lure to entice a visitor to drive, are the many bridges that connect the keys. The 'crown jewel' is the 7 mile bridge at the south end of the Keys. For 7 miles all you see is ocean to your left and right and tons of boats, just cruising along, side by side with you. The view is relaxing and euphoric along this 7 mile stretch of 'concrete paradise'.
Once I reached Key West, it reminded me a bit of Savannah, Georgia, or Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The houses and it's vegetation are eerily similar, but here you will find geckos that scamper about like they own the whole damn road. Also fun and intriguing as a tourist, are the iguanas that roam the Island. They stop and stare at you out of curiosity, and then 'make like Houdini' and disappear, while in reality, they just engaged their 'camouflage gear'. I resisted the temptation to capture one to 'fry up'.
Beside my restaurant visits, I did some snorkeling and jet skiing to cool myself from sweltering triple digit Florida weather. You can buy snorkeling gear for $30 and just head to the beach and explore on your own. There's plenty of marine life to see without the expense of a tour guide. Jet ski rental was about $60 an hour. I personally found half an hour, enough time to explore. With all the jet ski restrictions and limitations a half hour was more than enough time. I truly enjoyed the exhilaration of the cool high speed carving of the crystal clear water and the pleasure, equally as well, of a bit slower pace to take in the beauty that Key West has to offer.
Don't be surprised to see marine life just appear out of no where. With the water only being 4 feet deep, you can see many sea 'critters' floating alongside you, including sting rays, sharks, sea turtles and numerous others foreign to visitors. I was told it was safe to pet them, or even jump in the water and swim with them if you please, but I would rather encourage a more cautious approach.
There are many sandy beach side bars and eateries, but if you're venturing out to investigate the shoreline, don't expect the sea bed to be as sandy . Only a small portion is sandy, it's mostly rocky, full of coral and marine life, which is prime for snorkeling. You 're gonna have to head north to South Beach for soft sandy sea beds.
After hours of playing in the hot Florida sun, I worked up an appetite! It was time to experience the local cuisine and 'get my grub on'. The main road in Key West is Duval Street. Located at the southern most point, it offers many clubs, bars and tiki embellished eateries for tourists and locals to enjoy. As I made my way down the street, despite being distracted by the radiant sunset, I managed to spot an eatery that offered Cuban cuisine, which I had never tried before. The place is called The Seafood Co. 'Rumbas' located on Duval St. With nothing fancy and only a sign that read 'Rumbas' I ventured in. A big chalkboard outside the door featured the days special and the menu. It looked like the joint could be about 50 ft long and 20 ft wide, with a bar that ran parallel to the dinning area. The building next to it provided a wall and the only thing overhead was a straw 'tiki style' roof that blanketed you from the hot sun. I was grateful for the abundance of giant fans alongside each dinning section. To entertain you while your food is prepared , there is a Caribbean drum set outside to test your skills.
As I mentioned there was a chalk board featuring the day's specials. On this particular day the special was 'stone crab' and 'conch fritters'.
For those unfamiliar with stone crab, it's a species of crab that is in abundance in the Florida waters. The crab is of maroon color and only the claws are harvested. To tell the difference from other crabs, the stone crab claws are black at the tip. Interestingly, during stone crab season the fisherman only harvest one claw from each crab than throwing the crab back in the ocean leaving the other claw for defense against predators. The stone crab will slowly regenerate their missing claw for future harvest. It's about twice the size of a blue-crab therefor leaving plenty of sweet flaky meat inside the claw for consumption. Just like any other seafood, it's highly recommended to eat it with something just as simple as butter. What is a conch anyway? I asked myself the same question when I saw that on the menu. Conch is a giant snail about the size of a football, the shell can also be used, as it once was, as a blow horn or just for 'listening to the ocean'. It can be eaten in a ceviche style (raw) or in this case made into 'fritters'. Basically, the conch is chopped up and mixed with celery, herbs and spices, rolled into a ball and battered. It then gets deep fried to a crunchy, savory, sweetness. Perfection! Each bite you take gives you a nice crunch followed by the soft, melting, mouth watering texture inside. The sweetness comes naturally from the giant sea slug.
My first experience with Cuban food was not disappointing, I even went on to order more dishes, just to sample. I tried the lobster bisque, which was superb, and pure, fresh from the ocean oysters, unlike the ones you eat in Wisconsin, that are either sharp frozen or have been in transit several days. Already stuffed, I even tried the traditional Cuban steak with plantains and red bean sauce. The food was excellent
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