I bookended my day with sunrise this morning at Smathers Beach and sunset tonight at Mallory Square. Because sunrise is my favorite time of day, and I made it my goal to be up and watching the sun rise every day of vacation, I figured I’d start the week at Smathers Beach. I thought I might be alone, but there was plenty of company between walkers, photographers, and other sunrise enthusiasts. Sunrise tonight was equally beautiful, though I was certainly not alone for that one!
Breakfast this morning was at Blue Heaven in Old Town Key West. I struggled to find places with interesting breakfast menu items in Key West, but it seems the draw is more to the atmosphere here than inventive foods. I ended up eating blueberry pancakes in the rustic courtyard and imbibed in a breakfast cocktail to go along with it. Sure, I could get blueberry pancakes at home, but would there be roosters milling about while I ate? After breakfast, I decided it was high time I get myself to the Southernmost Point buoy to take the obligatory picture. A walk up Duval Street rounded out my morning adventure. The pool was calling, so it was time to head back to the hotel.
Now would probably be a good time to mention that my hotel experience has been less than stellar. For several reasons, the most salient of which is that I did not have air conditioning from the time I checked in until about an hour ago, at which time they finally conceded that they couldn’t fix it and moved me to a different room. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say it hasn’t been the greatest start to vacation. I managed to squeeze in a little pool time this afternoon whilst dealing with the a/c debacle. It is very warm here (82 degrees today) and extremely humid. A little sun goes a long way!
I spent the afternoon and evening back in Old Town. This afternoon it was a ride on the Conch Tour Train (a Key West tradition) and this evening it was the Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square. Both were about what I expected: the tour was informative and fun, while sunset was a mob scene of people watching the sun make its nightly journey below the horizon. Every evening, crowds are drawn to Mallory Square to enjoy the buskers, musicians, wannabe musicians, and street vendors. I’m glad I got there early enough to get a seat on the sea wall. Everybody should experience it at least once. A nightcap at Sloppy Joe’s was in order while I waited for the hotel shuttle. I spent the rest of the evening packing one hotel room and moving to another, but I’m now happily basking in the air conditioning!
Traveling with Laura 