Key West is all about the beautiful sunsets. Well, sure, that and some of the most tawdry T-shirt and souvenir shops you've ever seen and pretty close to the most places in the country to get Adult Liquid Refreshment. It's a fascinating combination of uber-tackiness and coastal charm.
The daily viewing of the sunset at Mallory Square encompasses both. Tourists and locals pick good viewing places and actually applaud the nightly sky show! Buskers provide entertainment leading up to the big event. There's also much free entertainment along Duval Street, the main shopping street (and famous for its bars as well).
(Click to enlarge these pictures.)
America's Southernmost City, Key West is only 90 miles from Cuba. (It's over 130 miles from Miami, closer to Cuba than to the nearest US big city.)
We took the Key West Express passenger ferry from Fort Myers Beach — a three hour one-way trip. As soon as we stepped off the boat we jumped on the Conch Train for a good guided tour overview. After that we took a cab to the inn where we were staying and from then on, we walked everywhere.
Key West is a great place to walk and during our two-night stay we covered most of the City's neighborhoods on foot. Lots of history and famous people to learn about, lots of very eccentric people (past and present).
Ernest Hemingway wrote many of his novels here, Jimmy Buffett sang, Mel Fisher found treasure and established a foundation and museum.
Key West is famous for the wild chickens that run around town. They used to be more plentiful — maybe somebody got hungry for more than eggs.
It was fun to see all the weirdness of Key West, but we also really enjoyed the quiet neighborhoods. It has been a while since we just walked around in an urban setting.
Here are a few more Key scenes.
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