DAY 1
We went to Key West, Christmas Eve day, Christmas Day and the day after Christmas. It was fun. It is definitely built for tourism. Parking anywhere near Duvall or Mallory Square is going to cost you $4 an hour! The first day we paid for 4 hours, but after that we parked at a shopping area about 2 or 3 miles out. We off loaded our bikes and were off to Mallory Square and Duval Street. There are a lot of bike racks along the street, so parking the bikes while we shopped was easy. We’d cover a block or two, and then we’d get the bikes and move them down for the next couple blocks.
We of course had to go to the Southernmost marker and take a picture. There was quite a lineup, but not as bad as someone said it was when they came the day before. Unfortunately, with the time we got there the sun was behind us. We thought we might go back another day for a better picture, but we didn’t.
Santa and Mrs. Claus came by in their Key West Sleigh. 🙂
Other pictures from our walk around town. The lighthouse, Monroe County Courthouse, and of course MILE 0–The End of the Road (Route 1).
We enjoyed sunset at Mallory Square where we had a table on Sunset Pier. We grabbed a bite to eat along with an adult refreshment. My scallops appetizer was fabulous. Wished there was more than just two plump scallops though. Gluten Free options are not as plentiful down here. We were amazed at the number of people packed in the entire pier area to watch the sunset. Once the sun set…Boom, they all dissipated! We hustled back to the other end of Duval St to make it before our parking time expired. No time to shop for shirts or mugs. That will be another day.
Mallory Square Sunset Pier 
Packed pier! 
Breathing room at the table Sunset Pier – Bistro 245 
Barry’s Grouper sandwich 
Scallops appetizer with Swiss Chard (and a few bits already enjoyed!) 
The street carolers who helped make it feel more like Christmas Eve for me. This is only the second time that I recall missing Christmas Eve service at church. (Course there were MANY years where I attended and participated in 3 full Christmas Eve Service each year. 🙂 )
Day 2
Our second day in Key West was mainly a shopping day, and to leisurely enjoy the festivities/entertainers around Mallory Square prior to sunset. So many stores to look at shirts, and no, they weren’t all the same. Plus we are both particular how they fit and feel.
We decided we needed to try some Key lime pie while in Key West. A guy selling boat tours told us to just go a block down the street to Kermits. He said it was the best commercially produced one. He never heard of the Key Lime Pie Bakery which was the one we were looking for. We went to Kermits. They even had a gluten free one! Luckily, the gal gave us a taste of of it first. OMG…WAY too sweet. We passed. We looked up the the Key Lime Pie Bakery and found it was only a couple blocks away! No gluten free options. We bought one slice and shared it (no crust for me). It was much better than the one from Kermits, but still richer than we are used to. Sharing one small slice was plenty for us both.
Hens and rooster–roam wild. 
Brought to islands years ago for cock fighting. Now protected.
Dusk was approaching quickly, but unfortunately, we forgot our bike lights, so we did not stick around for the sunset or to check out more happenings/places around the square after dark. Instead we headed out to get to the Jeep before dark.
Day 3
Our third day in Key West we finalized our shirt buying decisions, and decided on a couple new coffee mugs, but would get the mugs on our way back to the Jeep. We then headed to Fort Zachary since it was supposed to have one of the nicer beaches of Key West. Riding our bikes into Fort Zachary Park saved us money. It was only $2.50 each. We went to the beach. It seemed OK, but not a lot of smooth sandy areas. Water shoes were recommended due to rocky areas.
I liked all the info that was provided about local sea turtles, coral, and the efforts to restore coral.
We started to check the trails out, but they super short and didn’t really go anywhere significant. However, we met a local couple, Rogue (Jeff) and Susan. They were so friendly and talked to us for quite a while. Rogue was playing at the Salty Angler that night from 7pm- 10pm. We went to the fort to check it out from the inside, but were too late. It closed about 5 minutes earlier. At this point Barry just wanted a beer to sit and watch the sunset from the beach. No beer. The beach cafe also closed at 5 PM! The sunset was looking good till it disappeared in a bank of unnoticed clouds on the horizon. We just didn’t get a sky full of colors.
After sunset we headed back into town to get something to eat at the Cuban Coffee Queen. Barry got a Cuban sandwich and I got one without the bread. Then the gal brought me over a GF roll. It was nothing special, but it was a lot of food.
We headed down Duval to the Salty Angler. Rogue was really surprised that we made it. It seemed to mean a lot to him that we stuck around to come listen to him for awhile. The Cujo and Rogue duo was entertaining and engaging, but we wanted to get on our bikes and back to the Jeep before DUI drivers got on the road with us.
When we got to the Jeep, we realized we forgot to stop for the mugs, so after loading the bikes we drove back to Duval St. It started to rain at this point. Thank goodness we had made it back on the bikes before the rain came! Luckily we knew right where the “mug” store was located. Being on a corner made it even easier to locate. I jumped out at the light while Barry circled the block and picked me back up. As we headed out of Key West to Sunshine Key RV (30-ish miles away), it really began to pour!
