Part Two – Key West in the Florida Keys
- An Introduction To The Florida Keys
- Key West, A Different Sort of Place
- Where to Dine In The Keys
- Is It Time To Visit The Keys Again? (coming soon)
Key West is the exclamation mark at the end of the sentence that is the Keys. This town has been a magnet for adventurers, the famous and fortune seekers for well over a hundred years. Over the years it has attracted a number of the rich and famous including Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Kelly McGillis, Jimmy Buffet, Calvin Klein, Shel Silverstein, Truman Capote, Winslow Homer, Ralph Lauren, Robert Frost, Kenny Chesney and Harry Truman (his winter White House). Not too shabby for a city of 20,000.
Its residents have been navy men, shrimpers, fishermen, cigar makers, treasure hunters and more than a few people seeking a place to get lost. Today Key West is known for history, bars, its Cuban heritage, bars, great seafood, bars, water sports, bars and more than a few traditions.
How many places do you know where they celebrate sunset with a festival every day? The sunset celebration is downtown at Mallory Square where musicians, jugglers, tightrope walkers, crafters, food vendors, locals and tourists gather to celebrate the end of another day as the Sun sets behind Sunset Key. It is such an institution that cruise ships that frequently dock next to Mallory Square are required to leave before sunset so they don’t block the view for the celebrants.
Crowds and entertainers gather at Mallory Square to celebrate sunset
The town has also become famous for a number of annual events like Fantasy Fest in late October an annual 10-day party in paradise for grown-ups. Started in 1979 by a group of Key West locals. The party was created to bring visitors to the island and has completely grown out of control. Pay attention to the word “adult” in the description, cause this town gets pretty crazy on a normal day but Fantasy Fest is over the top. There are also Hemingway Days where Ernest look-a-likes come from all over for a chance to claim the title of Papa for a year. Check out the calendar and you will probably find very few weeks with nothing going on in this town.
Key west also has a number of worthy attractions and a few less so. John J. Audubon lived here and his home is maintained as a museum along with Hemingway’s house and Harry Truman’s Winter White House, all open to the public. There is also a really nice aquarium, Mel Fishers Maritime Museum, the Shipwreck Treasure Museum and believe it or not a Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum.
In addition to the festivities there are a number of other things you will find Key West famous for. First is key lime pie, a delicacy invented in the keys. Be sure to take a bottle of key lime juice and a recipe with you when you leave. The city is home to a large Cuban population that brought their cigar making skills with them. There are a number of hand-rolled Cuban cigar makers in Key West. It is also famous for leather sandals (flip flops) and the oldest manufacturer is Kino located right downtown. Their leather sandals sell for $10 to $20. I’ve rarely gone to Key West without taking home a pair or two.
This town is also famous for its seafood (fish, Florida lobster and shrimp), snorkeling and diving and its bars. Perhaps its most famous bar is Sloppy Joe’s on Duval Street where Ernest Hemingway hung out. Southwest of Sloppy Joe’s is Tony’s Bar where Jimmy Buffet was a regular (it was also the original location of Sloppy Joe’s) and there’s also Hogs Breath Saloon. Hogs Breath probably sells as many Tee Shirts as beers and who doesn’t want a T that says “Hogs Breath is Better than no Breath at All”.
Key West is also a U.S. Navy base with a Naval Air Station and research facilities. When I was in the Navy we stopped in Key West a few times. There were submarine pens right near downtown and evenings at Sloppy Joe’s was a study in white with wall to wall sailors in bright dress uniforms.
When visiting there are a number of opportunities to do some snorkeling or diving along with boat trips to the Marquesas Keys and the Key West National Wildlife Refuge or the Dry Tortugas National Park. Key West was also home base for Treasure Salvors the operation headed by Mel Fisher that found the wreck of the richest Spanish treasure galleon, the Atocha, just to the southwest in fifty-five feet of water. Be sure and visit their museum.
When I was a kid growing up in the Northeast more than a few years ago, I thought Florida was the promised land, paradise and the most exotic place I could imagine – all rolled up in one. I was in my twenties before I ever made it there but I had long dreamed of turquoise water, coral reefs, palm trees and warm tropical weather. Later I visited Florida a few times on business and on a vacation and my dreams remained intact. About forty years ago we relocated to Ft. Lauderdale with a job. While there are more than a few people who don’t care for Florida, we loved it.
At the time we moved to Florida, Ft. Lauderdale airport was a single, one-story cinderblock building with twelve parking meters out front. The movie “Where the Boys Are” was still inspiring spring-break college students to the degree that we wouldn’t even try to get to the beach during spring-break because of the traffic and mobs. By late June each year many neighborhoods were all but abandoned and restaurants, if they were open, had few customers. Jump ahead a couple of decades and things have really changed. More business meant more employees. More employees meant more families and that meant more children and all that meant a growing year-round economy. Things were changing and not all for the better.
When I was in the Navy I was a diver and fell in love with coral reefs. In all the forty-eight mainland states only Florida offers coral reefs. If you’ve never glided over or thru a coral reef you have missed one of life’s great experiences and you should try it as quickly as you can. Many people plan trips to tropical places for the beaches and warm water but for very little extra money and effort a coral reef is only a short swim away.
Soon we discovered the Florida Keys and now we had a get-away place for weekends. In those days summer was the best time to go to “the Keys”. Like the rest of Florida, summer was off-season and hotels were cheap. As Florida residents we could frequently find deals at four star hotels that included breakfast and dinner for two for less than a hundred dollars a day! The Keys were everything we loved about Florida and more.
Seattle’s Pike Place Market
Place Market.
Pike Place Market has been a part of Seattle’ story for a long time. Leading up to the summer of 1907 the rapid growth of the city had produced a system of wholesalers who had taken control of the buying and selling of fisherman’s catches, farm produce, dairy products and dozens of other commodities. They had over the previous years driven retail prices up in the boom-town while reducing their wholesale costs. The situation was growing out of control when Seattle City Councilman, Thomas Revelle put forward a proposal where the city would create a public market where fisherman, farmers and citizens could come to
sell and buy goods directly in an open market.
I’m not sure why we selected Hendersonville to stay. We were on a trip around the North Carolina mountains and it was in the neighborhood of Asheville and Chimney Rock. It also had two wineries with good reviews nearby. It was probably the wineries that sealed the deal…
For a small town Hendersonville North Carolina hits it out of the park. Main Street is what every town should aspire to. The main business district is probably ten blocks long and each block has its own public space. Most include planters and outdoor tables and chairs. We’re not sure what the locals do in January but in the summer they dine alfresco along Main Street. This strip of town offers a number of highly rated restaurants, a couple of coffee shops, an excellent bakery and several attractions that include a shark aquarium and a mineral museum (this is mining country).
Main Street also has its own 
If you are looking for a recommendation on where to eat – this is the Blue Ridge Mountains and home to arguably some of the best barbeque anywhere. We had dinner at the Flat Rock Wood Room, which had an extensive menu and really good pulled pork. We also were recommended to Moe’s down on Main but truth is we’ve been pleased with North Carolina barbeque almost everywhere we’ve gone.
s is a city of remarkable blended cultures. Its roots are firmly planted in the Appalachian soil tilled by early Scots-Irish settlers. Clogging and bluegrass are still at home here in its lively music scene but so is jazz and rock n roll.
Welcome to Asheville, the mountain city, home to one of America’s greatest and largest privately owned houses, 
After visiting the Blue Ridge Parkway, the mountain gardens, the Biltmore Estate what you realize is that walking around downtown Asheville is just fun. Shopping at the Mast General Store, visiting galleries like the converted old Woolworths store, sampling hand crafted chocolates and having happy hour at a local wine bar all adds up to a great day.
alcohol to drink. They called them “dry counties”. Well things have really changed. Asheville and the surrounding counties are home to a remarkable number of breweries, hard cider mills, distilleries and wineries:
brewing location for Thirsty Monk in South Asheville.
rooftop bar, and a meadow for concerts.
Mills River. Features an impressive tasting room and restaurant .
The region also offers a number of very good wineries including:
The Intentional Travelers 