Key West Part 2!
(Have you seen Part 1?)
Here’s a fun map of Key West I found to give you an idea of what it’s like. It’s small and quaint, the perfect size for walking around and exploring! I’d say a solid week is plenty of time to spend vacationing, but you can do enough in just a couple days too. Even though we definitely want to come back again soon and do a few other things we didn’t get to fit in, we were able to do a lot and never felt rushed or like we were cramming our days.
The trip from Miami airport to Key West, if you were to drive it straight, is about 3.5 hours or so, more ore less. It’s not a bad drive because you can stop along the way and do fun things, and the scenery changes a bit as you go through each of the Keys.
So crossing into Key West, we headed southwest around New Town where it looks “typical” with a Publix, a car dealership, Walgreens, etc… zoomed past all of that and made our way into Old Town where everything I saw hit all my senses immediately and I was just instantly elated with how FREAKING CUTE everything was… LUSH with greenery, palms, fun colors, gorgeous sweet-smelling flowers, shady trees, singing birds, cute little lizards, and CHICKENS!? Yes, chickens! We heard roosters crowing non-stop, no matter where we were down there, it was so funny and something we missed hearing when we left…
To really experience “the heart” and feel of KW, we booked a place in the Historic District rather than New Town, and I’m so grateful we did because we were able to walk outside our front door and be within walking distance of everything we wanted to do and see. We stayed at the Kimpton Fitch Lodge on Eaton St. and loved it. I loved the style, the cool chairs out front (which were incredibly comfy actually), the vintage green bathroom tile (that matched the phone), and the bed… That bed was so cozy and amazing, we could have stayed there all day but we had places to go and things to see!
So we checked in, found parking (there are garages around, but we lucked out with an on-street spot a few blocks away!), put the top back on the Jeep, walked back to the hotel, freshened up, and headed out to explore! I couldn’t stop photographing the houses and just about everything I saw… Such a tourist. :)
I loved seeing so many Plumeria flowers… They’ve always been one of my favorites but I’ve never seen one naturally… Aren’t they just stunning?
Seriously I just loved everything I laid my eyes on… I loved how the houses and buildings are all tucked into lush clusters of palm trees and plants, and other kinds of trees, the names of which I do not know, but it was all just beautiful and so happy-feeling! It felt like we were stepping back in time, into a movie set or some other world where everything was smiling, beaming, and overflowing with island joy! Oh and JEEPS everywhere!
We decided to head down to DuVall St. to window shop and find a bite to eat… :) The TREES were so amazing, they looked like they were going to fall over into the street. None of the trees seemed to mind the houses and things around them, it’s like they knew they were the perfect compliment, making everything around them better and more picturesque and interesting, adding so much life to the island!
SIGH - more happy golden Plumerias!
We made a new friend on the street named Drew, a local who suggested we go to Willie T’s to because his friend was playing some live reggae, so we were all about that… It was absolutely covered with money on the inside, thousands and thousands of dollars… We had a great time with a few mojitos, meeting new people and enjoying some Conch Fritters with Curried Key Lime Sauce…
The Fritters were pretty good, we ended having better ones at the Sunset Pier on our last night though so if you want to try them, check those out instead. ;)
After hanging out with Drew for a while, we walked down DuVall, stopped for a huge cookie, some tacos, and eventually made our way back home to crash and get ready for another big day of exploring. :)
We got up super early and left to find breakfast before heading to hit a few things on the East side that were on our itinerary - the Hemmingway House and Butterfly Conservatory!
First stop - Date & Thyme, a cute organic produce market and shop that also serves breakfast and lunch! We ordered a couple smoothies and avocado toasts. :) They were light, fresh, delicious, and just what we needed before the day began.
A big thing tourists do is rent bikes, scooters, and golf carts, but we decided to just walk walk walk… Not only do we enjoy walking, but it allows us to be present and really “get to know” the place in a cool way that driving around doesn’t allow for as much. Plus we love to take pictures of course, stop and look at different homes, flowers, plants, or lizards… We loved all of the cute quick little lizards! Some Iguanas were larger and more shy. There were so many palms and plants I would pass by and just HAVE to touch for a minute, just to appreciate them, their beauty and their personality!
One thing we passed that was very interesting was the grave yard… Of course because the ground is all sand, bodies can’t be buried so they lay on top of the surface in this way. So interesting, isn’t it?
We arrived to the Hemmingway House! As a lover of reading and writing, Tyler was really looking forward to this. I was too, but because of the ASETHETICS… Can we talk about these greens??? And the pool… And the tiling inside the home, and the whole style of it all just had me wanting to faint.. I was the heart-eye emoji and could have just moved right on in…..
It was fun seeing the cats, and yes as the stories go, many have 6 toes. They were giving tours, but we just did a self-guided walkaround. It was pretty cool to see that some of the bricks were from Baltimore Brick Co!
We loved how you could see the Key West Lighthouse (something we didn’t do but want to next time) from the side porch. :)
We continued on our walk down the street to the Butterfly Conservatory… We couldn’t wait to see what this was like. On our way, we passed by more incredibly unique flowers and trees, and the tour trolley train, which would also be fun to do next time. :)
OMG these BUTTERFLIES!! They were so amazing and exquisite… My photos don’t even do them justice. At the start of the tour, there’s a wall of framed butterflies of all kinds, colors, and shapes. They are incredibly gorgeous and like none I have ever seen before. We could have spent all day inspecting them and appreciating them…
Entering the Conservatory took our breath away because we were instantly surrounded by butterflies, birds, plants, and trees… With the sounds of chirping, fluttering, and soft brushing of the palms and leaves around us as the fans blew and people oo’d and ahh’d. There was so much to look at and take in, with different kinds of species all around us.
The cute flamingos’ names are Rhett and Scarlett, and they are Mr. and Mrs. :)
After the conservatory, we walked around down town, saw the southernmost point, and made our way back east to grab lunch on DuVall before stopping by a couple shops and then heading home to take a dip in the pool and relax before dinner.
We stopped into Two Friends Restaurant + Bar and ate in the open-air side which was awesome and so chill. We were ready to sit down and have a couple beers after our morning of walking and lots of time in the sun… We made friends with an awesome dude at lunch who was eating next to us (Chris!), had fun conversation with him and enjoyed a spicy chicken wrap, fish + chips, and a couple beers.
On the way back to our place, we stopped into a book store to look around for a little while which was fun, and then once we got back, I took a dip in the pool and Tyler took a nap. :)
Crazy story - while out by the pool, there was a couple playing one of the yard games the hotel had set up. It was entertaining for me to watch their competition, and we all got to talking and it turns out, they were from Carroll County, MD too… It blew my mind because when they told me where they grew up, it was the same street Tyler grew up on, and they also had family that lived right near my parents. It really is such a small world… We know a lot of the same people and have mutual friends. Go figure… I couldn’t wait to tell Tyler.
So we showered and changed and headed back out for dinner to watch the sun set at the Sunset Pier and it was LOVELY…..
One thing I loved was passing by different shop windows and seeing the local art… It has inspired me to get back into my painting, and maybe even paint some of the photos I took while we were there… I love the impressionistic look like this one…
(More chickens crossing the road, haha..)
We walked around by the harbor a bit before making our way over to the pier, and right at the perfect time since everyone was seeming to head there too, sunset was shortly coming!
One thing I wanted while we were there was a damn good Piña Colada, so I got one, and it was EVERYTHING… We also ordered the smoked fish dip, conch fritters, and I think I got a salad… It was the most simply presented, but best food we had the whole trip. SO good… The sunset was gorgeous, and we spent our time on the pier as people came and went, together in really sweet, deep conversation about a lot of different things… Which was really special and made us feel like we got just a little closer while we were away, something vacations are meant for - getting us out of our elements and creating space for new bonding experiences. :)
It was our favorite day and night of our trip, and our most comfortable… We are such homebodies that it really does take us a few days to acclimate when we travel. We want to keep this in mind next time we go away, and add a couple extra days (even though we will really miss Baxie guy) but just so we can really feel like we have the time to settle into the place we’re visiting. We want that balance of rest and relaxation along with adventure and sight-seeing!
Click to enjoy KEY WEST Part 3!