Key West

I've been a few times over the years. It's very pricey but it's also really hard not to relax there. I've heard the drive one-way is fun, but round trip is a bear, so it's good you won't be driving.

Last year our vacation was booked for the unfortunately unseasonable cold snap Florida endured, so that too was a drag. The place we stayed our last two visits there were stark ravingly homosexually-oriented, but we certainly rode our bikes past many lovely places.

I'm not being particularly specific, am I? It's very Key West to be vague. One thing I would recommend if you are there for a few days is a day excursion to the Dry Tortugas. You can fly or take a high speed ferry (again, warm weather provided). It's quite a lovely day.

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I've been to Key West a couple of times (although not for many years), once renting a car and driving down from Miami (lovely drive over the many bridges that hop along the Keys, surrounded by beautiful blue water) and once flying from Orlando (pleasant flight in a prop plane--I remember seeing a lightning storm in the distance which was strangely beautiful). You used to be able to fly there on a sea plane (that lands on the water); not sure if that service is still available. The same sea planes were available for 1-hour tour flights over the Dry Tortugas.

Key West is very relaxed and laid back. Try to stay in the 'Old Town' which is quaint and charming (as opposed to the 'New Town,' which is rather suburban). It's not a great place for beach resorts (there are better beaches on neighboring Keys), more for just hanging out, hanging out in restaurants or bars (some with live music). Good food. Is expensive because the Keys are remote. Bit of the Jimmy Buffett 'Margaritaville' vibe (don't expect a South Beach glamour/party atmosphere). Can pick up on weekends, but weekdays are generally quite quiet.

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Hi. I couldn't resist jumping in since Key West is my home town and I was just there last June. Most of what has been written is on the mark. The drive from or to the mainland can be exquisitely beautiful especially when it corresponds to the hours of sunrise or sunset. One travels over approximately 35 bridges, most no wider than a tight two-lane highway with no median on the sides or in the center. The waters generally calm and often a turquoise blue/green. On Key West itself the only natural beach is in what's referred to "Old Town" and on the south side of the island. The beach is quite small. One hotel/motel, The Southernmost Hotel has several properties in a cluster. Southernmost-on-the-Beach has the monopoly on beachside rooms there and these can run upwards of $500 per night. There is public access to the beach at the Southern end of Duval Street, the main street. Fort Taylor beach and park is within walking distance and has public access to a nice beach. .At the other end of Duval one can find another large group of hotels (Grand Hyatt, Hilton, etc) , heavily populated, adjacent/near to Mallory Square and the piers where the cruise ships dock. This is the louder section of town (historically it always has been...the Navy and military when I was growing up, because it was filled with bars, and in the last 25 years the tourists and college students because it's filled with bars). In between both ends of Duval, bordered by Caroline Street, White Street and South Street, there are B&Bs, guest houses and smaller hotels. Rent yourself a bike, or plan to walk (mostly) everywhere. There are a few decent restaurants in and around the Duval Street area. Virgilio's and Square One both on Duval Street come to mind. There is live rock music behind Virgilio's late night, which isn't bad according to my sister. The Green Parrot can also have some smokin' musician's from time to time. Don't plan on shopping in Key West as there is nothing to buy there that can't be bought elsewhere at a better price, or because it is tourist stuff. it is a good place to drift away wearing in sandals and shorts, walking through the streets umbrellaed by Royal Poinciana trees, meeting people from all over, sitting quietly in a dark cool bar or lounging by a cool pool book-in-hand and favorite drink standing nearby. Key West has exuded a tolerant atmosphere seemingly forever. Have a tasty and enjoyable fish sandwich at the BO's Fish Wagon on Caroline Street. Visit the cemetery and read the interesting and amusing headstones ("I told you I was sick," being one of them). As was mentioned a visit to the Dry Tortugas (turtles) can be a wonderful day's adventure. it can only be accessed by boat or sea plane. It was here on the military outpost at sea, Fort Jefferson, where Dr. Samual Mudd was incarcerated for tending to the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth after Booth assassinated Lincoln. Perhaps because of the military presence in town prior to the Civil War that Key West was regarded as the only city in the South with Yankee sympathies during that war. I've written more than I intended and I apologize for going on so. I have my personal gripes about the changes in Key West over the years. Still it is so unlike a condo in Lauderdale that once you get to Key West and unwind you may not want to leave, or realize once you are in Lauderdale that you're sorry you dd.

Dr. Mudd had a surprising redemption story that I never knew until taking the tour of the fort on the Dry Tortugas. The phrase "your name is Mudd" comes from his experience as a persona non grata after treating Booth's injuries.

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I could be wrong, but I think the Dry Tortugas are called "Dry" because there is no water on them. Any water must be brought in from outside and that includes tourists. If you go there, bring lots of potable water.

There was some kind of fever outbreak (typhoid? scarlet? yellow?) when Dr. Mudd was held prisoner there, and he helped tend to the sick and did so quite well. This service got his sentence reduced, and he was out in about five years.

Mudd also did not know what Booth had done when he set his broken ankle although he was a Confederate sympathizer. His conviction was basically because he had had contact with Booth post-assassination and the Federal governemnt was hellbent on revenge.

The late newcaster Roger Mudd of CBS was a decendant of the good doctor.

Back to the subject--when something is referred to as being 'very Key West' it is virtually impossible to describe and equally impossible not to recognize after being there for a few days. It just 'is'.

Unless you have a good reason to go to Lauderdale, I'd bag that part of your Florida trip. If it is 65 in Key West then it is 50 on the mainland. Key West is always a lot warmer. It also might rain only 5-10 days a year. Good weather is almost guaranteed.

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I'll be "that guy" and point out that Mudd isn't being commemmorated in "his name is mud." The phrase first appeared in print in 1820, 45 years before Lincoln's assassination.

We must have overheard the same Guide, Namo. Tuns out the origins of "here's mud in your eye." is attributed by many to be the Gospel of John 9:6-7. It is there where John recounts Jesus' healing the blind man. Jesus mixed some dust/dirt with spit and put this into the eyes of the blind man whom he then directed to go and wash it off. The blind man did and could henceforth see.

Moral for us: don't believe everything told or overheard.

Remind me to tell you of my short degrees of separation from Elena and Von Kossel. Death was not a barrier to his love for Elena. This macabre one-sided love story occurred years before I was born.

Updated On: 12/27/10 at 05:33 PM