To celebrate our two-year anniversary, Liam and I dusted off our suitcases, grabbed our bathing suits, and booked our tickets to Key West, Florida. We traded snow-capped mountains for white sand beaches, hoping to bronze our winter skin!
Key West, originally named Cayo Hueso by Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon, has a rich history much deeper than Duval Street, spring break parties, and year-round sunshine. Cayo Hueso translates to Island of Bones, and refers to the scattered remains of indigenous Calusa Indians that Ponce de Leon found when he “discovered” the island.
If you’re a follower of A Lost Blonde, you know no globetrotting experience of mine can be smooth sailing! A 23-hour series of events involving airplane mechanical failure, 4 different re-routing schedules, a free hotel room & free Starbuck’s was all it took for American Airlines to finally bring us from Utah to Florida. Our flight into EYW airport landed around 11 a.m., and our anniversary-adventure began!
After dropping our bags at our house-boat Airbnb and spending some time freshening up, we collected our hot wheels for the week: a double seated scooter! With our moped ready and a full tank of gas, we headed for downtown to find dinner with an ocean view. Key Lime martinis from White Tarpon commemorated two years of traveling the world with my best friend.
Though the island is infamous for Key Lime Pie flavored everything, key limes no longer grow on Key West! These sweet, small fruits are imported from Mexico but are still found integrated into every possible dish on the island. While the fruit originally served to add flavor to fish, turtle, and queen conch snails, I opted for the lime-version of renowned pie and mixed drinks all week.
To add more celebration to the vacation, Liam’s father’s 60th birthday was March 17th! We met Liam’s father for an afternoon of relaxation at the house-boat before hitting Duval Street for a Saint Patrick’s Day, Boston-themed birthday dinner at Wahlburgers. We parked ourselves at Sunset Pier to watch the day transition to twilight. Every night in Mallory Square, Key West tourists observes the sun setting over the water. Street performers, musicians, and mobile bars entertain the 5 million annual island visitors!
Sunrise, a true crime novel, and the ocean waves summarize my Thursday morning. The men left our boat early for coffee and groceries, so I had a few hours to myself. I filled the time with reading and tanning before they returned, Dunkin Donut’s in hand. Each of us jumped in kayaks and headed for the miles of mangroves which surrounded our boat. Paddling through tunnels of vines, we found exotic birds, many fish, turtles, jellyfish nests, but no manatees! Though signs are everywhere warning boaters to watch for manatees, we never found the gentle giants.
Along with Liam’s Aunt and Uncle, I enjoyed a large breakfast at Blue Heaven before spending the day sightseeing. My favorite tourist attraction was Hemmingway’s House, where revered American author Ernest Hemmingway spent the 1930s writing his most notable novels. The lush gardens and preserved halls are still home to over 40 adorable cats, some with 6 toes on each paw!
Another stop on our must-do list was the Southernmost Point Buoy, Key West’s most photographed icon. Visitors like to point out that Hawaii is further south than Florida, but the buoy states that it’s the furthest point of the continental U.S., not including Hawaiian Islands. Though we did not stand in the incredibly long line to take a photo, the tall concrete structure is still a fun, picturesque scene with the ocean in the background.
Dinner at the Smoking Tuna will last in my memory for years to come. The food and drink parallel most bar & pub entrees, but the entertainment was beyond anything Liam and I had ever heard. Solo musician Nick Brownell preformed a mixture of classic rock and country that had the full crowd singing and dancing for hours. We loved Nick so much, we came back the next night! Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a Spotify, SoundCloud, or updated Youtube portfolio, you can find some of his music here! After practically losing my voice, we left the show bound for a late-night ghost tour.
Key West wasn’t originally named “Island of Bones” for nothing, the island is believed to be deeply haunted. A ghost walking tour of Key West taught us the island’s history, local true crime tales, and the haunting story of Robert the Doll. The 1.5-hour night walk retold stories and legends with the ruse of customers potentially interacting with spirits throughout the tour. Though I personally did not engage with any paranormal activity, I enjoyed the hostess’s enthusiasm and passion for the macabre.
Our last day of vacation called for one more round of Dunkin’s Iced Caramel Swirl and snorkeling Key West’s coral reef! The 3rd largest living barrier coral reef in the world, the Florida Straits extends 150 miles north and 70 miles west. We enjoyed our last Dunkin’s on the pier as we waited for our over-crowded tour boat to take us to the area.
Once geared up, we jumped into the warm, choppy waters in search of colorful fish. Almost immediately, Liam dropped one of the GoPro’s into the ocean, forever losing it. Luckily, we had two, and captured footage of hundreds of fish, a large Lemon shark, and so many jellyfish! The last part made me nervous, March is jelly fish mating season and their sting is strong enough to paralyze your muscles long enough for you to drown.
After taking advantage of the tour’s open-bar, Liam and I dressed up for our last dinner in Key West. At the Half Shell Raw Bar, we enjoyed appetizers of buffalo shrimp and raw oysters, I ordered stuffed shrimp and Liam got the lobster & clam bake! He’s finally decided he likes seafood.
One last gorgeous sunset (and a few more daquiris) concluded our island getaway in Key West. Trading palm trees and ocean breeze for snow unfreezing and Spring-season skiing – my life feels like an infinite vacation.
If you have any follow up questions about our week in Key West, please email me at hello@alostblonde.com.
♡ Abigail Reagan
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