Surviving Key West

12/22/16
Key West, FL
Posted by Bill

I have to admit…as frugal as we are, staying here is worth the cost of the slip. There is so much to do within a short walk. We used the bikes (very nice bikes) that the marina provides and did a grocery run the other day, stopping at a really good taco stand on the way. Other than that bike ride, we have been walking multiple times per day and just exploring. Besides the bars, we have been checking out the houses in Old Town. The architecture is very similar to Southport NC, our new summer home, and since we are building a house next summer we wanted to get some ideas. There are many houses that look like this, and it is the same general plan we want to build:
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It also helps to have our builder (as well as one of our best friends) traveling with us and giving us guidance. It is amazing what a house in shambles will cost you here in Key West.

As I mentioned in the last post, the town is decorated for Christmas. Here are some pictures:
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In addition to the crazy people you see here, there are some interesting vehicles too:
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Kurt and Sharon (Byrd Ketcher), and Matt and Shirley (Sofia Jeanne) have been here for monthly stays several times in the past, and have helped us identify some of the good places to eat and drink. We contributed some of our favorites too. The other night we went to Turtle Kraals and watched the turtle races:
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The bar hands out tickets with a number that corresponds to a turtle. If your turtle wins, you pick a key from a board of almost 100 keys. If the key opens the lock on a treasure chest, you win at least $250. Several of us had the winning turtle number, but no one picked the right key, however…Tricia picked the key right next to the winner. Oh well! We really like going to Rick’s on Duval Street (the main drag through Key West, where most of the action is). There is a regular entertainer there called Adrian. Our travel partners know him very well. He has stayed at Matt and Shirley’s house when traveling. He plays dirty songs and picks on the crowd, and is hilarious! Great fun. Here is a picture of him that Shirley snapped:
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Kurt snapped this one of all of us at Rick’s last night:
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I’ll leave you with some random pictures of the marina, starting with our view from the end of our dock:
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The pool:
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And a view of the fish around the dock:
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Speaking of fish around the dock…there has been a very large bull shark visiting us almost every day when the fishing boats come in. People feed it and the tarpon. It is BIG! We won’t be swimming in the marina!

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