A Long Weekend in Key West

We typically go on vacation each year for my birthday. For me, it helps to lessen the blow of getting another year older. For my 32^nd birthday we headed down to Key West for a long weekend. We flew into Miami and took the two-hour scenic drive down to Key West. I came across a list of 20 things to do on the drive, but we eneded up only making one stop along the way. We grabbed lunch at Sparky’s Landing in Marathon. This is the best place for fresh seafood directly from the sea to the table.

We stayed in a B & B just off Duval Street. It was the perfect location for seeing everything the city had to offer. We check-in, dropped off our bags and headed out to Duval Street where we stumbled upon the Little Room Jazz bar. We grabbed a drink and enjoyed some live music.

Next, we took in some of the nearby sights passing by Hemmingway’s House on our way to the The Southernmost Point. We grabbed a quick photo and then headed to The Southernmost Beach Café and Bar, the only beachfront hotel in the area.

We had several great meals during this trip. DJ’s Clam Shack had the BEST lobster rolls and clam chowder. It is truly a shack so it’s quite surprising how good the food really is considering the atmosphere.

Another unique restaurant we visited was a desert only place called Better Than Sex Dessert Restaurant. My favorite thing was the chocolate rimmed wine glass. It brought the concept of wine and chocolate pairing to a whole new level.

We checked out the Lighthouse and enjoyed great meals at Blackfin Bistro and The bier boutique.

Blue Heaven was outstanding! It’s no surprise this place ends up on everyone’s ‘must visit’ list. The food was fantastic – we even splurged and got the key lime pie. We sat outside and were treated to two kinds of entertainment – live music and the resident roosters that run around the island.

We made obligatory stops at Willie T’s, the Hard Rock Café, Sloppy Joe’s and Hog’s Breath Café. And of course, we watched the sunset over a bucket of Corona’s in a waterside café just off of Mallory Square.

The next morning, David had to get some work done so I enjoyed the The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory on my own. I was really impressed with this place. I could have stayed for hours watching the butterflies zip through the conservatory.

We wrapped up the trip with an inshore fishing trip. It was my first-time fishing so of course I had beginners luck, catching a few more fish than David. It was so much fun!