Cruise Day 5

Finally, it’s warm! We arrived in Key West around 8:00. We decided to not rush off the boat but take our time. We got up about 7:30 and got ready. Then we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. Finally, we got off about 9:00. In Key West, we planned on just sightseeing so we did not book anything. We had looked up scooter rentals before coming out and had found a place with good rates. As we left the boat another company was soliciting customers and said that they’d match the price so we got in the shuttle and we were off.

We arrived at the rental shop and got our ride. We opted for the helmets. I did not see any other riders anywhere with helmets on. We called our scooter Sasha, paying homage to the show Scrubs. Audrey was a bit nervous at the beginning, but she warmed up once we got under way.

The first place we visited was the Southernmost Point in the continental US. There is a marker there that is closer to Cuba (90 miles) than Miami. We took the standard photo and proceeded to Earnest Hemmingway’s house. We did not go in but looked at it from the outside.

We also noticed that there were wild chickens running around, everywhere! There were a couple of close calls with road kill chickens, but luckily, no reported injuries.

We zipped on over to an Eco-Conservation center mainly to use the bathrooms. However, it was a pretty cool place. They had some coral reefs and other fish that were pretty interesting. Back on the road, we made a stop at a very kitschy Walgreens. It was in an old theater. Inside, it had all of the same things you’d expect in a Walgreen’s, but it just didn’t look like a Walgreen’s.

We went to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant called Salsa Loca. It was OK, but we were a little nervous that we’d wandered into a Gay establishment without knowing it. However, I do not think that was the case.

After lunch, we went to the Butterfly House. It was loaded with butterflies. It was very relaxing and green. We have a similar facility at the Toledo Zoo, but this one had more butterflies in it. I recommend it if you are ever in Key West.

We tried to find mile marker 0 on US Hwy 1, but couldn’t find it and time was getting short. So we went back to the rental place to return Sasha. The shuttle picked us up to return us to the ship. On the way back, we drove by a HUGE statue of a man and woman dancing so obviously, we had to walk back to take pictures. Then, we stopped by a pirate shop and took pictures with the statues there. Audrey found the traditional Blackbeard. However, the female pirate was displaying her “pirate treasures” so we had to be a bit more strategic with our photo.

Then back to the ship for Audrey to work out and me to do laundry in the shower. I forgot to pack half of my delicates so I was running a bit short. Then we went to dinner and the evening show. We were not too impressed with the impersonator act, so we went back to our room to rest up for the midnight buffet. Then it’s off to Nassau tomorrow and our personal sub trip. The temp today was 80 degrees with 85 degree water. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 88 degrees with water about the same temp. It should be fun!

Audrey with Sasha

Kind of self-explanatory.

Wild chickens everywhere.

For Donna.

For Emma.

Walgreen's.

For Jakey.

Feeling Zen at the Butterfly House.

Animals are drawn to her.

Oops.  We sat on a butterfly.

Big statues.

Holding Blackbeard's hook,

Asset protection.