Key West Trip Report December 30, 2013 – January 7, 2014
We flew Delta from Akron-Canton, through Atlanta directly into Key West. No flight issues on our way down. Coming home was another story. Briefly, our flight home was cancelled due to storms and the bitterly cold weather up north. This resulted in our “having” to stay an extra 3 nights. One was at an airport hotel (which was fine as they did have laundry facilities), the next at the CoCo Plum Inn, where we have stayed previously, and the last at a Ft. Lauderdale airport hotel, after a 4 hour shuttle ride. This was our quickest option to get home. Not a bad place to get stuck, and once we made our arrangements we enjoyed the extra few days.
On our arrival, we quickly caught a taxi to The Pilot House, our home for the next 5 days. This was our second time staying at the Pilot House, this time in the main house as opposed to the pool cabana. Both are nice, but we prefer the poolside rooms.
Most days found us up early and off to breakfast (on foot), then returning to spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon lounging around the pool and/or soaking in the hot tub. We got to know several other couples staying there as well.
New Year’s Eve was a lot of fun. We decided to join the crowd at Sloppy Joe’s for the dropping of the conch shell. Lots of people, but it was a very orderly, happy crowd. Earlier in the evening we visited Rick’s upstairs where there are a number of different bars. Midnight found us on the street level.
In no particular order our breakfasts included Blue Heaven (heavenly), Kelly’s Carribbean Grill, Le Petit Paris (very fresh and a nice, European feel), and pastries from the local bakery just around the corner.
Lunches included a stop at Pepe’s, Caroline’s, Charlie Mac’s ,and JDL’s Big Ten Pub and a pizza from the corner restaurant which we enjoyed poolside.
Dinners were at Fogarty’s, Jack Flatts, and McConnell’s Irish Pub which has excellent food!
We made numerous visits to the local bars and pubs, including (but not limited to): Sloppy Joes, Irish Kevin’s, Schooner Wharf, Hog’s Breath Saloon, Rick’s, Captain Tony’s, Green Parrot, 2 Cents and Smokin’ Tuna and the Bull.
One day we rented an electric cart and drove around the island a bit. We stopped at the East Martello Museum and took the tour to meet Robert the Doll. If you are a fan of the supernatural you really need to look him up! We also spent one morning touring Ernest Hemingway’s home. Very interesting tour – we learned a lot of things we didn’t know about him. We spent one evening at the LaConcha Hotel for sunset. The rooftop patio is an excellent place to watch the sunset, and provides a great view of all of Key West. If you plan on being in KW anytime soon, try it. We heard they are planning to close the rooftop area and turn it into a spa!
On one of our visits to Irish Kevin’s (and there were many), the entertainer actually convinced one of the patrons to buy a round of drinks for the bar. So, thanks, Drew from Ireland! That’s the second time we have experienced this at IK.
All in all we had a great time, and are considering returning next year.
MJ & Frank
