Day 3: Key West - Miami

It was already 9.30am when we were done with our breakfast, which was the Key Lime pie that we bought yesterday. Well, the pie was awesome in every way besides it being a little bit on the sour side.


The Key Lime pie

Once we were done with our breakfast, we took our car and went out for a drive, and what we had in mind was to pay the beaches and the lighthouse a visit. But too bad, both didn’t turned out as what we have expected to, because the beach wasn’t good at all (but maybe because of the tropical storm which washed all the debris ashore) and the lighthouse was still shut.

So we headed back to the hotel to pack our stuff and got ready to check out since it has to be done before 11. It was just right at 11am when we were done with checking out (the bill was at USD 155, reasonable considering the location of the hotel and the comfort of the room).


Southernmost Hotel, before we left :)

Before leaving the Key West, we dropped by a former US navy base and had some pictures taken which among them includes an old warship.


Me & the Warship

After the navy base, we then bid farewell to Key West and headed northwards towards Miami. Well honestly, the Key West was a very nice place with much historical and cultural element, but this trip of ours could have been better if not for the stubborn weather (the consolation would be that I can tell people that I’ve been to the Key West :) ). It was raining heavily when we left the Key West but it didn’t lasted long before it was drizzling lightly again.


Our journey from Key West to Miami

A 2 hour drive and we decided to stop by a beach in Islamorada to grab some fresh sea breeze (of course some pictures too). Below are some pictures of the beach at Islamorada.







After a half an hour break, we were soon on the road again. But it was not long before we made another stop, this time was to fill our hungry stomachs. This restaurant with the banner “The Most Famous Fish Sandwich” had gave us a reason to pay them a visit, but I didn’t ordered a fish sandwich, but a roasted beef club instead (because it was cheaper at USD 6.95 :p ). The food tasted good, and the portion was pretty big too, so I was pretty satisfied :) .


The Roasted Beef Club that I had for lunch

Once we were done with the food, we continued our journey towards Miami (without any more stops). After another roughly 2 hours of drive, we’ve finally arrived at the City of Miami, and the sight of the skyscrapers of the city was just captivating. This is the Miami that I’ve always imagined it to be and it didn’t disappoint me. Below are a few pictures of the city.







But this was the city and what we wanted in Miami were the beaches, and the right place to be was at Miami Beach (which was away from the mainland). Along the way, we spotted some big cruise ships at the port of Miami and it was indeed a sight to behold.


A picture of one of the cruise ship


The port of Miami


Yachts after yachts

What we needed next was a place to stay for all of our remaining nights at Miami, and so we went hunting for a motel with reasonable rates. Since it’s Labours’ day on the Monday, so there will be a long weekend and hotel rates had all rocketed and rooms sold out. After a pretty long hunt, we finally settled on a deluxe room in a motel (called Day’s Inn) which will cost us USD99 a night. The usual chore of unloading our luggages and settling down then ensued, and of course, we got ourselves washed up too.

Once we were done with everything, we got dressed up and were ready to roam the streets on foot again. Below are a few pictures of Miami Beach at night.





After a short walk at Ocean Drive (where most of the cafés and bars are), we decided to have our dinner at one of the café called Foxcafe. It was kind of a fine dining type and I got myself some pasta, which was called Penne Pesto (pasta cooked with shrimps, chickens and dried tomatoes in Pesto cream sauce which I seriously had no idea what it was). The food tasted great and it came in a pretty big portion, worth the USD 13.95 that I’ve paid for the food.


Penne Pesto

When we were done with our dinner, we wanted to visit a club at first, but we didn’t have any luck in finding one that suited us (or rather accept patrons that are under 21 years of age). So we walked around the area of Ocean Drive before we headed back to our motel to get our much deserved rest.


A picture of a portion of Ocean Drive.

Day 2: Key West

After everyone's done with their morning chores and having the left over fried rice for our breakfast, we loaded our things into the car and were ready to leave for our journey again. It was already around 8am when we left the motel and at a slow cruise, we headed towards the Keys of Florida. On the way towards the Key West, the Florida Keys consists of 5 notable keys, which are the Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine Key and the Key West itself (arranged in order from the nearest to the furthest). Below are 2 pictures which I took while we were on our way to the Key West.


The 7 mile bridge (longest bridge on the journey to Key West)


The Atlantic Ocean on the right and the Gulf of Mexico on the left

After a drive of roughly close to 4 hours, we have finally arrived at the Key West. The sight of the island was captivating, really earning it's name as a paradise for tourist retreat. The very first thing that we had in mind was to head towards the southernmost point of the island (which is also the southernmost point of the USA). Below are a few pictures on the way towards the southernmost point and the point itself.


Boats, boats, boats


A street in Key West


A lighthouse


And a picture of me at the Southernmost point of the US :)

After some picture taking, we started our hunt for a lodging which would house us for the night. After enquiring a few hotels, we decided to settle down at the Southernmost Hotel (as the name suggests, it is near the Southernmost point). It turned out to be a very good choice indeed as the room looked good and was very comfortable.


A picture of our Hotel room

After unloading our luggages and a quick wash, we were ready to roam the streets again. The very first thing that we had in mind was to look for our lunch and so we got some recommendations from the hotel staff. We took our car and drove towards the place where the most famous fish sandwich was sold, but unfortunately due to our poor understanding of the streets of the island, we parked quite some way off from the place where the fish sandwich was sold. But nevertheless, we decided to go by foot so that we can take more pictures of the island. Below are more pictures of the streets of Key West.








Cheeseburger of the Key West? NO WAY!! :p


Can you spot the shack selling the fish sandwich? It was really well hidden :p


Inside the shack


The fish sandwich which cost me a whopping USD9+ (but it was delicious though:) )

After our satisfying munch, we then headed back towards our car (which our parking meter was expiring). It was also just happened that we parked our car nearby the place where they sell the all famous Key Lime Pie. And so we didn't hesitated and got ourselves a whole key lime pie (which was around USD 25).


The Key Lime Pie factory where we got our Key Lime Pie

After that, we took a drive back to our hotel in order for us to get some rest. And so a rest we had indeed as when we were about to roam the streets again (this time by foot along the famous Duval Street), the rain had just stopped (the weather had never been good due to the looming Hurricane Gustav). Duval Street because we were told that there is where the sunset festival will be held everyday and also because Duval Street has the most happening night life. Below are a few pictures of the Duval Street.








Hard Rock of Key West!



At the very end of Duval street, was the Malory Pier where people will normally gather to watch the sunset but we were just too unlucky on that day, the skies were filled with too much clouds in order for us to view the sunset (plus, it was drizzling at that time too).


Malory Pier (realised the clouds?)


The Memorial at Malory Pier

It was not long before our stomachs were calling again, we then headed towards the place where we were told to sell good seafood at reasonable prices (but we didn't had high hopes with the prices though). The restaurant was called Half Shell Raw Bar, and it was some 10 minutes walk off Duval Street.


Half Shell Raw Bar


Inside the Restaurant


The food I had for dinner (I wasn't sure what fish was the fillet was made of but I think I heard Dolphin :| )

The meal cost me around USD19 after tax and tip for our server, pretty reasonable considering that the food was delicious and filling with some good atmosphere in the restaurant. We then had plans to patron a bar but unfortunately, most of them (or all of them) requires patrons to be 21 years of age and above, and of course we were left disappointed.


The night life


Sloppy Joe's Bar (which was one of the bars which we intended to patronise)

After a short walk (to digest our food), we decided to call it a day and headed back to our hotel so that we can get ourselves cleaned up and have a good rest. It was a long walk back indeed but it didn't really mattered in the end because of the sights and sounds of the street and by the time we reached our hotel, it was already at the 11th hour :) .

The Begining Of Travelling And Unbearable Farewells

The day is Wednesday on the 28th of August, it used to be one of the most awaited day for us but I doubt it is still as awaited as it was before. Just the night before, we had just bid farewell to our colleagues at BK and I admit that there were traces of tears in my eyes after that. Anyways, me and Winson were up early in the morning to collect the car that we have booked through the internet. And so there we are and we got the car that we had wanted (or maybe an even better one), which was a Hyundai Santa Fe (a full-size SUV where we can pack our luggages into).


Hyundai Santa Fe (a pretty fine SUV too)

And so we drove the SUV back to Walden Circle. After close to 2 hours of packing and clearing of our apartment, we were ready to leave the place which housed us for the pass 3 months. First, we met up with the Ukrainians and bid them a last farewell. Hugs, goodbyes, and pictures, everything we had, and I was reduced to tears (so as Damien). To the Ukrainians: You guys had been great friends and nice colleagues at work, it was really a fortune that we got to meet you guys, I'll miss every single one of you and hope to keep in touch. Then came the Taiwanese girls' turn, it was really a moment that I have been avoiding all these while but I guess it was really unavoidable after all. After a wonderful 2 months with them, I had really grew fond of them (especially Wendy) after all the times that we had spent together. And so it has come to the day where we have to part and move our separate ways again, after taking some pictures, I gave both the girls a hug and tears just started to flow uncontrollably out of my eyes (and so as Wendy's as I realised). To Wendy and Jessica: You guys had just been great, we had much memories together and I would never exchange them for anything else in the world, you guys will always have a place in my heart, I'll miss you guys so badly and also hope that we would cross paths again in the future.


A picture of me and the girls before we left

And so, we left Walden Circle with our heavy hearts and headed towards our work place to collect our cheques and bid farewell to the people there as well.


The last picture of Walden Circle


Burger King


Adeline (BK's manager) and our gift


Canoe Creek Travel Plaza

After packing some free food for the last time from both BK and Popeye's which we hope could last us for the day, we then headed towards south of Florida.


A rough map on the places we passed through on our way to Key West of Florida, which will be our final destination

There wasn't much along the way besides trees and buildings until we have arrived at Fort Lauderdale. We took the exit out of the Interstate and had a short drive in Fort Lauderdale, we even dropped by a beach and got some fuel for our car (which was really hungry on petrol). Below are 2 pictures of Fort Lauderdale


At a crossroad in Fort Lauderdale


A picture of the beach in Fort Lauderdale

Without wasting much time, we then continue our journey again. The next point of interest would be the city of Miami. Well, it was really a teaser for us as we would be heading back towards Miami once we were done with the Keys of Florida.


The skyscrapers of Miami

The plan was that we have a night's stay at Homestead of Florida before we continue our journey towards the Keys because we figured that we will not reach Key West late at night and pay for the expensive hotels there but instead push-off early the next morning and so we don't need to stay at the Keys for 2 nights. And so we got a motel (Country Hearth Inn) in Homestead which cost us USD50 for the night.


Country Hearth Inn


A picture of the room which we were to spend our night in

After settling down, we took a short ride out into the town to get some food, and so it was a Chinese restaurant that we stopped by and we got ourselves a big tray of take-away fried rice (which cost close to USD20), which we planned to have it during our breakfast the next day too.


A picture of the Chinese Restaurant

As we have to push-off early in the morning the next day, all of us were already asleep by 12.