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 :) .