A Break From Winter in Key West Part 2

DAY THREE

Friday was an "on your own" day for us because we weren't signed up for any events. We ate breakfast at the hotel beach cafe and then took the Olde Town Trolley for a sightseeing tour of the island. When we returned, we had lunch at a tiny little Cuban Cafe. The rest of the day was pool and sun time.

That evening, Todd found a place on Duval Street called the Smokin' Tuna. We listened to Scott Kirby, who can be heard on Radio Margaritaville. No cover and the food was good too. We met one of Bob's One on One Fitness buddies and her husband. They had just arrived and flew out of a snowstorm to get there. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Cork and Stogie. Mary Ann and Scott know the owners. We spent about an hour just sitting on the front porch steps watching the characters on Duval Street. I love to people watch so this was a highlight for me.

DAY FOUR

Saturday was a big Wine and Food Fest Day. Bob and I worked out in the hotel gym in the morning and went to the little cafe across the street for a light breakfast. After a short rest, we boarded the trolley for a trip to Stock Island. This is where the "working folks" live away from the tourist area of Duval Street. We went to The Hogfish Bar and Grill for a shrimp boil. On the way in you could get white or red wine. It was a little better quality wine then at some of our previous stops.  "Barry Cuda" and his band entertained while we enjoyed our lunch.

The appetizer was coconut shrimp, one of my favs. The main course was a bowl full of boiled shrimp, Key West Lobster, potatoes and cornbread. I was a little apprehensive at first. The shrimp came, legs, heads, eyeballs and all and they smelled, well, fishy. The meal was already paid for so I dug in and hoped for the best. It's good I did because the shrimp were delicious and probably about as fresh as you could get. There were shrimp boats parked in the harbor right behind the restaurant. They say most people either prefer Maine Lobster or Key West Lobster. I prefer Maine, although Key West wasn't bad.

After lunch we pitted the wine pourers against each other in a facebook battle over who could give one of us the tallest refill. That made our table pretty festive until the trolley came back for us!

Another short rest by the pool was in order before we headed for the Duval Uncorked event. This featured 46 businesses on Duval Street. Each offered a wine and food taste. This was about two hours of walking, eating and drinking. Some highlights were Leather Masters (no more description here, this is a G rated blog!) a Western bar with a mechanical bull and a boutique that offered a sample hand washing with Secret of the Islands salt scrub. I'm going to order some of that soon for nice soft hands.

Duval Uncorked wrapped up around 8 p.m. We walked back to our hotel with Scott and MaryAnn but it was way too early for us to call it a night, so we met Deb and Todd at the Smokin' Tuna for some more live music.


Part 3 to come soon......