My husband and I started adding a third trip annually to Key West last year and wanted to keep up with tradition, so after our visit last year in July, I booked another trip for the last week in January, making it our 23rd time visiting since back in March of 2006, but who’s counting? We didn’t do too much this trip because it was cooler then we are used to. The days were filled will brilliant blue sky, but just not warm enough to out on the water or hang out at our hotel pool. Instead we spent each day walking the streets of Key West, drinking/eating delicious food and seeing great people.
Sunday, January 26th – Arrival Day
Thankfully the day before we only had rain instead of snow. I always get concerned traveling during this time of year due to the threat of snow, freezing rain, etc. Our flight was scheduled for a 9am departure so we had our car service pick us up at 5:45am just to be on the safe side. Once we arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport, it was very crowded – which I was surprised due to the fact it was a Sunday. Then again, Newark Airport is always busy. We had TSA pre so it made going through security painless and easy. Once through, we went to the United Club to wait for our flight. Eventually it was time to head to the gate to board our flight. Besides the gate change there were no flight delays which I was extremely happy about.
Our flight wound up taking off a bit behind schedule, but we made up the time in the air. The flight was just under 3 hours and soon I could see the Keys appear below. I always get so excited when I see Key West come in to view.
Once we landed we were the first ones of the plane. I noticed that it was a bit on the cold side for Key West, but the sun was shining and the skies were blue and the most important thing, we were back in Key West! We quickly walked to the taxi stand and grabbed a taxi. It is funny how the drive to the hotel makes me so happy and yet the drive back to the airport makes me so sad. After a couple of minutes, I could see the yellow walls of the Gardens Hotel. I thought to myself we are coming back “home”. That is what the Gardens feels to us. I think it is the fact that yes we have stayed there so many times, but we have also come to know the staff very well. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34345-d227346-r742840597-The_Gardens_Hotel-Key_West_Florida_Keys_Florida.html
The taxi dropped us off and we walked in to check in. We saw David at the desk and he gave us a big hello. He told us our room wasn’t ready, but would be in about an hour or so. It wasn’t a big deal since we didn’t need to change, so we left our luggage in the check in area and made our way onto Duval. To us, it never gets old making that first right hand turn on to Duval. It makes it feel official that we are back in Key West.
With our faces smiling we discussed where to go for our first stop. Being that it was a Sunday, not many of the musicians we knew were playing. We decided to walk down to the Sunset Tiki Bar at the Galleon so we could get a nice view of the water. Once we walked in we saw a familiar face at the bar, Philip. He welcomed us back and we sat down and ordered a couple of drinks. I started to take in that we were back to one of my favorite places to visit!
It was nearing the time that our room should be ready so we paid our tab and walked down Duval back towards the Gardens. We walked by the Smallest Bar in Key West/ the Paradise Restaurant and thought why not stop in there for a quick drink since we never had been there before. It was an interesting little place.
We walked in and found the inside bar area. We ordered a couple of mojitos. I watched the bartender make our drinks and began to question our decision when I noticed after he muddled the mint, he added pure sugar and rum. Then he topped the drinks with sprite. I thought how I have never seen a mojito made like that before. Our drinks were served and we both agreed that they were very sweet – too sweet in fact. Quickly we finished our drinks and went back to the hotel. It was some place new new to try.
Before we made it back we saw that Miguel was bar tending at Rick’s. We thought he was off so we popped in to say hello. It was quite crowded so we didn’t stay long, but that’s when he told us about Koby Bryant. We couldn’t believe the news. We told him we would come by the next day to see him before heading back to the Gardens.
We walked in to the check in office and our room was ready. We quickly checked in and went to our room to freshen up. When we walked into the courtyard area we noticed that they were setting up for jazz. We saw the two bartenders Peggy and Adam setting up as well. We waved hello as we walked up to our room.
Once we unpacked our things, we figured that we would just stay in our clothes since it was still a bit chilly out and it wasn’t going to get any warmer later on in the evening. We walked back downstairs to the bar and talked to Adam a bit. While we were talking to him, he mentioned the General Manager Jim had an accident but he was okay. Apparently he suffered a bad fall, so I was a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t be around for jazz, but thankfully he was okay.
People started to make there way to the seats and soon the jazz music began.
We were also hoping to see Kate the owner of the Gardens, but she was away in Argentina. We couldn’t stay for too long because I made dinner reservations at Lola’s Cafe. Lola’s is a brand new restaurant that took over the old Deuce’s Off the Hook location. We walked in and we were seated at the only open table. I thought to myself, I am glad I made reservations.
The server which I believe is also one of the owner’s, came over and told us about the four appetizer options and the four main courses. As a side note, the restaurant only offers four apps and four main courses and they change nightly, except for the scallops because so many people got upset when they weren’t on the menu. Also note that there is no physical paper menu so if you want to know the prices you have to ask. We had a wonderful dinner but it was very pricey even without having any drinks included – and they only accept cash.
Once we heard the options, I decided to go with the scallops and the fresh sea bass. My husband ordered the gnocchi and the rib eye for dinner. After we ordered we sat back and watched the chef at work. If you had ever been to Deuce’s you may have remembered the bar that was there. Now, in place of the bar, is the open air kitchen where the chef prepares your meal. It was quite entertaining to watch him.
We felt like we were watching a show from the Food Network. Also the decor inside is lit with many candles lining the walls which make it very romantic. Every table was full so it was a bit loud. Mostly all the tables were larger groups as well.
The runner then brought out a first course from the chef which was a nice little surprise. Instead of a basket of bread and butter (that I never eat because it fills me too much), they served us a nice plate of fresh mozzarella and tomato on a slice of a baguette. It was a nice start to the meal.
Then our appetizers were brought out. I took one bite of the scallops and they were super tender and delicious. I myself am not a scallop fan, but after having them I am one now. I took a taste of my husband’s gnocchi appetizer and they were full of flavor. I couldn’t wait to try our next course. The appetizers came out rather quickly, but we did have to wait a bit for our entrees. You could see all the food that the chef was preparing so we totally understood why there was a bit of a delay.
Eventually our entrees made their way to our table. The sea bass was huge. I couldn’t believe it. And the rib eye my husband ordered was also a generous portion. We thoroughly enjoyed what we ordered. Everything was delicious. By the time we finished our meal, we were quite stuffed. I couldn’t even think about dessert. We asked for our check and thanked our server for a wonderful meal. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34345-d19247202-r742841798-Lola_s_Bistro-Key_West_Florida_Keys_Florida.html
My husband wanted to walk back to the Gardens, but I wanted to walk down to the Smokin’ Tuna to see Caffeine Carl play. I knew he was playing that night and only the following night, due to the fact the Mile 0 Festival was starting in a couple of days. I didn’t realize the festival coincided with the dates we were in Key West, so I was a bit disappointed that the festival was taking over a few of our favorite places to see music, like the Smokin’ Tuna.
After convincing my husband, we walked down Duval to the Tuna. Actually it was a nice way to walk off our dinner. We walked in and it was already crowded, but within minutes two seats dead center at the bar opened up. It was like it was meant to be (we both thought). A gentlemen (which name escapes me) was finishing up his set. He was quite good. Once he finished I saw Caffeine Carl getting ready to take the stage. I walked up to him and asked him for a picture. It was nice to see him again. (And I was glad we went because it wound up being the only time we saw him.)
As everyone took the stage we noticed that George wasn’t playing, but there was a new lead singer. We weren’t sure of his name – he was just okay. We enjoyed a few songs. While we were there the bartender told us our next round was bought. And then we saw a familiar face from our favorite shore town in NJ, Lavallette… Vincent!! He came up to us and we thanked him for the drinks. It was fun to see him in Key West. Small world!! Later on I went in the back to thank him again and meet his wife but unfortunately they left. I wanted to stay longer but the long travel day was starting to set in, so we left and made it back to the Gardens and called it a night.
Monday, January 27th – First Full Day
We woke up to a beautiful day. We freshened up and headed to our usual first stop every trip, Cuban Coffee Queen. It was a bit brisk in the morning so I made sure I grabbed a jacket to wear until it warmed up later on the day. We walked in to Cuban Coffee Queen and there wasn’t much of a line since we were there early. The coffee was much needed after the day before.
Once we had our coffees in hand we walked down to Duval St. to have breakfast. In the past our first breakfast would always be Blue Heaven and we felt like we have gone there a lot of times that we have become a bit tired of the place. We decided to go to La Te Da for breakfast.
We walked in and were excited to see that the bar area was quiet. We sat down and ordered a couple of drinks. For breakfast I ordered the standard eggs over medium with bacon and my husband had their egg scramble that was served with their candied maple bacon. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34345-d1007451-r742852258-The_Restaurant_at_La_Te_Da-Key_West_Florida_Keys_Florida.html
After breakfast we walked back to the Gardens to relax for a little bit before heading out for the day.
It was then time to make our way back out on to Duval.
We walked down to Front Street before making a loop back towards Ricks. My husband wanted to stop in and see Miguel the bartender.
He is always fun to hang out with. We chatted for a while before making our way to our next stop, Captain Tony’s to see Gabriel Wright play.
We walked in and he immediately recognized us. We sat down at a couple of open bar stools and ordered drinks while we listened to him play. It is funny how he remembers our requests so he always makes sure to play the songs when we see him. Once he went on break we were able to talk to him for a bit before he started playing again.
While we were listening to him play, we started talking to two gentlemen that were asking questions about Key West. It was their first time in Key West so we talked to them for a few giving them some tips as to where to go to eat, drink, etc. We told them that we were on our way to Hog’s Breath to see our friend Zack Seemiller. I have been doing his design work for several years now and he has become a great friend so I was looking forward to see him again.
We said goodbye to Gabriel and told him we would catch him when he was playing at Captain Tony’s again later on in the week (which unfortunately we totally forgot his Wednesday evening show and it turned out to be the only time we could see him). We walked down to Hog’s Breath and through their gift shop. Once we walked in, the place was packed. After a couple of minutes one seat did open up. Luckily there was enough room for my husband to stand next to me. Zack acknowledged us as we waved to him. Not before long his son Kai came by with their dog Bullet. The dog was so cute. We also got to meet to his mom who was staying with them while we were in town.
While we were enjoying his show, the bartender Stephanie told us that our next round was bought and paid for. We look over and it was the two guys from Captain Tony’s. We thanked them and they wound up walking over and ordered us shots. I really didn’t want to do one (and really didn’t NEED to do one), but I caved and had one shot. We wound up staying for the rest of his show. It was a lot of fun. https://youtu.be/iL4kwCPlsFo
Once Zack finished his show I had to get my usual photos with him before he packed up everything. It is always great to see him.
He told us that he was playing later with his son Kai that night at the Schooner Wharf. We hadn’t been there in years to see a show at night and thought it would be fun to stop by and see them after dinner.
We walked back to the Garden’s to regroup for a little bit before going out to dinner. One of my husband’s favorite places to eat is Berlin’s. He likes the old dark retro feel it has. I enjoy it as well, so we wound up walking down to the A&B Lobster house. We walked in up the stairs and into Berlin’s. We sat at the bar and the bartender took our dinner order (it is the same menu from A&B Lobster house). We were the only ones in there but we didn’t mind. I started with the oysters rockefeller and my husband had the beef carpaccio. For dinner I had the yellowtail snapper and my husband had the filet mignon. As always, the food was delicious.
Feeling refueled, we walked down to the Schooner Wharf. Zack and Kai were already playing so we sat down at a table right in front. Zack’s mom was there so she came over and sat with us. It was a nice evening to hanging out and watch them play.
Another long day was catching up with us so we said goodbye to everyone and made the walk back to the Gardens.
Tuesday, January 28th – Lots of walking, Rick’s, Willie T’s, Little Pearl
Originally I planned this day to go out on the boat with our good friend Billy, however it was just too cold. I contacted him and we agreed to save our trip for another time and that maybe we could meet up later on in the week.
We woke up to another beautiful but cool day. We freshened up and made our usual first stop to Cuban Coffee Queen. Our breakfast choice of the morning was Moon Dog Cafe. It isn’t a far walk from where the Gardens is located and is right next to the Hemingway House. We walked in and it started to warm up a bit so we sat outside. This was the first time sitting outside for us due to the fact most of the time we go it is too crowded.
We were seated near the edge of the porch and you could watch people walk by. We ordered breakfast and it came out fairly quick. I like how they cook their eggs at this place. They were perfect as usual. When we were done with breakfast we walked back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit. The day was becoming more and more beautiful.
We walked back down Duval and noticed that a portion of the street was blocked off. Miguel mentioned to us yesterday that they were going to set up a stage for the Mile O Festival, which we saw when we got to Sloppy Joe’s. The show wasn’t scheduled until 6pm that evening so it didn’t really affect anything that much.
We wound up walking around town for a bit and through Mallory Square. When we walked around to Sunset Pier we saw Al setting up the bar, so we stopped to say hello. We planned to stop by again when he was open, but unfortunately we never got back there.
Eventually we made our way to the Sunset Tiki Bar at the Galleon for a cold beverage.
We agreed to only stay for one before making our next stop at Rick’s since Miguel was working again. We were able to get the two perch seats (which are great to see all the action walking by). They were still setting up the stage area so that added some entertainment.
We ultimately stayed longer then we intended but it was fun. They were starting to do sound check on the stage so it was getting pretty loud. Then I realized that Zack was playing soon at Willie T’s so we walked down to catch his show. We walked in and we were able to find an empty table. We noticed the protesters were busy at work, standing outside one of the cosmetic shops.
It turned out that both Zack and his son Kai were playing. We stayed for a while but we to cut it short because we had to get ready for dinner at Little Pearl. We would try to catch Zack later at the Ramshead Southernmost where he was playing that evening.
We made it back to the Gardens and quickly freshened up. Then we walked down Simonton to Olivia Street to Little Pearl, which used to be the old Seven Fish location.
I did request a couple of seats at the small bar when I initially made the reservations, but when we walked in, there were no open seats available. We were seated at a table in the corner pretty close to another table. Luckily they were really nice and not too loud.
We looked over and noticed the one patron ordered the octopus. My husband immediately decided to order the same thing for an appetizer. I decided to go with the ceviche of the day which I believe was snapper. Then for our entrees I had the yellowfin tuna and my husband had the lobster, shrimp and crab pot pie. Our server promptly brought out our appetizers and I had to try the octopus. I knew they were know for the dish so I was curious. It did not disappoint. It was tender and delicious.
The rest of what we ordered was all very well done and fresh. We were too full again for dessert so we paid our bill and walked down to the Ramshead Southernmost, which is the former Blue McCaw Restaurant. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34345-d12231430-r742849825-Little_Pearl-Key_West_Florida_Keys_Florida.html
Besides for a couple new signs/branding, the overall atmosphere looks exactly the same with the tropical feel and color ambiance. We walked in and sat at the bar and listened to a few more songs that Zack was playing. We were planning on going to Rick’s after to check out Caffeine Carl who was playing there with Geortge. I was kind of puzzled though thinking how can he play there while the Mile 0 Festival is going on at the stage right outside of Rick’s on Duval? I figured I would message him just in case to see if indeed he was still playing. I am glad I did because he wasn’t feeling well and not playing at all that night. In hind sight it worked at well because we were both pretty tired from the day. Once Zack finished up his show we headed back to the Gardens, but not before another Kodak moment!
Wednesday, January 29th – Breakfast Club Too and few more familiar stops
It was another beautiful morning. It felt a little warmer then the previous days.
We made our usual stop at Cuban Coffee Queen before walking down to Breakfast Club Too where we were meeting Zack and his family. It was a nice way to spend the morning.
After breakfast we told Zack we would catch him later at Willie T’s. We walked back to the Gardens again to relax for a little bit.
The weather was so nice, but still a bit too cool to lay out by the pool (too much shade at that point of the day at the Gardens pool). So we wound up going back out and walked down to, yes the Sunset Tiki Bar at the Galleon. It was funny watching the floating tiki bar drift in the water.
Then it was time to start walking again. We walked down to First Flight since we had not stopped by there yet during our trip. There was some entertainment so it made it a bit festive. We sat at the bar and I decided to give their key lime margarita another try. Last year, I ordered one and it the taste was not right. I tasted the margarita and it was good, but still not the same as they were back when it was Kelly’s.
I did manage to finish my margarita and once my husband finished his beer, we walked down towards the Green Parrot, but first had to get a picture at the Mile O Sign.
We realized we had not stopped in yet so we walked on it. It was quite busy but found a couple seats at the end of the bar. It seems that every time we go to the Green Parrot we wind up striking up a conversation with someone sitting next to us. This time it was a guy named Scott. He was traveling by himself and it was his first time to Key West. We talked him for a bit and told him we were going to Willie T’s and catching part of Zack’s show before dinner.
We got to Willie T’s and were able to grab a table on the side near where Zack was playing. Not before long we saw Scott walk in. It actually wound up being a fun time talking to him and listening to Zack.
Then several of Zack’s friends showed up that we have met from previous visits, so we had a chance to said hello to them. Not planning to, but we wound up staying until the end of Zack’s show.
We were pretty hungry at this point so we went back to the Gardens to freshen up.
We were in the mood for a casual and reasonable place to eat that had sports, so we decided to go back to Jack Flat’s where we watched the NFL draft last year. I totally forgot about going to Mary Ellen’s instead until after the fact. I guess that will have to wait until next time. We walked on in and found a couple seats at the bar. It wasn’t very crowded. We split the coconut shrimp which hit the spot. I ordered a white claw but was pretty much done for the day and couldn’t drink it. My husband had their meatloaf and I was a bit redundant and a shrimp and rice entree which was okay.
We watched part of the Nets basketball game before retiring back to the Gardens for the evening.
Thursday, January 30th – Bagatelle’s. The Retro Room and Cafe Sole
It was another gorgeous morning and it was definitely warming up. It was the first morning I didn’t need to wear a light jacket to breakfast. I dropped off a couple bags of laundry at the front desk so I didn’t have too much laundry to do when we get back home. Luckily the laundry service hadn’t arrived yet so were able to get our laundry back later on that day.
After grabbing our Cuban Coffee Queen coffees, we walked down Duval – this time towards Mallory Square.
My husband and I usually save Bagatelle’s for our last full day breakfast, but both felt like going there. We walked in and they just opened up. (I didn’t realize they didn’t open up until 9am). They sat us outside on the porch where we could watch the action go by on Duval. I remembered during our last visit I really enjoyed the salmon toast so I ordered it again. My husband had the huervos rancheros which are also always very well done (even though they forgot to add the refried beans to the dish).
We wound up going back to the Gardens for a bit before going back out and walk around.
Eventually we walked down to check out the Retro Room (aka Glitchcraft). They wound up changing the name due to another bar in the state had the same name. It looked the same as last time with all the old video games, 80s figurines and so many other eclectic things hanging from every inch of the place. It is quite impressive how they managed to collect so many iconic things. My husband had a beer and I had a white claw. I remembered the last time we were there how they were setting up for the Stranger Things premiere. This time they were setting up for the Big Game.
My husband felt like a snack so we walked down to the Dirty Pig. I wasn’t really hungry at that point so I just had something to drink. My husband ordered the wings with the dry rub and he said they were outstanding. I was tempted to have one, but I knew one would turn into more and it would ruin my appetite late for our dinner at Cafe Sole.
Our next stop was again Willie T’s to see Zack.
We didn’t stay for the entire show this time because we wanted to get back to freshen up before dinner. Our reservations were at 6pm so we went back around 4pm.
Once we freshened up we had some time to see Scott the other bartender that works at the Gardens. He is a pretty funny guy once you talk to him. We were having a good time chatting with him and some fellow guests before realizing we had to get to Cafe Sole.
We quickly walked down Simonton to Southard St. I find it funny how years ago we had a hard time finding the restaurant. Now we could probably get there blindfolded. When we reached Cafe Sole it was just 6pm so we made it.
It was getting cooler out so they sat us inside. This was the first time we ever sat in inside and it was nice and cozy. I had the lamb chops to start and my husband had the escargot. Not really a surprise, we both had the hogfish entree for dinner. That dish never ever disappoints and always tastes so good. (I think it is the sauce…. you could put that sauce on anything and it would taste good).
We didn’t really feel like going anywhere else after dinner so went back to the Garden’s. Scott was still bar tending so we talked to him for a little before he closed up the bar. It was an early night for us but I didn’t mind – I was tired.
Friday, January 31st – Last Full Day
Why does the beginning part of vacation go so slow and then when it nears the end it goes by so quickly? Well the end of our trip was near and it was already our last full day. After we freshened up, we packed up our luggage with the clothes we knew we weren’t going to wear for the remainder of the trip. I always hate doing it because it makes me sad, but it is a huge time saver to do it the day before you leave.
Of course we went back to Cuban Coffee Queen for coffee and wanted to go back to La Te Da for breakfast. The air was very warm and the sun was trying to come out. There was mention of rain that day but so far it was holding off.
We walked to La Te Da and sat at the bar. We ordered breakfast and talked about how we couldn’t believe how quick the week went but that we were glad to know we were returning in the not so distant future which made the thought of leaving a bit easier.
After another solid breakfast at La Te Da we went back to the Gardens to relax for a little while. Then it was that time to get back out to walk around. We wound up walking down Duval towards Mallory Square again.
We noticed that it was definitely more humid and almost getting a little hot – it felt great. When we walked by Custom House Museum we noticed that there is now a cafe shop inside. I am not sure who new it is but thought that it was interesting.
We wound up back to the Sunset Tiki Bar at the Galleon and Grubby was working.
We talked to him for a bit before moving on to our next stop. And of course our next stop was Rick’s to see Zack play one last time.
Our favorite porch seats were open so we sat down and listened to his show.
While we were hanging out another couple that we met the previous day at Zack’s show, Brad and Jen came by. Ironically they are fans of Zack and also enjoy my blog so that is always nice to hear.
It was another fun afternoon hanging out and talking to nice people. We talked about how it seems so crazy that the Lazy Gecko is now a sandals shop?! I don’t know how that is going to stay open – such a shame that is what has come of that location.
Then it was time to head back to the Gardens and figure out where to go for dinner. We said goodbye to Zack and would meet up again the next morning for our farewell breakfast.
When we got back to the Gardens we saw that Scott was bar tending again so we grabbed a couple of seats and hung out for a little while before freshening up for dinner.
We discussed some possible options for dinner and decided on Onlywood at the new location on Caroline St. I looked up the number on my phone and quickly made a reservation and was given the option to sit inside or outside so I decided on outside.
When we walked over, I couldn’t believe how big the place was. The outside dining area was lit up with small outdoor white lights which I love. We were seated at a nice table and ordered the octopus and tuna tartare for apps to share. For dinner I had the branzino and my husband had the filet mignon carpaccio that was served over arugula, which I thought was an odd choice. Everything was okay, but in hind sight we probably just should have had a pizza, which they are known for. We saw them being served and they looked amazing. Next time.
We debated about going somewhere else after dinner but we were both getting tired and due to the fact he following day was the dreaded “travel day”, we agreed to go back to the Gardens. When we got back Scott was finishing up closing up the bar, but we had a few minutes to ordered one last drink. While we were sitting there we wound up meeting Kate’s (the owner of the Garden’s Hotel) brother. He was a friendly guy.
I wound up going up to the room and my husband stayed up a little longer and talked to Scott.
Saturday, February 1st – Going Home 😦
It wasn’t the greatest night of sleep knowing that we were heading home the next day and plus I get the anxiety of making sure we get up on time, pack everything, etc.
When it was time to get up I noticed that it was raining. My husband mentioned that there was a loud storm that happened just after I went up to the room. I had no idea. We never usually experience and rain the day we leave. It is generally a beautiful day. I thought it will make it easier to leave in a way if was raining (not knowing it would affect our flight).
We freshened up and made our last walk down Duval to Cuban Coffee Queen. While we were sitting there we saw Zack and his son and also his other friend Tim that we met a few times walk in. They figured that we would be there (like we are every morning) and meet us there before walking down to Sarabeth’s for breakfast.
We all walked over to Sarabeth’s and were seated at a nice table outside. It was a nice way to end our stay in Key West just talking to them and having a good breakfast. Then it was dreaded time to say goodbye and told them we would see them again soon.
We walked back to the Gardens and packed up the rest of our things and waited for the taxi to pick us up to take us to the airport.
Not before long it was that time and we rolled our luggage out the front of the hotel and into the taxi we went.
Once we were dropped off at the airport we could not get over how long the line was to get through security. We had never seen it that long. The line went all the way to where you would check-in your luggage. I assumed it was because all the people leaving from the Mile 0 festival.
Luckily we heard someone mention if you have TSA Pre the line started up further. And it did. WAY further up. It must have saved us at least 45 minutes easy. We went through security, but then my luggage was stopped. I couldn’t figure out how or why? So the TSA agent brought my luggage to be checked, which is always so embarassing. She went through it and found a box of coasters. My husband asked that is what set off the red flag? She said it was, because it appeared to be a solid mass on the x-ray machine and they had to check it out. It made sense but who would think that a box like that would do that? (Incidentally the same thing happened to me a couple of years ago going through the St. Thomas airport – I had a box of ceramic coasters. Maybe no more coasters for me.)
After that ordeal we walked down to the gate and to the restaurant / bar area. Thankfully two seats were open and we grabbed them right away. We know in the past how crowded the place can get being that it is so small. Once we ordered a couple drinks I get the “oh no” text on my phone from United saying how our 1:15pm flight was delayed an hour. Great I thought, but at least we have seats. Then we started to hear how other flights were delayed.
The rain that was coming through Key West was actually causing planes to get diverted to Miami. I guess the storm was a bigger deal then I initially thought. Then our flight was diverted to Miami as well causing another delay. Eventually our plane did land and we started to board around 3:30pm.
The boarding process was pretty quick since it is a small plane. And not before long we were on our way back home.
2 and 1/2 (bumpy) hours later we landed back in Newark Airport. We gathered our things and met our car service. We finally made it home around 7:45pm. It was a long day, but we made it home safely.
We wound up not doing too many different things this trip to Key West, but that’s what happens sometimes. You either do a lot or a little and we wound up somewhere in between which is fine by me – there is always next time!
Key West will continue to be one of my happy places that I will never get tired of visiting – filled with great people and friends that makes us feel like we see our “Key West family” each and every time we return.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog….. Until next time!
This would mark our 14th time to the St. John (15th to the Virgin Islands). We started going back in 2003 and fell in love with St. John right away. We were supposed to go back again last October but Hurricane Maria and Irma changed that. Thankfully the villa we we reserved was not damaged so we were able to keep our deposit with the owner and planned to return the following year. I wasn’t sure if it was too soon to return being that it was just over a year since the hurricanes hit and the island was still in recovery mode. After reading endless trip reports of people returning, I knew I couldn’t wait another year.
As our trip was approaching there was a storm system headed our way. It was remnants of a hurricane that crossed Mexico and was forecasted to go head to the mid-atlantic and create a N’oreaster. Instead of being excited for our vacation, I started to get a sense of doubt that we were not going to be able to go. Two days prior, I received a notice from United Airlines that it was recommended to change our flight being that we were flying out that morning the N’oreaster was supposed to be at its strongest. I thought about flying out a day earlier, but my husband had too many things he had to do before he was closing his business for a week. Then I was thinking about changing our flight to Sunday but the thought of losing a day of our vacation was unsettling. My husband convinced me that we should just wait it out and see what happens. So with fingers crossed we kept our original travel arrangements.
We woke up early to a rainy and windy morning. It wasn’t as bad as I thought and our car service arrived on time. As we drove further east, the rain and winds started to pick up. I was beginning to question our decision. We did make it to Newark airport and passed quickly through security. We were flying directly into St. Thomas via United Airlines. I checked the schedule of flights and noticed not one delay. I couldn’t believe it. We had some time so we checked into the United Club Lounge for a snack and much needed coffee.
It seemed like an eternity, but it was finally time to get to our gate. Once we got there we noticed there was no plane. My heart just sank. I checked the United App and noticed the plane that we were flying on was delayed. It was coming in from Jacksonville, Florida. I figured it was most likely due to the weather. Thankfully the plane was only delayed about 30 minutes and it did make it to our gate. Eventually we boarded the plane and were on our way. The flight was a bit bumpy during take off, but once we cleared the storm it was a calm flight. We wound up making up some time during the flight. Soon I could see St. Thomas and St. John through the window. I actually started to tear up a little because it looked so beautiful and I couldn’t believe that we were actually going to be there.
Once we landed we quickly departed the plane. It is always so nice to have carry on so you don’t have to wait for your luggage. A few other planes also had arrived so when we went through the airport there was someone playing steel drums and people offering samples of Cruzan Rum. The airport was alive and busy. It was such a happy thing to both hear and see. After we grabbed a shot, we waited for a taxi. Once the driver had enough people to fill up the van, we were on our way to Red Hook to catch the ferry. It was around 2:15 and didn’t think we were going to make the 3pm ferry. Luckily there were no cruise ships in port so traffic was minimal. As we got closer to Red Hook, the driver assured everyone we would make the 3pm ferry. Surprisingly he was right. 
Once we were dropped off, my husband paid the driver and grabbed our luggage, while I went to get tickets. Within a few minutes it was time to get on the ferry. I always choose to sit up top so I can see St. John come in to view. I had to get in contact with our villa manager so that she knew we were on our way. Since the villa was located very close to Cruz Bay, she gave us driving directions to meet her there.
Once we arrived at the dock we gathered our luggage and walked up to Bougainvillea Leasing to pick up our 4 door Jeep Wrangler. I wasn’t used to walking up the hill with our luggage that we had. Usually the villa manager drives us to pick up our jeep. It was a bit of a hike but we made it. Once we got our jeep we drove out to our villa. The villa was called Three Palms Villa located right next to Sea Shure Allure and Coconut Coast Villas. It was definitely a change for us. 
We quickly settled in and unpacked our things. I had ordered provisions from St. John Provisioning ahead of time so we had plenty of refreshments and snacks. We were both pretty tired from the travel day so we just decided to stay in that evening and kick back on the patio outside. I was so happy to be back in St. John, my other happy place. 
We heard that supposedly a new small hotel will take its place. It will be a prime location with great views of Cruz Bay.
We took a few moments before going back to the jeep and onto Hawksnest. We pulled into the parking lot and it was packed. We later found out that Hawksnest is a popular beach for locals especially on Sundays since it is very convenient for them to get to after church mass. 
Luckily we were able to find a spot and walked onto the beach. We noticed right away that the beach was much wider and a lot less shade. We found a nice spot to put our things and to relax for a while. It was hot and sunny. The water again looked amazing. 
We did notice though there wasn’t really any wind so it did make it a bit hot to sit out on the beach. We would take turns going into the water. I brought my snorkel gear and was eager to try it out, however the water was a bit too choppy that day and the visibility wasn’t great so I didn’t. It was still nice enough to go in and swim for a while. 
A few hours passed and we were getting pretty hot and needed a break from the sun. We walked back to the jeep and drove back towards Cruz Bay. We wanted to check out the new Tap Room so we made that our first stop. They did a really nice job and the bar is quite large and room. We ordered a couple of drinks and cooled off for a little while.
Then we realized that it was getting close to football time. We are avid Giant fans and knew the game was on at 1pm. They have been having a terrible season once again, but we still wanted to catch the game. We drove to the Wharfside and parked the jeep at Slim Man’s Parking Lot. 
The entire area of the Wharfside was redone, even down to the cement walkway. It looked really nice. However the Beach Bar, Joe’s Rum Hut and the area that once housed the Waterfront Bistro were all still under repair. 
The only are that looked like there was any progress was the Beach Bar. 
We were hoping it was going to be open when we arrived on St. John, but it looked like they still have a while to go. 
We walked over to High Tide which looked like it always has. We found a couple of seats at the bar with a good view of the television screens. The game was just starting so we ordered a couple of drinks. 
We stayed until about halftime as the Giants looked terrible once again. At least they views of Cruz Bay put me in a better mood then watching the game. We wanted to catch the rest of the game back at our villa so we paid our tab and drove back to Three Palms Villa. 
Our day trip to Jost Van Dyke was the next day so we didn’t want to be out that late. We figured we would go somewhere that had some sort of happy hour specials. Once we freshen up we drove back to town. We parked again at Slimman’s and walked toward Longboard. The place was packed and figured that we should try somewhere else. 
Then I remember reading that Rhumb Lines recently started doing Happy Hour as well. We saw the sign that they were open and that from 4-6pm they have specials but you have to sit at the bar. We didn’t have a problem with that and thought it sounded right up our alley. We walked in and the place was empty besides just one other person at the bar. I noticed that the back area of the restaurant was a lot more open now. I assumed that a lot of the vegetation most have gotten destroyed in the hurricane. However the place itself looked mostly the same as I remembered it. 
The catamaran picked us up over at the National Park Dock. It was nice and spacious. We all found spots on the boat where we could settle in to enjoy the sail over to Jost. It was another beautiful day. We noticed again there was no wind so it got quite hot on the boat. 
We passed by Caneel and again it was so sad to see. 
We eventually made it over to Jost. We had to check in to customs at Great Harbour first before going over to White Bay. We were able to take the dingy over so we stayed dry on our way over. Once we got the okay that we were all checked in we walked down to Foxy’s. 
I couldn’t get over how so much vegetation was gone. Most of the shops on the way were open but we just wanted to have a cold beverage at Foxy’s. When we walked down we noticed that Foxy himself was back on island. It was great to see him again. 
We enjoyed listening to him play a few songs while we had a drink. While we were sitting down a taxi came by and a lady asked us if we needed a ride. It turned out to be our friend Joan who runs Sugar and Spice, a little luncheonette place on Great Harbour. I was so happy to see her, because I wound up bringing a couple of t-shirts for her that I designed for Sugar and Spice. Unfortunately I left them on the boat, but I knew Leon Miller another friend of ours was now bartending at the Soggy Dollar Bar so I told her I would give them to Leon. She thanked us and told us to come by her shop, but we knew everyone wanted to head on over to White Bay so we said our goodbyes and told her we would see her again next year. 
The water felt so good since it was so hot out. Not before long we all made it to the Soggy Dollar Bar and saw our friend Leon. It was nice to see him again. I asked him to give the t-shirts to Joan since we wouldn’t be back at Great Harbour. 
We spent the afternoon talking and relaxing. It was a fun day. 
Our usual tradition after spending a day out on Jost is to walk on over to Margarita Phil’s for a to go order. 
We weren’t sure if they were open, but when we walked on over I noticed a few people sitting outside. We walked in and ordered a couple of margaritas while we were waiting for our order. 
Once our order was ready we walked back to pick up our jeep and drove back to the villa. I was really hungry by the time we got back. We sat inside and had our dinner. It was tasty and hit the spot. I had shrimp enchiladas and my husband had a mix of a few tacos and enchiladas. A day out on the water always knocks me out. I think I was up only for about an hour after I had our dinner. Needless to say we went to sleep early.
I wasn’t sure if we were getting bit overnight or while we were outside in the evening, but they were quite bad during our stay. Plus with the lack of wind it didn’t help keep the noseeums or mosquitos away. I did find that if you use tea tree oil, it does help a lot with the itchiness. 
I did try to snorkel around but didn’t see much besides a sting ray and a few fish. 
It was nice time relaxing and swimming in Trunk Bay. We noticed more people come on to the beach as the day went on. 
It was amazing to see how it came back so quickly. They did such a great job rebuilding the place. Normally when we would go on lobster night the place would be packed so that was the reason behind having the 5:30 reservation. 
When we walked in there just one other couple waiting. We were seated along the balcony which I always love watching the sunset. 
We both had the lobster special but to start I had the red snapper ceviche and my husband had the fried calamari. I was really hungry at this point so everything tasted so good. Then our 1 and 1/2 lb. lobsters came out. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish it, but I did. The lobster was really fresh. 
There was a guy playing guitar and it was a fun way to end the evening. 
We only stayed for one before going back to the villa. I think we were asleep by 8:30.
It was a little bit on the cooler side, but once I grabbed my snorkel gear I warmed up a bit. I didn’t go out too far but did see a nice variety of fish. Earlier we saw a shark swim by along the shore so I was a bit apprehensive to go all the way out and stayed near the shore. 
We had a nice time chatting for a bit before we had enough beach time for the day. We said our goodbyes and would meet up the next day at Maho for a Forum Beach Day. 
We walked up to Woody’s and found a couple of seats outside. They were right in the sun so it was hot but powered through it with a refreshing rum punch. 
We managed to squeak our way past all everyone dressed up and into Greengos. We walked in and it looked like a lot of other people had the same idea. We were able to find a couple seats at the bar.
We contemplated going to check out Tap & Still since they had the Halloween Party but we were tired at that point and just went back to the villa.
I always find the Maho Bay overlook so peaceful. It was so beautiful and green. It is amazing how there was something so tragic that happened in just over a year ago.
They crossed the road and then came down to the beach. Then we spotted Steve and Adrian who we met the previous day at Francis. 
We couldn’t believe how many donkeys were in the group. I think we counted at least 10 and even one of them was a darker brown color. 
I took a ton of pictures of them on the beach. Then I realized that some of them were drinking the salt water. I didn’t think that they did drink it but it was pretty amazing to see all of them at once. 
Usually when we go to a beach on St. John it is just the two of us, but this was so much fun. We had a great time meeting everyone and just hanging out.
Kelly and Rick that we met on the charter to Jost also showed up with something I have never seen before. It was a raft that had a bull in it. It was hilarious watching everyone trying to get on the thing. I wasn’t about to but did think about it for only about a second. We had so much fun that afternoon. 
I think it was the longest amount of time we had ever been on the beach. Eventually we started to feel the sun and I felt like I was overheating a bit even in the water. So we wound packing up our things and thanking everyone for a great time. 
We immediately saw a few peacocks walking around. It was so strange to see. Then we noticed that the studio was open so we walked in. I wanted to meet the owner’s mother but unfortunately she wasn’t there. We walked around and it was a cute little studio. I wound up buying a calendar and a beautiful set of coasters of hand painted sea turtles.
We walked down to a restaurant I always was intrigued about trying, The Terrace Restaurant. We walked in and it had a nice atmosphere where you can see the sunset setting over Cruz Bay. We sat down at the bar and were welcomed by the friendly bartender. I ordered a beet martini which sounds very odd, but it was really good and not too sweet. My husband had their pepper olive martini. While we were enjoying our cocktails we agreed that we should come back for our last night and have dinner there. 
We thanked the staff and walked down to La Tapa. They were just opening up so there were just a few people inside. 
We walked up and we were seated at the tiny bar. I picked out a nice bottle of red wine to go with our dinner.
It was definitely a different dining experience then sitting outside, but it felt cozy. 
After a few cups of coffee drove to town and parked our jeep. We walked up to Connections and went inside. The nice lady at the counter told us to find a recyclable box that was stacked next to the back door. I couldn’t believe my husband found a box that fit everything perfectly. It took a few minutes but all and all it was very easy to do. She told us that it would ship out the following day and that I would get an email confirmation. Perfect! (and as a side note it only took two days for our snorkel gear to be delivered back home). 
I checked my phone and saw that the Sun Dog Cafe serves brunch which is just what we needed. We walked to the bar and grabbed a few seats. No one was there for a while but weren’t in a rush. Eventually an older gentleman comes up to us and apologizes. 
Apparently there was a mix up with the staff and he was the owner. He started to set up the bar to get things ready. We ordered two screwdrivers which we later realized they have endless screwdrivers, bloody marys and mimosas. That could be dangerous. As we were drinking the screwdrivers we realized they were made with pineapple juice and not orange juice. It was still good but we told the bartender/owner because he was about to make a mimosa for another customer having breakfast. He apologized and wound up buying our drinks which was really nice. Then another guy showed up to relieve the owner until they could get someone else to show up for the day. It was definitely entertainment for us. 
For breakfast I had the huervos rancheros and my husband had the breakfast quesadillas which were huge. I couldn’t believe. We both enjoyed our breakfast – it was a nice surprise. Eventually a waitress that works at Sun Dog Cafe showed up to bar tend for the remainder of the morning/afternoon. She told us she never bar tended before, just waitressed so we actually helped her how to make some of the mixed drinks. It was pretty funny. We probably could have stayed longer but didn’t want to keep drinking so we wished her luck and were on our way. 
We ordered a couple beer and not before long we saw David and Becky that we met the previous day at Maho Bay. 
It was nice to talk to them and eventually Rick, Christine and Brenda arrived. What we originally thought was going to be a drink and go wound up being a fun afternoon. Everyone decided to skip the beach that day since we were all out at Maho for a while the day before. 
We could not have asked for a better last day on St. John spending it with new friends. It was getting close to the time we had dinner reservations so we said our goodbyes and drove back to the villa. 
We had early reservations at the Terrace Restaurant so when we walked in there was just one other table. We were seated in the corner on the terrace. 
It was the perfect setting for our last dinner on St. John. 
For appetizers I decided to go with the oysters rockefeller and my husband choose the escargot. We each shared them and they were so good. Then for dinner I ordered the stuffed prawns served with risotto while my husband had their signature mac and cheese with truffle oil and wild mushrooms. I sampled his mac and cheese and it was so rich but so delicious. The prawns that I ordered were cooked perfectly. 
We were supposed to meet the rest of the group there but I knew we were on the earlier side. After we got through half of our cocktails I was just too tired to stay out any later. I wanted to see everyone last time but I just couldn’t do it. So we wound up leaving and going back to the villa.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog…. until next time!
We woke up to a beautiful morning. Ironically a heat wave was headed to the tri-state area while we were traveling to Key West with cooler temperatures. We arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport and breezed through security with TSA Pre. It is definitely worth doing since you don’t have to remove your shoes and whatnot, even though lines are long they move so quickly.
When we got to the Gardens I saw Jim (the general manager) and he welcomed us back. Check in was quick and easy. 
We unpacked our things and made our way onto Duval. It is always such a great feeling making that turn onto the street. Last time we were in Key West back in April I wanted to capture the walk on my camera but unfortunately the battery died. I replaced the battery for this trip and was able to capture it finally! 
My first drink of choice was a Moscow Mule. It definitely hit the spot since it was so cold. We just sat there for a while just taking it all in that we were back again in Key West. No matter how many times we come back, I still just get so happy. 
I remembered that our friend Gabriel Wright plays at Captain Tony’s. So after our drinks, we walked down to Captain Tony’s. He was on break so we were able to chat with him before he went back to play. We ordered a couple of beers and sat there for a while. 
I kept checking my watch because I wanted to be sure we would have enough time to see Zack Seemiller at Rick’s. (As a side note, I have been doing graphic design work for Zack for the past several years). It was about 2:30 and we said good by to Gabriel and made the short walk to Rick’s. It was funny because again I wanted to surprise Zack that we were back in town, so I walked in behind a group of girls that were making their way in the same time. I then just stood there for a second until he recognized it was me. I had pulled off another surprise! It was great to see him again. 
We grabbed a couple of seats at the outside bar and listened to him play until his set was done. Unfortunately Zack was playing up the Keys later that evening so we didn’t have much time to talk to him before he had to leave. Luckily he was still going to be in town so we would see him again at Hog’s Breath on Monday. 
We stayed for a while listening to Carl play. It was a lot of fun. It was getting late and I definitely reached my limit. Luckily there was a cab right outside the Tuna that my husband grabbed. It wasn’t that long of a walk back but it probably wouldn’t be a pretty walk back. Once we got to the Gardens it was time to get some sleep after a long first day.
I decided to give it a try and my husband had the regular Cuban American. It was surprisingly very good and in a way calmed my stomach. With our coffees in our hand, we walked down to Blue Heaven. It was just around 9:00 am so we didn’t have to wait for a table. 
After a quick stop at the Gardens we walked down to Peppers. They weren’t open yet, so we walked on over to the Schooner Wharf for something to drink. 
It was a little early for a drink, but at this point why not? You’re in Key West! It was tougher then I thought to get the first drink down, but I managed. I looked at my watch and saw that Peppers should be open at that point. We paid our tab and walked back down to Peppers. 
This is another one of our go to places to just sit down and enjoy the views of the water. Plus the people that work there are very friendly. We sat down for a bit wound up catching the end of the World Cup came and I believe Russia won. After we caught the ending of the game, we made our way to Hog’s Breath to see Gabriel Wright again. 
When we walked in he was a break again, so we found a couple of seats before he went back on. Once he started, we made a few requests and enjoyed listening to him play. 
His parents came by, along with his fiancé. So we all were talking and having a great time. We wound up staying for a while.
I asked the bartender Jerry to change the one channel so we could catch the end of the Nascar race. My driver, Harvick didn’t win, but it was still fun to be able to see it.
A new musician by the name of Ike Kanakanu, who was scheduled to play at 5:00 pm walked up to me and asked me if I was from St. John, since I was wearing my High Tide shirt from there (it’s a well know restaurant in St. John). I told him that we go there all the time and we started chatting. He used to live there for a couple of years, he was originally from Hawaii. He was a really nice guy. I also gave him my business card in case he was looking for any graphics work that I could do for him. It was time for him to start and we stayed a bit longer listening to him play. He was really good. Again, we probably stayed too long but we were having fun. 
At this point we were getting pretty hungry and I knew my husband wanted to go back to Berlin’s for dinner. It was time for us to get back and freshened up for dinner.
We couldn’t stay too long because we needed to refuel ourselves with much needed food. We said our good byes to him and wished a safe trip.
It was perfect – we were the only ones in there. The bartender Gage remembered us from last time. I ordered the Oysters Rockefeller and my husband had the Tuna Tartar. For our entrees I had the yellowtail snapper and my husband had the prime rib. I actually had a couple bites of the prime rib, even though I normally don’t eat red meat and it was delicious. Everything we had was perfect. It is a pricey place to eat, but the food is always really good.
We met up with our friend Joe Cortner who we usually see there. We sat down and talked to him for a bit. We told him we would meet up with him again at some point.
We made the walk down Duval to La De Ta. The sun was quiet strong so we made sure to stay on the side of the road that had the shade. We sat down at the bar and ordered breakfast. The bartender Kathy was really sweet and turns out her boyfriend used to bar tended at the Gardens as well that we knew. Small world. For breakfast I just had scrambled eggs with sour cream and chives and my husband had the regular american breakfast. Their smoked maple pepper bacon was delicious. We enjoyed the breakfast very much and noticed it didn’t take as long as last time we were there for our orders. After breakfast we walked back to the Gardens to relax for a bit before going back out on Duval. 
We lucked out when we got in there and were able to find two seats available near where they were playing. We had such a great time just listening to them play. In fact we stayed until the end of the show. 
I also saw on the Tuna schedule that Joal Rush was in town and was playing at the Tuna. So after Zack and Kai’s show, we made our way back down Duval to the Gardens. 
After a quick shower and feeling rejuvenated, we made it to the Tuna. I wasn’t too hungry since it was so hot that I figured we would just order some light fare and listen to Joal. 
I always enjoy their fish dip there, which is more or less like tuna fish salad. It was the perfect thing for me to have. My husband had ordered the coconut shrimp appetizer. I also sampled several, if not half the order, and then he had a burger.
The rains did finally subside and Joal came back on for a few more songs. Then it was time to see Carl play. It was a fun night. We wound up taking a cab back since it was easier then trying to make the walk back.
They had a nice spread of scrambled eggs, sausage, bagels, fruit and several other pastries.
Soon it was time for Billy to pick us up. He gave us a call when he was in front of the hotel and soon were on our way to Garrison Bight Marina. He also loaded up the boat with refreshments so we didn’t have to stop before we got on the boat.
It was probably only about a 30 minute ride out through the Gulf and once we got to Snipes, I could see why she was taking her group there. It was just gorgeous. 
We had been out to the sandbar before, but on the Atlantic side, not the Gulf. 
We jumped into the water and the sand was just so soft. The water was only waist high so we walked on over to the beach. 
It was really cool to see how large the beach was and the birds flying around the little island. I was looking for some shells but couldn’t find the perfect one for a necklace, but still it was really nice to be out there and some place new that we haven’t been before.
Billy anchored the boat and swam around for a bit. We noticed more boats coming in having the same idea. Apparently on weekends the place can get pretty crowded with locals and other boating trips. 
It was pretty amazing to go through the mangroves and seeing so many birds like blue herons and other wildlife. It was really beautiful and peaceful. We then anchored again for a bit just to relax. 
We noticed in the distance a pretty large storm over Key West. So when it was time for us to make it back, Billy took us back a longer way, but we completely avoided the storm.
We made it back to the marina without ever getting rain on us. We thanked Billy for a great trip I and suggested that he do that trip again with other people in the future since it was so beautiful and different. 
Once Billy dropped us back off at the Gardens we needed to shower. Then I remember Zack was playing at Willie T’s so we walked down Duval to see him again. His son Kai was there again so we listened to both of them play for a bit. 
If I didn’t look it up on my phone, I probably would have passed the place.
We walked in and saw Danny right away. He sat us at the bar and it was perfect. I looked around and the place was tiny. 
I was really excited too because everything they serve there is so fresh. They don’t even have a refrigerator. Everything is on ice. I had to try their oysters on the half shell for an appetizer and I was so glad I did. They were probably the best oysters I have ever had. My husband had their tuna tartare brulee. For dinner I had their fresh local snapper served over pearl couscous and my husband had their pasta dish that had clams, shrimp, calamari and local fish.
We sat down and chatted for a bit. It is always a nice way to start our day. We wished Joe a happy 4th and walked down Duval and onto Greene St. to the Breakfast Club Too. I remembered last time we were there I saw their breakfast being served in a cast iron skillet and later found out they were called rostis. I made sure I ordered one of them this time. Once Zack and Kai arrived we were seated at a table inside since it was really warm out.
I wound up ordering the chorizo poblano rostis which was very good but also very filling. It was nice to just enjoy a great breakfast with our friends. Zack then mentioned if we ever been to Stock Island and we never had been. He offered to take us around the Keys the next morning for a little tour of the other keys. I was so excited!! I told him without and
It was still nice to sit at the bar and just gaze at the water nearby. We were going out on the Sebago Appledore Star later on that evening to catch the fireworks so we had to be mindful of how much we were drinking that day. 
We walked in and I asked one of the bartenders if Al was working. Unfortunately he was off so we just kept on walking. It was probably just as well, because it would have been too hot to sit in the sun on the pier. 
We walked over to El Meson De Pepe to have one of their overpriced mojitos – but they are really good. 
We walked down to First Flight and it was another good choice, since they have a nice shaded area to sit. There was a guy playing guitar which was perfect to just relax for a bit. 
The Yankee game was on, so we made our next stop Jack Flats. We had not been in there for quite some time. The place is large and there are a ton of large screen TVs, so if you want to catch your favorite sport team, this is the place to do it. 
Then it was time to get something to eat. We said goodbye to Zack and Kai who were also playing later at the Casa Marina. I wanted to see them play there, but I had already booked the sail. 
We were still a little hungry so we walked over to the Half Shell and ordered a dozen oysters. 
They were so good that we ordered another dozen. It probably wasn’t the best idea, because afterwards I didn’t feel that great. Luckily we had some time to just sit and wait before the boat. 
By the time we were able to board the boat I was feeling much better. We got on the boat and it was so hot. The sun was beating down on us and there was no shade since the sails were down which is to be expected. We had to wait for a few people running late which really annoyed me. 
Finally they showed up and we were on our way. I thought I was going to melt on the boat, but once we got on the water the breezes picked up and it was just beautiful.
They took us out not too far from Key West where we watched the sun set into the water. Then the crew put out this great display of food. 
I wasn’t hungry and neither was my husband. I knew they had food on the boat but couldn’t have waited that long to eat. 
The fireworks were amazing and a it was so cool to see it from the water. We did a similar trip a couple years ago and it was enjoyable to do it again. It is a long trip but it was a lot of fun especially since they only have 16 people on the boat. I would also recommend this trip for the 4th of July to see the fireworks. The crew was very nice and accommodating as well.
It was nearing 10:00 pm and the fireworks ended. We sailed back to the marina and thanked the crew for a great time. It was a long day and being out on the water always knocks you out. So we just grabbed a couple of waters and walked back to the Gardens and called it a night.
It was another beautiful morning. We did our usual stop at Cuban Coffee Queen and saw Joe again. 
I knew we were going out with Zack and to the Hogfish Bar and Grill and didn’t want to have anything for breakfast. I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be hungry for lunch. My husband wound up ordering one of their egg sandwiches and it did look good. We just sat for a while talking about what we did the day before. We said goodbye to Joe and then went back to the Gardens to relax for a bit.
My husband just read on the porch and I started to work on my blog. Around 11:00am Zack showed up and we were ready for the Zack tour of the Keys! I was so excited!! 
Our first stop was Five Brothers for a cup of coffee and few bottles of water. Soon we were on our way up the Keys. Before we got on A1A, Zack drove us around a few back roads telling us some stories which was really interesting. 
The next stop was Boca Chica where the Naval Air Station is located to see where their training. We got out of the van and walked around just for a few minutes. 
There was a lot of seaweed washed up on the small beach so the smell was not very pleasant. 
Zack first took us to the new part of the marina, called Stock Island Marina Village and then over to where Hogfish Bar and Grill was. We walked around the pier for a few and it was intriguing. He referred it to what Key West looked like and felt like years ago – the old Key West. 
Then it was time to grab a bite to eat. 
I ordered the fried hogfish tacos and my husband had the fried hogfish and chips. The hogfish was really good. 
I wanted to try the sandwich but wasn’t too sure how I would like the fish with swiss cheese and mushrooms. I am not a huge fan of cheese and fish together.
Soon it was time to get back to Key West. We then had one last stop that Zack wanted to show us, the Casa Marina Resort where he just played with his son on the 4th of July. We parked and walked into the lobby. The place was impressive. I couldn’t believe how big it was. 
It was gorgeous, but to me it didn’t feel like Key West. It felt like it could be a resort anywhere in the Caribbean. Don’t get me wrong it was beautiful, but would rather stay at a place such as the Gardens where you get the true feel of Key West. 
We walked towards the Green Parrot. We decided to stop in for a drink since we hadn’t gone in yet. The place was a bit more crowded then usual but we were able to find two seats at the bar.
Once Zack and Kai were done we said our good byes and told John that we would be back. We went back to the Gardens to freshen up again and tried to decide where to go for dinner.
We were both hungry again so we left Willie T’s and walked down Duval once again. We were thinking about the Roof Top but wanted to try something new. Their food is always good, but they haven’t changed their menu in a while. I remembered seeing on TripAdvisor that the Red Fish Blue Fish had decent reviews.
We walked in and sat at the bar. We ordered a couple of drinks. The bartender was friendly but she was really slow. We were ready to order, but a bunch of people kept walking in to order drinks to go. At this point I thought maybe we made a wrong decision?
After a while she was finally able to take our order. For an appetizer we shared the fried calamari which was decent. Then for dinner I decided to go with the fried whole snapper and my husband ordered the sirloin. We didn’t have to wait very long for our entrees to come out considering how long we had to wait to order. The fish looked better then it tasted. I think it was fried too long because it was pretty try and didn’t have much flavor. I tried some of the mango beurre blanc sauce that was served on the side, but that didn’t add much to the dish. My husband’s sirloin was just okay. All and all I probably wouldn’t go back there, but now I can at least say we tried. 
We walked in and Joal Rush was finishing his set. Not before long Carl was back on stage. Kai, Zack’s son, also stopped by to catch Carl. 
It wound up being an interesting evening because the lights kept going out. Eventually they got everything back up and running and we had a great time listening to Carl play. 
And it is always nice to see his wife Erin behind the bar who always takes care of us. 
Time flew by and we realized it was getting pretty late. 
We headed out probably around midnight or so and walked back to the Gardens.
We wound up sleeping in for a bit since we didn’t have any plans for our last full day. Where did the time go? The week began at a nice and relaxing pace, but before I knew it, we were leaving the next day. We got up and made our first usual stop at Cuban Coffee Queen. We chatted with Joe for a bit and he suggested Bagatelle’s for breakfast. We had not been there for a while decided to give it a try again.
We walked in and it was nice and quiet. We sat outside on the porch which is always great for people watching. Our server was very attentive and friendly. I ordered a mimosa and my husband ordered a screwdriver. 
I decided to go with the huervos rancheros and my husband had the regular breakfast of two eggs with a few sides. It didn’t take long before our breakfast was served and it was really good. After the dinner from the night before it was a relief that we made the right decision for breakfast. 
We walked down Duval and saw that our favorite outside seats at Rick’s were available. We waved at Zack and sat down and listened to him for a while. During his show I guess another fan of Zack’s, came up to me. She recognized that I was with one that works on all the ads with Zack. She wanted to meet me and complimented my work which I thought was really sweet.
Soon it was time to make our next move. We said goodbye again to Zack and Kai and hoped to meet up later that night. My husband and I were needed a quick bite to eat so we walked back to First Flight and sat down at one of the high top tables near the bar. We ordered a couple Moscow Mules and that probably wasn’t the best decision. They are very good, but strong. 
We ordered a basket of fries that was served with an amazing tasty cajun aioli. I getting really hot sitting there because the sun was beating down on me. It got to the point that we had to leave and get back to the Gardens to cool off with a shower. I knew i was overheating at that point. 
We walked back and freshened up again. I felt so much better and rejuvenated in a way. Before going to dinner we sat down at the bar at the Gardens. We saw a couple sitting there and we started chatting. It turned out they were from Austria. They were so friendly and nice. They had not been to Key West before, so we were telling them places to go. The husband was in a band so of course we suggested for them to go see Caffeine Carl at the Tuna that night. We said that we would hopefully meet them out later depending on how we felt.
For dinner, we heard from several locals that the old Mcconnell’s Irish Pub And Grill closed and a new placed opened up in its place called the Old Towne Tavern and the chef formally worked at Blue Heaven. We walked in and grabbed two seats at the bar. (As a side note, my husband tends to prefer sitting at the bar vs. a table. I used to be a table person but now I am so used to it that I prefer it as well. We looked over the menu and the first thing that intrigued us was their pork belly appetizer. I wasn’t starving so I decided to have their superfood salad which consisted of kale, mixed greens, quinoa, beets, almonds, citrus, sprouts, orange beets vinaigrette. I think I was craving something healthy. My husband decided to go with the shrimp scampi flatbread.
So of course it was decided that we would return once again to the Tuna. It was pretty crowded this time, being it was a Friday night. 
We had to wait a few minutes, but finally a couple of people left where we were able to get a couple of seats. Not before long I saw Zack’s son Kai again. He sat down and we were able to chat for a bit before Carl went on. While we were talking, a fellow TripAdvisor Forumite came up to me. It turned out to be FLBoy22 who recognized me from my blog. I thought it was so funny that he recognized both myself and my husband. It was a pleasure meeting him. 
Once Carl started to play we saw two people walk in and it was the couple from Austria. They spotted us and we were able to find a spot to hang out and listen to Carl. As we were sitting there I looked over and then I saw Zack. I couldn’t believe he showed up! I was so excited to see him!! 
I walked over and we were able to talk for a little bit, but it was loud and crowded. He didn’t stay too long, but it still made my night. We were going to meet the next morning to for breakfast before we had to go to the airport. The couple from Austria wound up leaving before us and so did Kai.
We eventually woke up around 9:00am and packed up the rest of our things. I walked into the office at the Gardens to let Jim know we needed a taxi for 11:30am to take us to the airport. I also had him reserve our return stay next year, I figured that was the best way to lessen the sadness of leaving Key West.
I got a hold of Zack and we decided to meet up at Sarabeth’s since it wasn’t too far from the Gardens. We were able to get a table inside which was much needed because it was another hot day. Kai also joined us for breakfast. We all kind of joked about the mugs that the coffee is served in. They are huge and take up a lot of the table and since they are so large, the coffee doesn’t stay hot that long – not sure why they serve coffee that way. We had a great time just talking for a bit. I didn’t eat too much of my breakfast because I was really sad. I always find it hard to eat the day we are leaving.
We walked back to the Gardens to grab our luggage. Right before we were leaving we saw the couple from Austria again. We thanked them for their nice gesture, and told them to have a great rest of their vacation. The taxi showed up right on time. It turned out the driver used to work at M&M Mars which is located right in the town where my husband’s auto repair shop is located (and he works on cars as well from M&M’s). We thought how ironic is that? She was really nice and made the ride back to the airport nice and pleasant.
Until next time…. thank you for taking the time to read my blog!
Once again we were making our way back to Key West. On our way to the airport I had to think back to myself how many times have we been to Key West since 2006? I couldn’t believe it when I counted 18 times! And this time we were lucky enough to spend a Saturday to Saturday stay in Key West. After getting the chance to visit Key West 3 times last year, I thought that I wouldn’t be as excited to return. However, that wasn’t the case. It seems as though every time we come down to visit, it gets harder and harder to leave.
Eventually we departed and we actually made up some time in the air. It seemed like forever to me, but then I finally started to see Key West come into sight once again. 
I was just so happy! I was also thinking how a great friend of mine, Zack Seemiller, who I have been doing graphic design work for several years now, had not idea we were coming down for the week. I wanted to surprise him like I have done in the past. 
Once we landed and got off the plane, it felt so amazing to feel the warm sunshine beaming down on us. My husband and I had carry-on luggage so we were able to get off the plane right away and grab one of the first taxis available. I always love the ride along A1A towards old town. I don’t mind it so much on the way back to the airport, but the way there brings a smile to face. Not before long, I saw the yellow wall that surrounds the Gardens Hotel. We have been staying there every time we come to Key West. As an added bonus I redid their logo a couple years ago and now you can see it everywhere throughout the hotel which is so gratifying. 
Surprisingly our room was ready and we were able to unpack all our things. 
We immediately got out of our winter clothes and changed into our warm weather clothes which is one of the best feelings. We left the hotel and walked down towards to Duval Street. My husband and I always joke about how we look forward to that first step onto Duval and turning right. 
We used to always to stop at Willie T’s for our first drink, but it was a bit too crowded. So we continued our way down to Duval and just took in all the sights again. It was good to be back “home”. As we were walking we realized that one our friends Al was working at Sunset Pier that day. Since it was such a beautiful day I thought it was the perfect spot to grab our first drink and look at the water. We walked in and saw Al and said hello. He welcomed us back and brought us out a couple of mojitos for us. Finally the reality of being back to Key West was settling in. It was a great feeling. 
We had more people to see, so we didn’t stay too long. 
Our next stop was Captain Tony’s to see our friend Gabriel Wright play. We walked in and he gave us his usual nod hello. It was a bit crowded, but we were able to find a couple of bar seats. 
We each ordered a couple of beers and listened to Gabriel play for a bit. Time was passing by kind of quickly and I noticed it was nearing 3pm and I knew Zack was only playing at Rick’s until 4. My husband paid the tab and we walked back onto Duval. As we walked into Rick’s, Zack immediately recognized my husband and not me. He blew the surprise! I was a bit disappointed, but it was all good – it was great to see him again! 
He had another show after Rick’s, so once he was done playing he couldn’t stay long. He did mentioned that he was going to be working on his house the next day and to swing by. 
When we left Rick’s we noticed that the old Lazy Gecko is now called Duval Central. The outside facade looks the same, but we wanted to see what they did with the inside. Once we walked in, the layout was similar as far as the bar being in the same location, but it is completely different as far as the look and feel. It was nice, but it could have been a place anywhere. The Lazy Gecko had that old Key West feel. We did sit down and had a drink and noticed that it is now smoke free which may be ideal for people getting away from the cigarette smoke at the other bars. 
We didn’t have dinner reservations at Deuce’s Off the Hook until 7pm, so we had a chance to have a cocktail at the Garden’s bar. 
Jim, the general manager was there so it gave us a chance to talk to him for a few. It was then time to get freshened up for our dinner reservation. Deuce’s is literally right behind the Gardens Hotel so it doesn’t take much time to get there, which makes it an ideal place to have dinner on our first night. 
We finally made it back to the Gardens and it was time for much needed sleep.
Our morning routine was after freshening up was to grab a couple of coffees at Cuban Coffee Queen. 
I love their coffee there – especially their Cuban American blend. I love it so much that I order it online and have it shipped home. 
We walked over the location right off Duval and saw a familiar face, Joe! We met Joe a couple years ago at the Galleon. It was nice to see him. We sat down and talked to him before we had to make our way to the Margaritaville Resort (formerly the Westin) to catch the ferry to Sunset Key.
We walked down to where the ferry was docked. 
The majority of people sat on the outside part of the boat, but we opted to sit in the cool air conditioned part. Even though it is a small boat, the ride over is reminiscent (to me) of taking the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John. It only takes about 5-10 minutes to cross over to Sunset Key. Once we were docked, we walked over to be seated. I did request a table outside on the sand and we were seated at the perfect location. 
It was just so beautiful to sit out there and enjoy the view. It again, reminds me of being on a Caribbean island somewhere. 
My husband and I both ordered the lobster benedict. It was a little on the pricey side, but being it was Easter and on vacation why not? I am glad we did, because it was delicious. 
We also took a few pictures, thanks to our very nice server. 
It was a nice way to spend Easter brunch. 
Then I remembered that Zack was working on his house and we told him we would stop by. So we finished our drinks and told Miguel that we would stop by and see him the next day. We made a quick stop at the Garden’s before walking down towards Zack’s house. It wasn’t that far of a walk. 
We walked in and also saw that Zack’s son, Kai was there and his friend Tim. It was fun to see them again. 
They showed us around and what they were working on. It looked like a lot of work, but I am sure once it is complete it will look great. 
We didn’t want to stay to long so that they could get back to work. Kai was playing sunset that night so I told him we would see him later. 
We left the house and started to make our way towards the Bight, at least that is what we thought. We wound walking all the way to Palm Ave. and realized we made a wrong turn. Eventually we found Eaton St. and we were able to get back on track. We were both pretty hot and thirsty at this point so we stopped at the Galleon Sunset Tiki Bar. 
We noticed that they did fix the pier and walk way that was damaged from Hurricane Irma since the last time we were there. It is such a great place to sit and have a cold drink with the view of the water. 
I am always surprised not more people know about it. I think people don’t realize it is open to the public. 
We walked back to the Gardens and decided to have a light dinner at the Smokin’ Tuna before heading towards Mallory Square. We stopped in and our two favorite seats were available. We ordered a bunch of appetizers to share. I always enjoy their tuna fish dip. 
There was a singer there Kristen McNamara and she had a great voice – its another reason why we always enjoy stopping at the Smokin’ Tuna – always good music. 
We also noticed that the bridge between Margaritaville and Mallory Square was also fixed. Luckily Mallory Square wasn’t too crowded (maybe because it was Easter), so we didn’t have to wait on line to order a couple of green things. 
We found where Kai was playing and listened to him while the sun was setting. 
It was a beautiful sunset even though it was partially going behind Sunset Key. 
We stayed for a bit before heading back to the Gardens Hotel. 
Unfortunately they went on earlier and were done for the night. Just as well, it was time to pack it in for the night.
We woke up to another picture perfect day. We even caught Misha, who teaches a yoga class at the Gardens in the morning 3 times a week. 
Our server was very attentive so we didn’t weight long for our breakfast. My husband had the sausage benedict and I had a couple eggs with bacon and their multi grain bread. The breakfast was very good as always and even noticed that my husband’s eggs for the benedict were cooked perfectly. We have had previous experiences where the eggs tend to be underdone to both our liking, but this time everything was cooked spot on. 
We sat at the bar and I ordered a painkiller made with Cruzan rum which I prefer over Pusser’s. Disappointingly, it was not the right call. It was just too sweet and I couldn’t drink it. My husband had a beer and I realized that is what I should had ordered – all well. It was still nice to check out the Schooner Wharf and see the locals come and go and talk about what they did for Easter.
I was curious to try their Key Lime Margarita. I noticed that the size of the drink was still on the smaller side as compared to how they used to be and the price was $12. 
I tried it and it was awful. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was but it just wasn’t right. At that price I persevered and finished the drink. It was a struggle but I managed to do it. At this point I was determined to stick with beer wherever the next place took us. Then I finally realized after the fact, there was NO lime/key lime juice in it! 
While we were hanging out, a familiar face walked in, it was Joe! We thought it was funny that we actually did run into him.
It was a fun afternoon listening to them play and hanging out with everyone. 
Hog’s Breath never used to be one of my favorite places to go to, but with great music and friends – it is a lot of fun. After Zack and Kai finished their show, I had to get the obligatory photos with them before they left. 
And another… 
I mentioned to Zack and Tim that maybe we could meet up the next morning for breakfast. I remembered that there is this new restaurant called the Breakfast Club Too that used to be at the old Chicago’s location that maybe we could check out. So we made tentative plans and headed out. 
So we left Rick’s and finally made it to the Gardens. 
I checked the Smokin’ Tuna schedule and saw that Caffeine Carl was playing again. 
Due to the fact that the Tuna is one of our favorite places, we didn’t hesitate to go back again for some food and music. 
We probably should have just stayed at the Gardens and/or found a quiet place to grab something to eat, but we stayed because we were having a lot of fun and even Kai stopped by to say hello. 
I think we overstayed my window, because I was getting really tired. We said our goodbyes and walked down Charles St. to Duval and my husband suggested that we should take a cab back. It was a good idea because I couldn’t see myself trying to dodge all the people on Duval to get to the hotel.
I love just walking around the Bight and seeing all the boats getting ready to out for the day. 
We were on schedule to go out with our friend Billy for sunset. I reached out to him and he reassured me that we were good to go, but that a friend of his was borrowing his boat for the day, but would have it back in time for our trip. He said he would pick us up at the hotel around 5pm, which was perfect for us. 
We then walked over to The Breakfast Club Too. It looked really inviting from the outside. We walked in and we were the first to arrive. 
We told the hostess that we would just grab a seat at the bar and wait for them. The atmosphere of the restaurant is impressive. I never was in it when it was Chicagos but it is a decent size place. Once everyone else arrived we were seated at a table near the outside part of the restaurant. It was a fun morning just hanging out and eating a good breakfast. 
Everyone enjoyed what they ordered. I would definitely recommend checking out this place. 
On a side note: I recently just got a FitBit and could see how far we would walk each day. We would probably average between 5 and 6 miles a day, sometimes more. 
Feeling the sun coming down, we were both getting thirsty. We remembered that Al was working again at the Sunset Pier so we stopped down there to see him. It was perfect early afternoon to sit and enjoy the views from Sunset Pier.
While we were listening to him, I noticed a couple sat down next to my husband. They started talking and noticed it was getting later in the afternoon. That’s what happens in Key West, you meet people and before you know it time just passes by. I wanted to catch Zack and Kai again at Willie T’s before it got to late. Again we got there later then I wanted to. 
Well we said good bye to my husband’s new found friends and walked down to Willie T’s. We were able to find a couple seats so I was happy. It is always fun listening to Zack and play and its a real treat to catch him with his son, Kai. Not before long we turned around and the couple that we saw at Hog’s Breath showed up. 
I am not sure if they followed us or it just happened – nevertheless we all wound hanging out again. 
I was looking at the time and noticed it was getting close to 4 o’clock and we were supposed to meet our friend Billy for the sunset trip.
We were both pretty hungry and I didn’t have any plans for dinner. The following night I made dinner reservations for Cafe Sole, one of my favorite restaurants, but I figured that my husband should pick where to eat.
Even the stairs leading up to it feel like you are entering an entire different experience. 
We walked into the dark lit bar and sat down. It was still a bit early so we didn’t have any trouble at all finding seats. 
For dinner I had their delicious oysters rockefeller, while my husband had the escargot special. Last time we were there, I made the mistake of ordering the lobster thermidor, which was delicious, but having very rich meals back to back doesn’t sit well with me. Our entrees consisted on the filet mignon (my husband) and the snapper (for myself). All the dishes were delicious. 
We walked over and the place was pretty quiet. We sat down at one of the bars and then I turned around and saw in the back there was a large stage area where Nick was playing. We brought our drinks over and sat down. Unfortunately he was nearing the end of his show, but at least we were able to catch him for a song or two. 
It was a long day and we were pretty tired. We thought about stopping somewhere else, but made the better decision and just go back to the hotel and call it a night.
It is just so peaceful in a way. We made it to Kermit’s and ordered breakfast. There was actually a line of people this time so we had to wait for a bit, thankfully we already had our coffees in hand. 
Once we ordered our breakfast we sat back by the koi pond. 
It is such a pretty little spot. We didn’t wait long before our breakfast was served delicious and hot. 
So we decided to just go back to the Gardens for a bit to relax. 
It has a nice atmosphere and if you can find a couple of seats at the bar, it isn’t a bad place to have your first cocktail of choice. We walked in and it was more crowded then I thought, due to the lunch crowd. We noticed another musician we have seen in previous trips who is fun as well, John LaMere was playing. I thought what a nice surprise. We found a couple of seats after a large party left and just enjoyed listening to him play. We stayed until his set was over and said hello to him. He thanked us for stopping by.
I wanted to go back to Willie T’s to see Zack play, but we made a stop at Rick’s for a drink and to see Miguel. 
We didn’t realize it was his last day working until the weekend so it was our last time we would be seeing him for this visit. When it was time to leave we said our goodbyes and thanked him for always being good to us. 
It was hard not to stay but I didn’t want to miss our dinner reservations. 
For starters I had the escargot and my husband had the conch carpacchio. Unfortunately I have discovered that I am allergic to conch and cannot eat it. It is such anomaly to me – I can eat every other type of seafood under the sun, but not conch. I guess it will always remain a mystery. Obviously we had to order their hogfish again for our main course. It was tasty as it usually is. It was a beautiful evening and a great dinner.
So we made a quick stop at the hotel to regroup for a little before going back out. 
I was happy when we got to Rick’s that the outside seats at the bar were available. We sat down and Big Ed was working. 
It was nice to see him again. He began pouring us those grapefruit and club cocktails for us – one after the other.
We freshened up and made our walk towards Grinnell St. where the restaurant is located. When we got to the restaurant I was really impressed with the outside. It was nicely landscaped, but we had a bit of an issue finding the entrance. We did eventually find it and walked inside. The hostess asked if we preferred to sit inside or outside, and I picked outside. I try to sit outside everywhere I can unless it is extremely hot. I decided to stay classic and order a couple of eggs with breakfast potatoes and bacon. 
My husband had one of their frittata for breakfast. We were both very happy with our choices, it was very good. I was glad that we tried a new place – actually now that I think about it, we tried several new places for breakfast. I love going out for breakfast and it is always fun that there are so many options in Key West. 
So after breakfast we walked down to Whitehead St. where the house was located. Denise came out and we chatted for a bit. She was telling us about St. John and how it is improving and that we should not have any hesitation to return. It was nice talking to her, but didn’t want to keep her away for too long since she was in the middle of working on the house. We thanked her for her time and walked down Whitehead St. 
We walked by the lighthouse and the Hemingway House. If the Hemingway House wasn’t so crowded we probably would have stopped by. We have toured the house several times, but we always enjoy seeing the cats. 
The next stop took us to El Meson De Pepe for a couple of mojitos. 
Their mojitos are always very good, but I still can’t understand why they are so expensive for such a small drink. Regardless it was a nice stop to look at the huge cruise ship that was in port and look at Mallory Square. 
We only stayed for one and figured that we could have another drink somewhere before going back to Willie T’s and catch the end of Zack’s show. 
We went back to the Sunset Tiki Bar at the Galleon. Comparable to the Ocean Key Sunset Pier, I think this place has an amazing view. 
While we were sitting at the bar, we noticed one of the staff was bringing in new chairs for the bar area. Apparently they were getting rid of all the wood chairs and replacing them with black wicker type of chairs. We stayed long enough where we had to get off our chairs and try out the new ones. They were definitely more comfortable but a bit shorter then the previous ones. We had a fun time chatting with the bartender Grubby too.
Meanwhile, my husband heard from his high school friends that they wanted to meet up later so we headed out after the show to get ready at the Gardens. We stayed until the end of their show and told Zack we would see him the next day at Rick’s. 
When we all met up there for a drink, my husband told them about Berlin’s. I thought that they wouldn’t want to go, but they seemed really excited about going. I was a bit disappointed because we were just there and we only had 2 more nights left for dinner. I was outnumbered so we walked over to Berlin’s. It wasn’t such a bad option, the food there is that good. I ordered the oysters rockefeller again and then decided to try their paella. 
I was craving rice and thought that it would be a good choice. Regrettably it wasn’t the right decision. The paella had no flavor – especially the rice. I couldn’t taste any saffron. Thankfully everyone else enjoyed their dishes.
On our way to the Banana Cafe, we passed by La Te Da and it looked very inviting from the outside and not too crowded. We walked in and my husband wanted to sit at the bar, which was fine, but for breakfast I prefer a table. It wasn’t too bad though since it was fairly empty. Feeling the night before we both decided to order a pick me up. My husband had a bloody mary while I had a mimosa. 
It did help – only for a little while. I ordered the breakfast special omelet and my husband ordered the traditional egg breakfast. It took a while to get our order, but once we did get it, it was very good. I am not sure if their service is normally that slow, if it isn’t I would definitely go back. The atmosphere and people watching was great. 
Everyone was getting hungry so we were all going freshen up and meet up somewhere. Then we all realized why don’t we just go out like we are? It’s Key West! You don’t have to dress up. So I suggested that we go to the Rooftop Cafe. So if we had time we could catch the sunset at Mallory Square after. 
The sun was setting behind as we had another delicious dinner at the Rooftop Cafe. 
By the time we finished dinner it was too late to see sunset. 
We then went up to Carl and told him goodbye. It was sad but I didn’t get too upset otherwise I would never hear the end of it. Everyone made their separate ways and called it a night.
I was getting really sad about leaving Key West and our friends so I wasn’t too hungry. Then it was time to say our goodbyes – which I always hate.
Luckily, our flight was early enough in the morning not to be affected yet with the heavy rain and winds that were on its way. There was only some rain, but it wasn’t too bad at that point. While we were waiting for our flight to board, I saw an article about Fantasy Fest in Key West. I thought to myself how funny is that? 
We had a direct flight on United and had no issues taking off. The flight was a little bumpy at first but then it did calm down a bit. After about 3 hour, I could start to see the Keys come into view below. It was a beautiful sight to see. Once I could see Key West, I began to smile and knew in my heart I made the right decision. 
It was on the windy side when we landed, but we were both so happy and excited to be back. We did have to wait for a cab since another plane had arrived just before ours. We had to share a cab, but fortunately we were able to have the cab driver drop us off first.
It was a bit sad to see, but knowing what Hurricane Irma did to the other islands, it wasnt that bad. The staff was working vigorously throughout our stay replanting the trees that were lost in the storm. 
We walked in and I personally didn’t notice too much change as far as the outside bar and dining area, unless the majority of the renovations were done to the interior dining room. We grabbed two seats at the bar and I ordered a margarita. 
It tasted like the old Kelly ones but it was half the size (not that I needed a larger one), but if they are charging the same price for a margarita during happy hour, I feel that they should have it be the size it once was. If it wasn’t broken, don’t fix it. We also ordered an ahi tuna appetizer just to get something in our stomachs.
Then the Marshall Morlock band came on to play. I had never heard of them, but they were quite good. We didn’t stay too long since the travel day had set in. It was time to get some sleep and call it a night.
There weren’t too many people so we were seated right away. I wound up having a cheese, spinach and mushroom omelette (with a side of their signature key lime hollandaise sauce) and my husband went with one of their old reliable stables the eggs benedict. The breakfast was good as it usually is, but my favorite part dining there is seeing all the roosters and chickens running around. It gives you that true feeling of Key West. 
I also stopped in to see Nancy and Jim who have been working at the Gardens for years. It was nice to see them and they thanked us repeatedly for returning to Key West and supporting the much needed tourism that needs to come back. 
It was then getting to be about that time to see my great friend Zack Seemiller playing at Hogsbreath. We have been working together for a couple of years creating fun ads that he posts on social media each day. 
Thankfully I had a sweater on and my husband was wearing a sweatshirt we bought earlier in the day at the Conch Farm giftshop. We tend to gravitate to the bars at restaurants since we enjoy the interaction with the bartender and follow patrons, so we chose to sit on the outside section of the bar, which gives you a great view of Mallory Square behind you. 
I was thinking about going to see the sunset after dinner, but this time of year the sun sets earlier, around 6:45pm. It was going to be too late after dinner, but it was still nice to see the sunset partially from the restaurant.
Eventually we made it to the Bight and my husband suggested going to Kermit’s for breakfast. I thought that why not since we never had been there before we should give it a try. 
You could see the damage that occurred from the hurricane and all of the extra tables and chairs were being stored in the garage area.
All and all though, that was really the only other things we noticed from the hurricane.
We sat down and listened to him play. It was such a beautiful setting, between the atmosphere of the place and the weather. 
We always have a lot of fun at his shows and even his son Kai stopped by and played a song. It was a nice afternoon before it was that time to get something to eat. We said good bye to Zack and Kai and hoped to catch them again later.
One place I thought of going to dinner this time was the Half Shell Raw Bar. We had been there numerous times in the past, but we had never eaten there and after watching the guys shuck oysters each time we were there, made me quite intrigued. Plus it is a bit of a walk from the Gardens for dinner – so we tend to eat some place closer to the Gardens. 
Caffeine Carl was finally playing! We probably stayed later then we first intended, but we were having so much fun that it was worth it. Eventually we did get back to the Gardens to get some sleep.
We noticed there were a lot of construction workers and cops in the shop. We planned on having breakfast there, however the place was quite small and there wasn’t enough room to sit. I wanted to try their coffee anyway, so we waited and ordered two con leches. The coffee was indeed delicious. I can see why all the locals go there for their coffee. It was a tasty start to our day. 
I remembered that Al was working at Sunset Pier that day and realized that we had not seen him yet. 
We walked down towards Sunset Pier and found a couple of seats along the side of the pier. The actual pier that goes out over the water is sectioned off. Al immediately recognized us and brought us over a couple of beers. He was telling us how the pier wasn’t going to be repaired and ready until next Summer. Instead of just repairing it, they were going to rebuild it using cement so hopefully it will last a long time. It was nice to see him and hear that him and his family were doing well.
It was nice to catch up with a great friend. He was off again so we told him we would catch him at Rick’s the next day. 
We were going to freshen up but realized that we were going out on the water and to wait until after we got back. I got call from Billy and he was waiting for us. We grabbed our supplies and he drove us to the marina. 
It was then time to open the bottle of wine and cheer a beautiful sunset that we were about to see. 
We could not have asked for a better sunset. I didn’t want to leave and just the thought of going home in a couple days got to me. I just took in the view and thought how lucky we were to return to Key West and how lucky Key West was to be spared from the destructive storm Hurricane Irma. 
We sat down at the Gardens for breakfast. Because I had the pizza the night before so late, I really couldn’t eat much. I did take the time though, to get all our clothes in order and the painstaking process of packing up most of our things since we were leaving the next day.
My husband then wanted to stop at the Sunset Tiki Bar too one last time. So we walked on over enjoyed a drink there too. I also was able to check in for our flight while we were there. It is always hard to enjoy your last day, just knowing you are leaving the next day but we made the best of it. 
We sat down and ordered a couple of drinks. For dinner I had to order the oysters rockefeller and my husband had the tuna. Our entrees consisted of filet mignon and the lobster thermidor (which I had). In hind sight, I probably shouldn’t have ordered two rich dishes back to back, but they were so good.
We didn’t know what to expect and the prices were reasonable. 
Even though we were just in Key West 3 months prior we were excited to get back to the place we truly love. This would mark our 16th time in Key West within 11 years. Some say we are crazy for returning to the same place over and over, and others think that why not if you enjoy it so much? We didn’t have much planned but figured that it is always best not to have any plans in Key West.
Similar to our most recent trip, we had an early 6am flight out of Newark, however due to the fact it was a smaller plane flying to West Palm Beach, the boarding time was only 30 minutes prior to departure. We still had to make the grueling wake up time of 3am, but knowing we were going back to Key West, made it a bit easier. Our car was on time and picked us up at 3:45am. Security lines were long, but we made it through within a few minutes to spare to have a quick cup of coffee at the United Club Lounge.
Soon it was time to board our flight. The flight was on time and we had no issues. Once we landed in West Palm Beach we looked for the Silver Airways Gate. The airport is fairly small so it was a quick walk to the gate. We noticed a few people waiting and even the two pilots. The flight was scheduled to leave at 9:35am and soon it was time to board. We thought we are going to be in Key West at 11am! It would be the earliest time we had even been to Key West.
Soon Key West began to appear below and I was so happy to be back. We landed and grabbed our luggage. There was another flight that just landed so we were worried we would be waiting a while for our luggage. Thankfully our luggage was one of the first to come out of the carousel so we were able to grab a taxi.
Before we knew it we were back at the Gardens by 1pm. With all things considered it wasn’t so bad and could have been a lot worse. We walked in to the Gardens and saw Jim the manager at the hotel. It was nice to see him again. We checked in and our room was ready. I quickly unpacked our things. 
We sat down and enjoyed the delicious mojitos. We cheered and were both so happy to be back to Key West!
We remembered that Al was working at Sunset Pier and wanted to stop by and say hello to him since last time we only saw him once during our trip. We walked over and it was a hot but sunny day. We talked to him for a bit before making our way to Captain Tony’s to see Gabriel Wright. 
Since it was so hot, Captain Tony’s was pretty crowded because of the AC. 
It was great to see Gabriel again and listen to him for a bit.
We had dinner reservations at Deuce’s Off the Hook so we figured that we would walk back to the Gardens to freshen up. 
While we were passing by Rick’s we noticed that Caffeine Carl and George were playing. Of course then we had to stop by and catch them for a few songs. It was fun to watch and say hello. 
It was getting later in the evening so we made the walk down Duval to the Gardens to get ready for dinner. It was a long day and I realized I hadn’t eaten yet at that point so I was extremely hungry for dinner. 
We walked into Deuce’s and we were seated at the bar. 
We actually prefer the bar then the tables since the place is small, we just feel like there is more room. For appetizers I ordered the grouper ceviche and my husband had a shrimp appetizer which was delicious. 
I decided to go with the snapper special while my husband settled on the burger. We were happy with both of our choices and enjoyed everything. Once we finished dinner, we felt the affects of the long travel day and ready to get some much needed sleep.
Feeling rejuvenated if you will, we freshened up and walked down Petronia Street to Blue Heaven. It was before 9am so I knew there wouldn’t be a wait. I wasn’t sure if they would be serving breakfast outside, since when we went there back in April after a rain shower they kept the outside closed. Luckily when we got there we saw a few tables seated with people. 
Because it was Sunday, it was a brunch menu that offered more options verses the standard breakfast menu. We were both craving the eggs benedict so I went with the florentine version, while my husband chose the sausage benedict. I also had a side of grits which tasted really good. After our breakfast we stopped in the gift shop because I wanted to buy another tank top. 
We walked back to the Gardens to relax for a few. We made our way back onto Duval. We walked around up the bight past Dante’s. 
It was a gorgeous day, but the humidity was high. We were getting thirsty so walked towards the Galleon. 
The Sunset Tiki Bar was open so we grabbed a couple of seats. We chatted with the bartender Ramsey for a bit. I remembered that I saw on the Tripadvisor Key West forum that a bar by the name of The Lazy Gecko was closing. She told us that today was the last day it was going to be open. It was a sad story to hear how a place was open for 17 years and when the lease came up, they wanted to increase it to $35,000 a month. The owner’s counter offered for a lower price, but someone from Nashville made the offer. We later found out the name of the new bar will be called the Tin Roof, a chain I believe in Nashville.
He mentioned that Caffeine Carl’s birthday party was going to be held there on Wednesday so we would definitely made a point that we would go. We also talked about the Lazy Gecko and how it was it’s last day. 
We decided to go across the street to the Lazy Gecko and have a few drinks before closes. As soon as you walked in, it was pretty crowded and you can see the staff about ready to cry. It was so sad to see a place that has been an icon in Key West become no more. 
After we freshened up we walked back to Duval towards the Rooftop Cafe. We always have a solid dinner there and wanted to go back. 
We walked up the stairs and no one was really there yet. We were one of the first customers for the evening and chose to sit at the bar on the outside part. From there you can see Mallory Square nearby and the Front St. below. 
For our first course my husband had the shrimp and blue crab empanadas while I selected the tuna tar tar. Since we were practically the only ones there at the time, the food came out promptly which we don’t mind since we were pretty hungry. Our main course was the grilled mahi mahi (which I ordered) and the flame grilled NY strip.
We hadn’t seen “Mr. Mojito” in a couple of years and was hoping to see him. We walked near the Margaritaville Resort (formally the Westin) and sure enough we saw Jimmy in his cart! The line wasn’t too long so we waited a few minutes and said hello. It was nice to see him again and order his infamous “Green Thing” drink. They are so tasty and really hit the spot if you are looking for something semi-sweet and refreshing. 
We were tempted to stop in but I was pretty tired at that point so we just kept walking to the Gardens and called it a night.
We woke up to cloudy day so we slept in a little bit. Our first usual stop each morning again was Cuban Coffee Queen. Sometimes you get there and only a couple people are there, other times you can wait for a while, but the coffee is worth the wait. 
We were going to go back to Bagatelle’s but as we neared the building it was closed because they were working on the front porch. So we thought about going to Kermit’s Cafe Kitchen for breakfast to try something new. I looked at the menu and only saw sandwiches and I was craving huervos rancheros. I remember last time I wanted to try Amigos for breakfast since I saw that they did have huervos rancheros on the menu. 
We walked to Amigos and just when we walked to the entrance the skies began to open up. We couldn’t ask for better timing. We sat in the front which is a great place to people watch. Since it was raining not too many people were going by. 
My husband ordered the egg burrito while I had the huervos rancheros. When they came out there were 3 instead of the usual 2. They were tasty but I personally prefer when the beans are refried and mashed verses just whole beans. 
Once we were done the rain did subside. It didn’t look like it was going to clear so we made the decision this would be the morning we walk around and do some shopping. It was actually good to pick the day we did since it wasn’t too hot to walk around with bags in tow. Our first stop was Hog’s Breath for a few shirts. They always have a nice variety of shirts to choose from. Then I remembered last time I saw a shirt I wanted for my husband at the Conch Republic Seafood gift shop so we went back. In addition, last time we never made it to Peppers and we were running low on our hot sauce inventory at home so we had to make it back. 
We walked down Greene St. to Peppers and noticed the red awning was no longer but a pepper sign. That was the only thing that was different – as soon as we walked in we saw all the hot sauces and other condiments. Neither of us was in the mood to taste anything but we knew what we wanted. The young lady at the tasting bar helped us with a few of our selections that we had questions about. We also wanted to ship everything home since we only do carry-on. It wasn’t a problem as usual and order was placed and ready for shipping. It is always fun too to have it arrive when you come home. A little reminder of where you were just at, which brings a smile to my face.
We had a few bags to drop off at the Gardens before setting out for the rest of the day. It was still too cloudy to lounge by the pool so after freshening up we went back out onto Duval. Back in April we never made it to the Blue Macaw and wanted to go back to check it out. 
We made it back onto Duval and into the Smokin’ Tuna. It was about the time Joal Rush was supposed to play and we noticed the place was quite empty and so was the stage. We then found out Caffeine Carl wasn’t feeling well so he wasn’t playing and that Joal Rush was playing at 8pm. It was only 5pm and we didn’t want to sit there for 3 hours waiting. 
So we walked down towards the Bight to find a place to eat. Being it was happy hour, everywhere we looked was crowded – Conch Republic, Commodores, Alonzo’s, etc. You wouldn’t think it was low season. Then as we were walking around I saw the entrance to A&B the Lobster House. I laughed when I saw it because we have been going to Key West for 11 years now, and I never noticed the door to the fine dining upstairs. We walked up the dark staircase into the main dining room. It was beautiful with large windows overlooking the marina. The hostess told us that the dining room wasn’t open yet, but that we could have a drink in the bar which turns out to be Berlin’s. 
We walked in and the AC felt wonderful. It was on the dark side but we got a kick out of the old retro vibe it gave. The bartender was very nice and said that anything offered in the main dining room you could have at the bar. We tend to prefer eating at the bar at certain places and thought that it was perfect to dine there. 
We each ordered a class of wine and I still couldn’t believe I finally found the entrance (not that it is hard to find, I just never noticed it before). For appetizers I decided to go old school and have the shrimp cocktail martini and my husband ordered the escargot sauté. When my appetizer came out a flashback of the movie Beetlejuice came to mind. The shrimp were huge hanging over the martini glass, but they were delicious and so fresh. My husband’s escargot was full of flavor as well. 
And the amazing food just kept going with my husband’s steak au poivre and my grouper oscar. It was probably one of the best meals we had on the trip. It is on the pricey side, but if you are looking for that one special dinner while you are on vacation, this is the place to go to. 
We stayed for a while and listened to Joal play before calling an end to the evening. 
We woke up to a beautiful day. So like any other morning we walked to Cuban Coffee Queen for much needed coffee. We tend to prefer the Cuban American Coffee, so we ordered two of those and walked around contemplating where to eat for breakfast. The breakfast choice of the day wound up being the Blue Macaw. 
Since the weather was so nice, we took advantage of it. When we were done with breakfast we walked back to the Gardens just to relax by the pool for a bit. 
It was getting hot so we decided a nice cold beer was in order. We walked down Duval and grabbed a couple of cold beers at the Porch. It is quite a pretty area to sit out on the porch and watch the people go by.
We scheduled to go out with Billy at around 6pm and thought it would be a good idea to grab something to eat before going out with him otherwise it would be a long time since we had breakfast. 
He drove us to the marina and it was a beautiful evening. 
He took us out past Sunset Key and then we eventually went back towards the sandbar. 
On our way we passed by Mallory Square. 
The sandbar was so shallow that we can the birds just running round. It was so nice and relaxing to sit back and relax. 
It was a beautiful sunset but then just when you thought it was going to touch the water, it fell behind the clouds. 
We still witnessed quite an impressive sunset. 
It was fun to hang out with Billy for a bit before going back to the marina. 
Billy dropped us off back at the Gardens. We thanked him again and told him when we return, we would definitely do the sunset trip again. 
This has become one of our favorite places, since it is sort of an out of the way place it never gets too crowded, the service is always very friendly no matter who is working there, and the view of course. 
I realized the last time we saw Al at the Sunset Pier, it was his last day working before he will be off for a few weeks. We headed back to the Sunset Pier to see Al. We wished him well and told him that we will hopefully see him next year. 
Then it was that time to say hello to Miguel again at Rick’s. We saw the posters set up for Carl’s birthday. They were pretty funny. It wasn’t that late but we were getting hungry. We thought to get back and freshen up so we could hit Martin’s for happy hour. Last time we just barely made it to happy hour but it was only about 3pm. 
After we freshened up, we walked down to Martin’s and it was just 4pm. It was perfect! There just one other couple there and we sat right at the bar. I think we ordered almost everything off the tapas menu we were so hungry. Each item was as delicious as the next. 
We had some time before Caffeine Carl’s birthday at Rick’s so we went back to the Smokin’ Tuna to listen to Joal Rush again. It started to rain again but not too bad. Just a few showers. We then noticed Carl walking in and grabbing a few things for his birthday show. We wound up walking back to Rick’s with him. He told us he had a terrible sinus thing but obviously he was going to play for his birthday. 
We were able to get our two seats right at the window. We saw big Ed and Carl’s wife Erin who was also bartending. It was funny when Carl went on with George, he mentioned how it felt like it was the Smokin’ Tuna in the bizarro world.
The music began and the drinks started flowing. More and more people came in and it was a lot of fun. 
Eventually even Joal Rush showed up after his show at the Smokin’ Tuna for it. 
We wound up drinking a lot and staying up late (for us), but it was worth it. 
We made it back to the Gardens and we were done.
I would have booked our trip like we did back in April – Saturday to a Saturday. And that Saturday, the day we left, we were able to book a direct flight home to Newark so we literally got home by 10:30 am. This time of year there are no direct flights so the flights available if we stayed until Saturday would have had us arrive home later in the evening so we decided to leave a day earlier so we would still have the weekend to decompress. 
While we were finishing breakfast a few more showers rolled in. So much for relaxing by the pool our last day – I thought. We did go back to the hotel to sit on our porch and relax for a bit before going back out for our final day. 
We wound up walking back to El Meson De Pepe. We were in the mood for sangria but disappointingly the Little Jazz Room Bar isn’t open during the day – not until 4pm now and we really enjoyed their sangria. We sat down and each had a glass of their sangria. It wasn’t the best sangria I have ever had but it hit the spot. We watched the clouds come in through Mallory Square. 
Our next stop was Half Shell Raw Bar. We have never eaten there before and the next time we come back to Key West I want to make it a point to do so. The food that comes out of the kitchen looks so good. We had early dinner reservations at Café Solé so I didn’t want to have any lunch. 
We wound up having some time to spare so after we were packed and freshened up, we sat at the Gardens bar for a drink. Kate the owner was there and it was nice to chat with her for a bit. We have been going to the Gardens every year since 2006 and the past several years staying there twice a year so she really appreciates our loyalty to the hotel and plus I redesigned their logo which I am really proud of. 
The skies appeared to get brighter so we didn’t need to bring umbrellas with us. 
We made the left turn on to Simonton St. and then a right turn onto Southard St. 
We joke now because it took us several years to figure out where Café Solé is and it isn’t that far or difficult to get to from the Gardens.
Café Solé is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Key West. 
He even brought us out a complimentary piece of Key Lime pie. And I hate to admit this, but I think that was the first time I have ever had key lime pie in Key West! I am not a big dessert fan so I usually don’t order it. I think maybe my husband had one of the key lime pies on a stick dipped in chocolate during our first time in Key West. The pie was delicious. 
We thanked Dan for a wonderful dinner and we were on our way again. 
It was our last night in Key West and knew we would spend it at the Tuna. We walked in and sat at the bar. Joal Rush was playing again. Erin was bartending too so it was nice to see her again. Then it was time for Carl to come on. We had to be up for our flight home around 6:45am. It wasn’t that early but early enough where we wanted to be back in our room by 10:30. Soon it was time to call it a night and say goodbye. Last time we were in Key West I knew we were returning in a couple of months so I was fine, but that night I realized we wouldn’t be back for a while and I did get upset. It is just seems each and every time we visit, it gets harder and harder to leave. 
We made it back and turned in for our long travel day ahead.
We had an hour or so layover so I wasn’t so concerned. I had the Silver Airways boarding passes and wasn’t sure if I needed to have them reissued at the United Gate. We walked over and I noticed a few people waiting in line. As I walked closer I saw that our 11:30 flight was delayed until 1:30. My heart sank, all you want to do is get home when it’s time to leave. Apparently there were heavy rain storms back up in the northeast that caused a lot of delays. Our plane was actually there in Tampa, but the time to land the plane in Newark had to be pushed back. So they called it air traffic control delay. People were not happy. Many of them had connections to international flights out of Newark. I didn’t need new boarding passes so we wound up finding a place to have lunch.
susannj 