A Trolley tour and a dinner at the beach

For the first time this vacation we were able to sleep in a little. We woke up around 7am and after taking a shower enjoyed some time out on the balcony, enjoying the views. Around 9am we walked over to the Southernmost Beach Café for breakfast. It’s adjacent to the Southernmost at the Beach Hotel and when we got to the café we waited to be seated. Turned out that we actually waited at a side entrance and a server was at hand quickly to correct our mistake and direct us towards the hostess stand.

Once they had seen us we were quickly seated at a table right at the open side of the café with a beautiful view of the beach. We were handed the menu and asked if we cared to order any drinks right away and yes, we were ready. Tom ordered some coffee, while I stuck to tea and was happy to see that they had quite a few teas to choose from. And it didn’t take long for our breakfast to come out after we had placed our order. Tom had ordered the Crab and Shrimp Omelette, succulent claw meat and juicy Key West pink shrimp in their fluffy three egg omelette, with hollandaise sauce, house potatoes and buttered toast. I went for something I just cannot resist when I see it on the menu, Eggs Benedict. They offered several different varieties of Eggs Benedict and ordered the Key West Benedict, perfectly poached eggs atop English muffin and asparagus spears, topped with locally caught Key West pink shrimp and hollandaise. Both dishes came with a side of fresh fruit and were as yummy as they looked. Once we had finished our breakfast feast we walked over to the Sightseeing Tour stop across from the hotel. Joh and her husband Gary had booked a trolley sightseeing tour and since the tickets were good for two days, they had given them to us to use that day. Even though I knew they were good, I went to ask if we could use them and was told yes. So we waited for the next trolley to come around and pick up more tourists.

Once the trolley arrived we were kind of shocked how full it was, but some people got off at that stop, as it is the stop for the Southernmost point. We got on together with some other people and the trolley was FULL. We were lucky to catch a seat in the last row and enjoyed seeing some of the sights of Key West. The driver was hilariously funny while pointing out some of the houses and churches along the way. Once we had reached Mallory Square everyone was required to get off the trolley, as this is the start and end point of each tour. We decided to check out the sponge and shell shop and after that walked over to the little shopping area there.

We walked through the shops and found a store that had lots of things for cat lovers and we could not help ourselves and bought about 30 Dollars worth of cat toys for our little princess. When we were done shopping we went outside to get on the next trolley to finish our tour, but it was already full and we were told that another one should be there about 20 minutes later. What to do? What to do? Well, why not check out the area a little more. There was a cruise ship in port, the Magic and we were going to take a look at her. Nope, not the Disney Magic, but the Carnival Magic and seeing her in the harbour got us really excited for our upcoming cruise on the Disney DREAM.

We explored the area and watched people get off and on the cruise ship and in no time the 20 minutes were gone and we decided to wait for the next trolley after that and have a snack in the meantime. So we walked back into the shopping area and got a bottle of water and a Key Lime Pie on a stick. They are actually Key Lime Pies dipped into chocolate and then frozen with an ice-cream stick in it. I really love them and there are several different brands to have on the island. Now, while this one was nice, it was pretty sweet and lacked some of the tartness of the lime. We finished our water and then walked outside to walk around a little more before the next trolley came in.

When we arrived there a trolley was just rolling in and they were telling people to get on, as, as soon as they would be full they would pull out. We got on, found a seat towards the middle and within a matter of minutes we were pulling out. At every stop we went to, people were waiting and since our trolley was full and no one wanted to get off, the driver called in for more trolleys to be sent out. The tour rolls through most of Key West and there were long lines of people in front of every sight we went to. Part of the tour is a drive on one of the coastal roads and along Higg’s beach. The view was really beautiful and we enjoyed our tour a lot.

Once we got to the Southernmost at the Beach again, we got off, as we were hot, tired and hungry. Once we got back to our room we had a drink and a sandwich made with the groceries we had picked the day before, then sat outside on the balcony for a while enjoying the sun. When we tried to go online later in the afternoon we noticed that the mouse had died and even changing the battery didn’t work. So, since working with the touchpad is a real pain on the netbook we got into the car and needed to get a new one. So we opened the safe to get out our drivers licences and discovered that the sink above it, which we had used to quickly cool down some drinks and to keep the wine cold had formed some condensation which had dripped onto the safe.

Well, that safe was not waterproof as everything inside was soaking wet! So we hanged our money up to dry, along with some of the paper cards we had and my lovely Vera Bradley purse. Now, after everything was saved and hung up to dry again we were ready to head out and look for that computer mouse. And after visiting a shop or two we decided on getting one that was slightly larger than the one we had had. Shopping done we went back to our hotel and freshened up, sat out on the balcony for a while and then finally headed over to the Southernmost Cafe on the Beach for dinner. This time we knew better than to wait at the side entrance and walked right over to the hostess.

Again, we were seated immediately and we both ordered some Diet Coke to start with. We looked throught the drinks menu and we both found something we wanted to try. Tom ordered the Key Lime Margarita, Margaritavilla Island Lime Tequila, Ke-Ke Beach Key Lime Liquor, Triple Sec and Sour, while I wanted to try the Key Lime Pie, Citrus Vodka, Ke-Ke Beach Key Lime Liquor, Splash of Lime and Pineapple Juices. They were both very nice and the perfect start to our dinner at the beach. When our drinks came out the server brought out a some nice crusty Baguette and took our order for dinner. We had received a voucher for a free appetizer which we wanted to use and were informed that we could indeed order that, and that our meals came with a House salad. We both love salad, so we were happy to hear that. I think Tom ordered his with Italian dressing, while I had ordered the balsamic one.

Once we had enjoyed our salads our free starter was delivered to the table. It is a tasting portion of their Coconut Shrimp, tempura breaded shrimp, rolled in coconut, then fried to a golden brown, served with a pineapple dipping sauce. The shrimp were really nice and plump and fried perfectly and the pineapple sauce was the perfect accompaniment. We enjoyed the food and the setting very much and before we knew it our main courses were ready and brought out. I had fallen for the special of the day, Pan seared Snapper with Bernaise Sauce over a crab and green asparagus risotto and chef’s vegetables. It was delicious! Tom had ordered the Jumbo Sea Scallops, tender pan seared diver scallops, placed atop a bed of wilted spinach, finished with a roasted tomato cream sauce,  accompanied by jasmine rice and chef’s vegetables, which was equally wonderful. We were both pretty stuffed after we had finished our main courses and were ready to ask for the bill when the server told us that our voucher not only entitled us to a starter, but a dessert as well. And since we were so full and had told her that there was no way we could eat that, she offered to pack up the dessert to go. No that was something else. We decided on the Key Lime Pie, which we received a few minutes later all boxed up and ready with forks and napkins in a small bag.

We paid our bill, left a nice tip and walked down to the Southernmost Point as it is just a few steps from the hotel. There were still lots of people lining up and we just took a photo from afar. We decided it was time to head back to our room and enjoy some more time on the balcony. Once we had arrived we put the cake in the fridge, picked up a drink and walked outside onto the balcony to sit in the evening sun and watch the sun go down. We sat outside for quite a while taking it all in and later settled on the bed watching TV. We tasted the Key Lime Pie, which was really good and at around 11pm we decided it was time to turn off the light and go to sleep.