A lovely view, a wedding and a guest in the tree

 We were up and getting ready at around 8.30. About half an hour later we left our hotel room and got into the car to drive to Sarabeth’s.The restaurant is in a converted church building and we love to go there for breakfast. We found a spot to park our car right across the restaurant, fed the meter and headed over to the restaurant, where we were greeted at the door. There was a nice table waiting for us inside and we sat down and started to study the menu. The waiter filled our glasses with ice-water and we finally got to order our drinks and food. Tom had some Coffee and I went with some Hot Tea. We got our drinks and a little while later our breakfast was served. Tom had ordered the Goldie Lox, silky smoked salmon scrambled with eggs and cream cheese.

It tasted as delicious as it looked. I had ordered something I had been longing for, for a long time, the Green And White, scrambled eggs with scallions and cream cheese.And I did remember correctly, they were to die for. Both dishes came with buttered toast and some yummy jam. Tom had the Orange-Apricot one while I got to taste the Strawberry-Rhubarb one. Both were really wonderful and made for a great sweet finale. Once we had paid our bill we headed back to the car and decided to head to Mallory Square. We finally found the entrance to the parking lot, paid for parking and made our way down to Duval Street. What we wanted to check out were the Crazy Shirt shops as we had seen online that Crazy Shirt carries some really cute Disney Tees.

We quickly made it to the first store. And were disappointed to find out that they don’t carry them in Key West. So after checking out all their designs we headed on to the next store, which was supposed to be just down Duval Street. We stopped at many shops looking at what they were selling, then even found one shop which carried Vera Bradley stuff. They still had the same kind of purse which I had and which now still was soaking wet, so we decided to think about it and maybe pick one up on the way back. We finally found the second Crazy Shirt shop and again we didn’t find anything we liked that much that we were tempted buying. So we walked further down Duval Street.

While we were still exploring we noticed that there was a “Kermit’s” store and decided it was time for a break and a snack. Kermit’s carries everything Key Lime and we had not tried any of their products beforehand. So Tom got a Limeade, which was cold and tart and yummy, while I indulged in the best Key Lime Pie on a stick. It had a slightly thicker crust than the one I had had before and this time it was nice and tart with a real lime taste.

It sure was messy to eat, but since they have chairs and loads of napkins around I was able to manage pretty well. We had paid parking for three hours and by now almost two hours were gone, so we decided to head back to the car. We still stopped at some of the shops and yes, we did pick up that Vera Bradley purse on the way back. We were both tired when we got back to the car, so we drove back to our hotel, had a cold drink and some sandwiches and salad out of the fridge, before enjoying the loungers on our balcony. While we were out there we noticed an iguana on the palm tree right next to our balcony. It was fun watching him sitting on one of the leaves enjoying the sun as well. Then we noticed some commotion at the beach area right underneath our balcony. They put up ropes, asked people to move and removed the hammock. Something was up and we whatever it was we would have front row seats. But there was something else we wanted to do that afternoon. And we were about to set out to fulfil our goal. At around 3.30 we got ready to head out again. We wanted to try the viewing area on top of the Crowne Plaza Key West-La Concha hotel. Their rooftop is open to the public after 4pm and we wanted to check out the view from there. So we walked up Duval Street from the opposite direction than in the morning.

It was hot, real hot, so we walked very slowly. But Key West is not very large so after about 20 minutes we had reached our destination. We asked at the Concierge desk IF we were allowed to go up to the deck and where we needed to go and we were directed towards the front of the hotel to an elevator that went up to the rooftop. So we headed over there and within a few more minutes the elevator doors opened into a bar. We were both hot and tired and the bar server was friendly and tempted us with ice-cold drink, so we just could not say no to him. Tom opted for a beer and I was easily talked into a Strawberry Daiquiri.

He handed me a huge cup full of it and since he had made so much another half a cup as well. Drink in hand we headed outside into the blazing sun, but as hot as it was the views from up there were amazing. We found a table and some chairs and just sat there enjoying the view and our drinks for a while, then we walked from one side to the other to make the most of our visit. Suddenly we noticed some noise coming towards us and when we turned around we could see a plane flying very low over Key West, approaching its airport. And while Tom was quickly snapping some pics a guy came up to us pointing at the airplane and telling us that in all the days he had come up to the rooftop he had always had a camera but he had left it in his room that day.

We were stunned when we check our watches as we had stayed up on the rooftop for an hour and a half without us even noticing how much time had gone by. So we said goodbye to the beautiful view and headed to the elevator again. And soon enough we found ourselves back on the ground level and on our way back to the Southernmost on the Beach.

On the way there we passed the pier opposite the original part of the hotel and walked out and took some more pics, then we crossed the beach and used the back entrance to our hotel. The elevator in our building was down so we climbed up the two flights of stairs, and once back in the room grabbed another beverage before going outside on the balcony. Our first thought was for the iguana. Was it still there in the palm tree? Yes, it had changed position slightly but was still sitting there in the tree and suddenly we realized that we had been right with our thoughts about what the beach would be used for.

There was a wedding being performed right underneath our balcony. We and many other hotel guests out on the pier watched the bride and groom exchanging their vows and then watched them having their photos taken. It made for a fun and relaxing late afternoon on the balcony. Around 7pm we thought about having lunch and where to drive for it, but then decided to just stay close and head over to the Southernmost Beach Café again. So we got ready and walked over to the restaurant, which was quite full already. We both were handed a menu and ordered our Diet Cokes and once they arrived at the table we ordered our dinner. We had decided to share two starters and instead of a main course just to order a hot sandwich.

After we had placed our orders it did not take long until our starters arrived. Tom had ordered the Cafe Calamari, battered rings and tentacles tossed with mild peppers and flash fried, served with our house made Tzatziki sauce and marinara. Once we saw the size of the order we regretted having ordered two appetizers. It was huge. My appetizer was the Coconut Shrimp, Tempura breaded shrimp, rolled in coconut, then fried to a golden brown, served with a pineapple dipping sauce. We did our best to finish them both, but had not been successful when our main courses arrived. Tom had ordered the Fresh Catch Mahi-Mahi Sandwich, blackened local filet, served with Key Lime Aioli and french fries. It got two thumbs up! I had ordered the Tropical Grilled Chicken Sandwich, grilled chicken breast topped with pineapple slices, jack cheese and avocado mayo, served with french fries. I was pretty impressed with it. It was delicious and the pineapple worked really well with the chicken breast. We were both far too full to order dessert and after settling the bill we walked across the beach and over to our resort. We had one last task to tackle that evening, doing the packing. But before that we sat out on the balcony and watched the sunset. It was such a beautiful evening and we were both sad that we would have to leave, but there was something else that really pulled us back.

On the desk in the room we had found an offer that said that if we handed in an offer request for next summer we could get a 10% discount on our stay. We had our next summer’s vacation all planned out already and it did not include Key West, but that offer was really inviting. And the beautiful evening added to it too. And after we had talked it over a little we finally decided to go for it and hand in our request the next day. Once that was decided packing was an easy task and we lined up our suitcases towards the door. Luckily we had found a parking spot at the far end of the garage, which was right underneath our room, so we decided to haul everything down the steps the next morning.