Day XX (That's Twenty, Right?)

Friday morning we roused ourselves out of bed at about 9am, checked out of the motel and went back to The Falls mall.

Mom and I are rabid shoppers, and we cruised our way through several shops in the hour we had before we needed to hit the road back to Key West.

It was a beautiful day for the drive, and we had started our day with a very small breakfast at the motel (Mom had an orange, Jenny had a banana and I had a danish). By the time we reached Tavernier, we were hungry and needed to use a restroom.

We took a chance and pulled into the parking lot at Chad's Deli & Bakery. We were in a bit of a rush as Jenny had to be at work by 3pm, so we ordered sandwiches for Mom and I and a quesadilla for Jenny, used the restroom and hit the road.

Chad is the owner and proprieter and was working the register during our visit. He is a very jolly and friendly man, and assured us that once we tasted the food we would be back for SURE. As we opened our food once we were back in the car and began to eat it, we were quite impressed. All the bread is baked fresh at Chad's and is very tasty.

We arrived back in Key West with about 8 minutes to get Jenny to work, and she made it just a few minutes late.

Mom and I took naps until Scott got home from work and then Mom, Scott, Travis and I headed downtown to a little sightseeing and ultimately have dinner.

We started out parking near one end of the marina and walked along the waterfront to Greene Street, where we stopped at Kermit's Key West Key Lime Pie Shoppe.

When people come to visit we like to encourage them to compare the two main Key Lime Pie peddlers - Kermit's and the Blond Giraffe.

Kermit's has a beautiful Koi pond behind the building, with several small table and chair sets all around the pond and garden area. We purchased a piece of pie and a piece of chocolate dipped pie-on-a-stick. The four of us shared both pieces and determined (as usual) that the chocolate dipped is the preferred method of Key Lime Pie Goodness.


After finishing up our pie, we continued along the waterfront to Front Street and walked all the way up to Mallory Square to catch a little bit of the Sunset Celebration (held nightly).

As we walked into the area where all the performers are, we were greeted by the beautiful tones of a wood flute player playing hymns as the sun was setting. I enjoyed this very much, especially because the song he was playing as we arrived was "How Great Thou Art", probably my favorite hymn.

Clouds were covering most of the sunset, so we decided to progress on to our dinner destination, The Cafe. Once inside we sat in a new dining room addition that was just opened in March. The food was fantastic (as always) and it felt good to walk back to the car and work off a few of the calories we so enjoyed consuming.

One Week of Cousintude.

Carrie left this afternoon.

We crammed a lot of fun and excitement into one week...starting with the arrival (read the previous post).

Friday night after my shift was over I got cleaned up and we drove down to walk the Marina. We ended at Damn Good Food To Go and I had a deli sandwich while Carrie enjoyed a Boca Burger. Our hunger satiated, we walked up to Duval and surveyed the scene for a few blocks, long enough to buy souvenirs at Hard Rock Cafe and admire the "wildlife" (tropical birds and lizards that you can pay to have your picture taken with) on our way back to the car.

Saturday I had to work from 8am to 4pm, so Scott took Carrie to the Waterfront Market for sandwiches. After I was done at the pet store, Carrie and I went to Salsa Loca for dinner and then to the Blonde Giraffe for Key Lime Pie (dipped in chocolate and on a stick).

Sunday morning we all slept in a little and then Carrie and I went to IHOP for breakfast. We took a short drive around the island and then found a parking spot a few streets over from the Green Parrot, where Scott's band was scheduled to play at 3pm. Right as I was parallel parking the BMW, a torrential downpour started and we had no choice but to brave it. Carrie found shelter under an overhang while I plugged the meter, and then we ran the two blocks to arrive just in time for the first song.

Butcher Hollow featuring Tyvek Velvette rocked the house, and a great time was had by all. Carrie and I walked Duval and shopped a little while Scott and the band packed up, and then we met up at Kelly's for some beverages. Our stay at Kelly's wasn't too long, as we decided to make homemade pizza for dinner.

Monday I worked a split shift - 8am to 11am and then 4pm to 8pm. Carrie and I managed to squeeze in a little pool time in between and then after the later shift the three of us went to Virgilio's for dinner and drinks, both of which were fantastic.

Tuesday we hit the pool again for a little while and then enjoyed lunch at Goldman's Bagels before I went to work. We enjoyed a quick meal of appetizers at Outback with Scott and Justin and then retired back to the house.

Wednesday morning we spent more time poolside before I had to go to work at 2pm, and then headed out to the Sunset Lounge to sing Karaoke.

Thursday I had the day off, so we set out for a drive up the Keys at about 10:30am. We stopped for coffee at Baby's Coffee before setting up on the beach at Bahia Honda. Turquoise water the temperature of bathwater, overlooked by blue skies. We waded for about an hour and a half to build up an appetite and then shared a Gardenburger at Rob's Island Grill on Big Pine.

On the drive back to Key West we stopped at Boondocks to play a round of mini-golf. Fortunately there are misting poles throughout the course, or we would have broiled to death.

Once back in Key West, we napped and then went to El Siboney for a fabulous dinner of Cuban rice, beans and plantains, followed by a piece of Key Lime Pie from Kermit's.

This morning we slept in and then joined Scott for lunch at The Cafe. I dropped Carrie off at the airport just before 4pm where she managed to get on a 4:55pm flight to Miami since her 4:17pm flight to Tampa had been delayed to around 5:30pm.