Key West, FL
Travel Article 2001
In September 2001 we were trying to plan a very
needed vacation. My husband had assumed the position of General
Manager at a private island resort in April at the same time we moved
into a new house and very badly needed a relaxing trip.
 Both he and my
17-year-old son wanted blue water to swim and snorkel in. We had to
consider hurricane season and opted to stay on the mainland where
evacuation by car seemed the better option. We chose to stay at
Wyndham Beach Resort located near Rainbow Pier and Higgs Beach on the
Atlantic Oceanfront. Wyndham Casa Marina is the sister property located
right next door to which we had amenity privileges also. Both properties
were ocean front and gorgeous. The view from our balcony was
breathtaking. It is important to note that there are not very many
natural beaches to be found in the Keys. Wyndham offered a
well-maintained man-made beach with many activities available. The
resort was in an excellent location for walking, renting electric golf
carts or scooters. We were very close to Duval St which took
you right to the center
of Old Key West and also Flagler Ave, which led down to Smathers Beach,
a public beach that was very beautiful.
Key West is a town that is "Out There". The
locals chose this as their home and they are very proud of their free
spirit and hospitality. There are all sorts of people visiting
 here who came on
cruise ships, personal boats, etc. The atmosphere is also highly
affected by the current festival, which might be scheduled. We hit
Lesbian Week so the visitors we met may be different from the ones you
meet during the Chicken Festival (Key West has a lot of free- roaming
chickens) or the Hemingway Look-alike Contest. On our first day we did
our usual exploration of the area. We headed right down Duval St to
the Old Town. We walked around to see what was offered and what we
might like to do. We decided to have dinner at Hemmingway's. It was
quaint and casual and we felt a good start to our week. The
placemats, menus and pictures on the wall provided great Hemingway
history which we enjoyed during our dinner. We questioned
the waiters about lesser-known great places to go and got some great
advice.
 Key West is famous for its Sunset Celebrations at
Mallory Square. The next day we once again headed down Duval Street to Old Town. We
walked the Historic Seaport Harbor Walk along Conch Harbor and we
visited the Key West Aquarium that is well worth the admission. There
was a sculpture garden full of fun photo ops and unique stores. We
decided to eat at The Hog's Breath Saloon and had a great time. There
was live entertainment and lots of fun going on. We all left with
Hog's Breath souvenirs. That night we went to the Sunset Celebration
and had a blast. There are the usual street performers-one worked with
cats and was quite entertaining. We sipped a local favorite cocktail
at an outdoor hotel bar and learned a lot more about the area from the
bartender. Bartenders always have the best up-to-date information. We
opted to have dinner above the bar where the hotel pool was located.
We found great seats right on the edge of the roof and had a casual
dinner watching the festivities. It was some great people watching.
The celebration was gorgeous with all kinds of sailboats and vessels
cruising back and forth across the horizon. It was a fabulous way to
spend an evening.
 Each day we made good use of the pool and
amenities. The pool steward was exceptional with superb service and a
sense of humor to die for. He would bring us popsicles, frozen face
cloths, and water sprays as we basted in the hot Sept sun. He was a
memorable part of our time at the Wyndham Resort. The grounds are
plush and luxurious. They were absolutely lovely. Our plan for the
next day was to visit the historic sites around our area. The resort
is located in a lovely part of the island with many bed and breakfasts
in the area. In the morning we loved to walk along the side streets and
see the lovely Keys style homes with their huge storm shutters and
beautiful pastel colors. All had lush green gardens and looked
wonderfully inviting.
|
hour or so out of the sun. The fort also
offered some great photo ops. We wandered all over and then headed over
to a neat little rocky beach area. Next we headed back towards town
and stopped at a quaint white church that caught our attention. You could climb to the roof and overlook the whole of Old Town. That was a
lot of fun and a lot more photos. We ventured on toward Duval and
decided to hit the shops. We all got henna tattoos and had a great
time watching artists and an animal entertainer with a huge macaw and
yellow boa constrictor. Our son was mesmerized. We decided tonight was
the night for dinner at Sloppy Joes and we had another great time. On
the way home we followed the gulf side-streets and went past the
southern most tip of the US
On Monday the boys were going parasailing. The
resort set it up. I watched from the pool and they had a marvelous
time. We walked to a great Italian restaurant that evening and had a
simply relaxing, marvelous day. Our only wish unfulfilled was for the
boys to go snorkeling. We had spent the week researching businesses
offering fishing and snorkeling and were still trying to decide which
one to do. Before retiring that night we decided the next day was
reserved for snorkeling. On Tuesday morning we walked over to the
other Wyndham resort for their fabulous breakfast buffet. We had a
marvelous meal and headed back to our resort. Around 9:00 AM I turned
on the TV to get weather information and stared in shock at the Twin
Towers burning. Needless to say our entire day was glued to the news
and finding a way out of town. We decided to check on a rental car
knowing Miami would not open their airport. We got the last rental car
out of the Keys (it was a fun little convertible BMW) and then spent a
somber reflective night very close together. We watched dusk settle
over an astonishingly beautiful ocean and grieved for all the wrenching
losses. We drove to the Savannah airport the next day and tried to get
our car out of the now highly secured airport lot. We finally arrived
home and cherished all that we had. Although this was a very black
spot on our vacation, we had a fabulous time in Key West. They say you
will always remember where you were when you heard the news and we will
never forget it.
Back to Key West
