In the evening we were joined by our final girlfriend and got ready for our first night on the town. We hit many of the regular bars on Duval St, which were all mainly the same but a lot of fun. Let’s see, there was Sloppy Joe’s, Irish Kevin’s, Ricks, and maybe a couple more…I lost track :) We met up with a bachelor party along the way where we came across our second notable character of the trip, Tarzan. He was tall, with blond shoulder length hair, broad shoulders, and we found out later had a hell of a body. Super friendly and funny, and totally took to his nick name after some initial feigned indignation.
When Frenchie and his friends met up with us at the same bar there was some definite chest beating and dick measuring going on so we had to hightail it out of there pronto. Ugh…Boys! Tarzan and his friends did end up catching up with us shortly after and invited us to join them at a sleazy strip club that I cannot recall the name of. Of course we said yes, who would pass up such an opportunity! After a lap dance or two in the back room for one of my ladies we were ready to move on and do some dancing of our own. Heading back to the hotel at 4am we knew it had been a successful evening.
The next few days held much of the same, laying in the sun all day and making our way down Duval St for some good times at night. There was a group of girls we met at the pool on day one that we continued meeting up with just about daily with an interesting story of their own. There were 4 of them and as we started learning more about each one we realized that they were nothing alike. They were different ages, grew up in different places, went to school in different places, and currently live all over the US. So I asked the next logical question…”Sooo how do you know each other?” They all basically met over a number of years on vacation. Now they pick a place to vacation together once or twice a year. What a concept! They seemed pretty taken with us too, even though they admittedly thought they would never have anything in common with NYC girls. I expect we may meet up with them again some day :)
Day 3 we decided to venture from the pool to frolic in the surf and sand. We found a nice beach a couple of miles from the hotel that had a slightly more local feel to it. We waded far out into crystal clear water where it was only 2.5 feet deep at best and just relaxed and chatted. Before we knew it we suddenly had company - dozens of little white fish were swarming us, curiously inching their way to our fingers where they just hung out, darting around and every once in a while taking a little nibble at our fingers. We even saw some fish as big as our hand swim closely by. Just one more thing that made the trip magical.
I also must comment on the food on this little island because it was de-vine! Key West has a lovely little French culture that must be indulged in. First we tried a crepe cafe recommended by a local boy we met on day one called Le Creperie Key West. If you venture off of Duval Street down Petronia St, you will find it only a few blocks away. Talk about deliriously delicious, it makes my mouth water just thinking about the meal we had here. Savory and Sweet crepes in just about any flavor you can imagine. Mine was spinach, mushroom, tomato and goat cheese, enjoyed with a mimosa made with freshly squeezed orange juice and a strawberry on top. I also had bites of the other girls selections and every one was to die for, so my deduction is that you really cannot go wrong here. My only advice would be to watch the add-ons. They do not tell you that side salads or whip cream will cost you, they just offer them up. These can make your reasonable meal quite costly if you are not careful. We also hit another french inspired place called Croissants de France, which is right on Duval St. This time I enjoyed a sweet crepe topped with granola, yogurt and berries. Another indulgent meal we decided to splurge on was a really nice seafood dinner at the Shor which is located in the HYATT hotel. We decided to forgo the appetizers so we could fit in dessert at the end. I ordered jerk seasoned snapper with plantain and garlic mash and herb risotto on the side. For dessert, even though we were filled to the brim, we shared a chocolate lava cake and of course, the key lime pie.