Key West via Bus

Weather: Warm and sunny; temp range Low 70’s to mid 80’s; light wind

Comment: During his visit with us, Jeffrey wanted to see Key West. Today is the day!

Rather than take his rental car, we assured him (and Ed) that to have the full cruising experience,” we needed to take the bus ($1.00/senior citizen, $2.00 regular). We did and after an hour and twenty minutes, we were dropped off in the Searstown Plaza located on the eastern outskirt of Key West. We only had to walk around the corner to get the bus to downtown ($0.50 senior, $1.00 regular). Amazingly, before arriving at our destination, the bus driver stopped the bus at the transportation center, picked up his belongings and walked off the bus. A rider explained that it was his break time! Our ride would continue in fifteen minutes.

When we arrived at our destination, we made our way to the historic boardwalk that follows the harbor. Our first stop was at the Half Shell Raw Bar for steamers, oysters,fish hooks (fried onions and jalapeño peppers) an liquid refreshment. Following our snack, we continued down the boardwalk. Along the way, we checked out to fleet of Farr 40’s and sailboats that are in town to participate in Key West Race Week, which begins on Monday.

We left the boardwalk to make our way to Sloppy Joes for additional liquid refreshment and Macho Nachos complete with Sloppy Joe’s famous Sloppy Joe’s – a most tasty treat! It was only a short walk to the next watering hole, “Captain Tony’s” the Original “Sloppy Joe’s.” The Captain was made famous in a song by the Conch Republic’s #1 son, Jimmy Buffett (The Last Mango in Paris). Early in his career, JB played at Captain Tony’s for $10 and all the beer he could drink. The rest is history!

We then made our way to the Bull Tavern for buy one get one free Margaritas. We hung out in this establishment for over an hour, all the while being entertained by “Yankee Jack,” quick witted keyboard player/singer with a ribald repertoire. Ed’s favorite was “Manatee Woman.” (NOTE: Yankee Jack sometimes performs at various locations in NJ during the summer).

Our “tourist establishment” tour concluded with Cheeseburgers in Paradise at Margaritaville after which, it was time to make our way to Mallory Square for the “Sunset Celebration.” When we arrived, there was only a tiny area available for sunset viewing. ESPN was setting up for their production of Friday Night Boxing causing most of Mallory Square to be off limits to sunset viewers and performers alike.

About twenty minutes before sunset, the “Majesty of the Seas” cruise ship left dock. Between it and a large motor yacht, our view of the sun was effectively blocked. They cleared the area in time for us to see the sun as it reached the horizon, but our view was then obliterated by clouds. We saw no green flash on this day.

It was time to head for the nearest bus stop to begin our two bus journey back to Marathon. While at the bus stop, we were joined by a couple who recently completed a cruise. They spoke highly of the experience and were delighted with the price ($750 per couple, two couples per room). They were finishing their trip back to Ontario by way of their 1985 VW camper bus.

We boarded the bus, and overheard an interesting conversation between a homeless guy who proclaimed that he was going to Marathon to check himself into a hospital to be treated for his chemical dependence. The lady he was talking to was going to an art show. If she liked the artist’s work, she would agree to model for him. We arrived at the outskirts of Key West to wait for the Keys Shuttle which would bring us back to Marathon. Waiting at the stop was a guy with an Ocean City (Md.) tee-shirt. Ed had on his Aggies (Texas A&M) shirt which attracted the OC guy. Seems he was from the University of Texas (Longhorns) the archrivals of Texas A&M. Ed through out some barbs, the guy replied in kind, Jeff joined in defense of the Aggies (he is one). Eventually, the topic tuned to football and the guy mounted an attack against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Meanwhile, chemical man was regaling Marje with his tales of woe. Before becoming homeless, he was a rock star, worked in Hollywood on major motion pictures and hit television shows. Among his credits, he was the “film boy” (the guy who said, “Cheers was filmed before a live studio audience.”) for “Cheers.” As his story unfolded, we learned that the guy was rear ended in a car accident, developed a dependency on the pain medication, lost his Hollywood contracts and home. Somehow, he ended up in Key West.

We disembarked the bus across from the Overseas Bar, so we went into whet our whistles before the long dinghy ride back to the boat.

After a full day, we slept well!