Key West, a day to be framed in memory

In life there are so many days that just evaporate into vapor. But then there are those days, those few 24-hour periods you’d like to frame and put on the wall so you could easily remember them as you walk by.

Monday, January 24, 2011, was just one of those days for us. We (especially me) have been anticipating our trip to the Keys for several years. Part of that anticipation was the expectation that we would visit Key West during that stay. Monday was that day.
It did not disappoint.

Part of the fun was the two hour drive from Key Largo to Key West on the mostly two-lane highway 1 through the string of islands that make up the Keys. Elin frequently remarked that it appeared we were in another country, something detached from the normal by more than just water. I had that same feeling.

One thing about a two-lane road is that you can only go as fast as the slowest car. A little frustrating at times, but I kept reminding myself that we are currently on Island Time.

When we arrived in Key West, the place was bustling. Two cruise ships were in port and there were plenty of other tourists so parking was at a premium, but we located a pay lot and began our journey of Duval Street, etc.

The weather was good (it would later turn a little wet) when we arrived and the girls were a little hungry so we stopped at Upper Crust, a little pizza joint that has a franchise in Boston. Surprisingly, Elin and her friend Abby, haven’t been to the one in Boston, but wanted to go to the one in Key West.

Joan and I had salads, the girls had a salad and a slice of thin crust pizza. For the next three hours we soaked up the sun and Key West and both warmed us. Joan and Elin tried the Key Lime pie at the Key West Key Lime Co. and pronounced it delicious.

We did what no doubt all first time tourists in Key West do, had our pictures taken at Mile Marker 0 and then at the monument to the Southernmost point in the U.S. on the appropriately named South Street. And of course we stocked up on t-shirts and crappy souvenirs.

In between were plenty of shops, clothing stores and an outdoor bar called Mangoes, where Joan, Elin and Abby enjoyed tropical drinks and Margaritas. I enjoyed a non-alcoholic beer. Joan really wanted to sit at an outdoor bar in Key West. It was a reminder to her of similar stops in New Orleans and Lahaina, Maui. The bartender took a nice picture of us, which is posted here.
We watched some drunken party folks enjoying the day life at Willie T’s bar.

Life was good, but it got a whole lot better starting at 4:45 p.m.

That’s when we boarded RB’s Lady, a 51-foot yacht for our private sunset dinner cruise at the Sunset Marina on Stock Island.

Actually, it was not scheduled to be a private cruise for just us, but the weather had turned a little wet, not terribly rainy, but enough spit in the air to make you worry a little. Two other couples were aboard from Alberta, Canada at first but Chef Brian Kirkpatrick graciously offered all of us the option to cancel the cruise without penalty.

The four Canadians sipped a little of the champagne and then decided to try the cruise another day. I had been anticipating this dinner cruise for weeks and was concerned that with only four of us, the captain and chef might decide it was not worth the gas for us to go out. We all voted to stay and go and Chef Brian agreed to sail and cook for us.

Probably the worst part of the trip was over in about 10 minutes as we left the channel from the marina. The weather never cleared up, but the rain stopped, the temperatures were in the low 70s and while we didn’t have a true sunset we had a meal that none of us is likely to soon forget.

Chef Brian was a sous chef at a five-star Key West restaurant in his previous life and now he and his wife live on RB’s Lady and he cooks for up to 20 people on these nightly cruises.

The company name is Sunset Culinaire and if you are ever down in Key West it is worth the $85 per person for the trip and meal. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate a little more for you.

Two of our party had the fresh Mahi Mahi, I had the chicken dish which was unbelievably good and Elin had the flank steak stuffed with spinach and homemade sausage pate that she loved. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every dish that went back to the kitchen from appetizers to dessert were completely clean.

Did I mention that the champagne and beer and included in the price of the cruise and they flow non-stop, which probably helped smooth the waters and warm the air?

I spent a long time chatting with the boat captain and the girls took refuge from the wind in the chef’s living room downstairs and discussed restaurants and cooking on the way back.

We sailed on the west end of the harbor and watched as the two cruise ships set sail. A dolphin even paid us a visit. We also passed by the U.S. Navy Seals training facility in Key West.

We talked on the way home about how we would have missed a wonderful experience if we had wimped out on the dinner as our Canadian friends did. My feeling is always that you can’t have a real adventure, without some risk.

I know Chef Brian and his wife (at one point she said “I hope you’re still this happy when we return”) were concerned leaving the dock that we would be miserable, but we laughed and enjoyed the whole experience.

The framed picture of our day in Key West will be stored in a special part of my brain. All my life I have heard people talk about Key West and the Keys, it has been a special blessing for me to finally experience it. We are truly thankful for all our blessings this week.