Air or Road Trip to Key West?

[Larry]

The wife and I are talking about heading down to KW. There's an airport right near us but Im afraid of flying. But a road trip could be a killer bore.


Car: Pro: You control the vehicle.
Get to stop at artist colonies - see giant lobster.
Enjoy diner food.
Con: Gas $
9-10 hr drive.
Wife insists Rob Zombie is better than The Monkees.

Plane: Co: Crash or if survive crash eaten by sharks.
Pro: If plane crashes and you live you may get listed as dead for a white.
Can use head to ram the door open, pour booze in the wounds.
Real Papa Dobles and Hurricane Punches have haling powers.

What to do? What to do?

[Peter Krynicki]

Personally I always fly. I leave Newark NJ at about 8:00 a.m., hit Florida at about 11:00, 1 hour layover, and into Key West by about 2:00. But if it helps, download this...

buccaneerpublishing.com/AdventureGuide.htm

Pjk

[Bart]

I have done both.... driving if you have the time is better.... stop in Little Havana or South Beach for late breakfast or lunch and then take you time through the keys... not much choice here due to speed limits. Stop now and then and enjoy the ride.... same thing on the return..

[JDP]

Do both. The flight is very easy. The ride is fun, once, but it is beautiful. The draw back is the two lane road. But once you are in Key West, sipping a Papa Doble at Sloppy Joe's or Captain Tony's, it won't matter how you got there

[Steve]

Lar, as many times as you've taken this trip already, you know that driving is the only real way to do this. Stopping along the way makes the journey as interesting as the destination. Besides, we both live in Florida, so the distance isn't too bad.

It just occurred to me that I haven't been to *any* of the Keys in nearly thirty years...*choke*

[Larry]

Steve,

Youre right but the drive from here to Miami is so dull. Theres nothing but road and crushed armadillos.

[Bart]

The keys is not fraught with armadillos- in fact I cannot ever remember seeing one there. There are these giant lizards that are not native and the tiny key deer. You need to look at what is available along the way- pick up some guides on the internet or http://www.keywestattractions.org/
in Key Largo where the highway splits the lanes there is the Ballyhoo Resturant- awesome food and a must stop for me on that trip. Go to http://fla-keys.com/ and look at the goodies there.
There is the glass bottomed boat that you can take out to the second largest reef system in the world. Along the way there are a couple of little villages of artists and tacky junk that does not include too many t-shirts and the Salt Water Angler store in Islamorada is cool and the resturant behind it is great. You can spend an entire day working your way to Key West from Miami and really enjoy yourself. Don't miss late nights at the Schooner Bar in Key West in addition to the Pete and Wayne Show at Sloppy Joes Bar... yep its a tourist trap, but a nice one- google it and you can watch their webcam live. If you are there May 15-18 the 23rd annual Clearwater to Key West Regatta is in town at the Galleon Marina and you might just bump into me before I get aboard my 35 foot sloop and head back up the coast.

[Bart]

Is the photo on this site of Joe Russel and Hem in Havana on a sailing boat a shot of them aboard the Western Union sloop that is docked in Key West? That would be interesting. It does look like Moro castle in the fuzzy background. Maybe you could check out the Western Union while you are at the Schooner Bar in Key West as well....

[Peter Krynicki]

The Western Union was pretty much abandoned and sat tied up at the dock in front of the Schooner Wharf Bar (SWB) for almost a year. But it was bought by someone and sent to Florida for refitting. This was just in the Key West Citizen...

Western Union homeward bound

Historic schooner still requires much work
BY MANDY BOLEN Citizen Staff

Key West's flagship is homeward bound after spending the past four months in a Miami boatyard undergoing repairs that would enable the historic schooner to pass Coast Guard inspections.
The 130-foot Western Union is expected back in its berth at the foot of William Street by Saturday morning.

"Under the Coast Guard's guidelines, they've been inspecting the work and the boat and found it to be very solid," said Theo Glorie, who spearheaded the local fundraising effort to keep the schooner in Key West. "We're so glad to be able to tell everyone we have a solid flagship in Key West, but we're still looking at a big, big restoration project."

The ship, which once laid underground telegraph cables, previously was bought by Historic Tours of America for sunset trips, day sails and private charters. But the aging ship needed extensive restoration, prompting the company to put the schooner up for sale.

Glorie and others persuaded the company to work with them in forming the nonprofit Schooner Western Union Preservation Society to save and restore the majestic wooden ship — the last tall ship built in Key West in 1939.

The society has raised about $100,000 to date, but Guy DeBoer, a preservation society board member, estimates it needs an additional $500,000 for repair costs. The society has applied for grants from the Florida Division of Historic Resources and the Monroe County Tourist Development Council. The schooner needs a new deck and some other work, which will be done at its William Street berth or at various marinas on Stock Island, Glorie said.

Some of the money for the restoration will come from the ship itself when it once again can earn its keep by carrying passengers. "We're hoping it will be about 30 days until she can take passengers," DeBoer said on Monday.

Some final Coast Guard inspections and safety drills must be in place before the ship can take on passengers. The schooner will leave Miami Thursday morning with a crew of 11, plus the captain. Organizers expect it to arrive in the Key West Harbor either Friday night or Saturday morning.
"We're trying to get all the sailboats out there to welcome her back," Glorie said. DeBoer said he hopes to have the Key West High School Band announce the return of one of the island's maritime matriarchs.

Pjk

[Larry]

I meant that the drive/road from where I live - N Fl - is littered with armadillos. Iguannas are now popping up everywhere in Fort Lauderdale and Miami. My parents have several near their house. There are also other large lizards that we havent been able to identify yet. These are usual wrapped around telephone poles. The artist village in Islamorada is a nice place. When we travel with family we often stop to have a pic taken with the giant lobster outfront.

I would suggest Turtle Kraals in KW. The food is good and the atmosphere is nice. Besides, a small part of the Hemingway mini series with Keach was filmed there.

[Peter Krynicki]

Turtle Kraals has a breakfast special every day in addition to a normal menu of bacon & eggs and pancakes. I'd tell you what it is on Monday but I can't spell huevoes rancheros. Tuesday it;s hash.

Pjk

[Hijo]

On a sunny day there is little more grattifying than putting the bow of your car on the "7-Mile-Bridge" and traveling over the tourquoise blue Carribean-like waters - except perhaps being in a charter boat in the same waters

I say drive. Air travel is such a hassle anyway these days, even or especially for short jaunts. Motor. Enjoy the journey - the tourist trap shops along the road, the keys like Deer and Brown, the famous ones like Largo. Even if you're crunching armadillos or worse down the road, you'll have more time to point out that "I"m a believer," while a Neil Diamond original, still sounded best when Mickey Roarke sang it...

And how can wife argue against "Last Train To Clarksville"?

One needs time traveling to resolve such deep-seated marital arguments.

Best,
hijo

[Bart]

the road trip, if you take your time can be fun in the keys... the bogart boat, the bars, the resturants, and the t-shirt shops... you don't have to spend a lot of money- but you do have the right to have a good time.