Key Weird

Rich and Edie are visiting from Hatteras Island, NC.  It's good catching up with friends.  Rich is one of Cap'n's dive buddies.  In fact, you saw pics of them hunting lobster last night.  We gave the four lobsters to them for their dinner, as we can get them whenever we want.  Edie made lobster tacos with homemade guacamole.  I gotta say, the pics of their dinner last night looked fabulous.  I just wish I could acquire a taste for avocados! 

Today I was invited to join Fran and Edie for a day trip to Key West.  Cap'n has been up to his elbows with bilge issues and a leeching of fuel from somewhere.  Anytime he tears into Marquesa, there isn't room for Willis or me to hang around, so off I went. 

I think this was my third or fourth trip to Key West for the season.  Drunken debauchery isn't usually my scene.  While my husband calls Key West, "Key Weird", I call it "Sodom and Gomorrah."  I was concerned for the "Ay-mish" that drove down there earlier in the week; I tried to steer them away from Duvall Street.  There's a lot of souvenir shops I won't even go in.  The Tshirts are so inappropriate, I even cringe for the families I see walking Duvall with their children. Suffice it to say, Duvall Street is no place for families. It's a lot like New Orleans during Mardi Gras.  When the cruise shippers come in to roost and party their socks off on the Pub Crawl....well, its too much humanity for me.  Enough of my rant....

 

Frannie scored on a FREE parking spot and we were off
to do a little shopping.  We passed by the Better than Sex
dessert restaurant that is only open in the evening
for parties of four or less- it's an "intimate" setting.
You can order tasty treats such as Fork-You Chocolate
Fondue, Better than Sex exotic bread pudding, The
Missionary Crisp, Jungle Fever, Peanut Butter
Perversion, Tongue Bath Truffle...you get the idea.

We no sooner turned on Duvall, and Frannie found the
Funky Chicken Store for Kenny.  She bought him
a new rooster tank top, and an awesome bumper
sticker for their conch car.  I even got a Tshirt on
clearance, that can only be worn for 'special' occasions. 

At the checkout of the Funky Chicken Store was an explanation
of those pesky chickens and roosters all over town.
I STRONGLY DISLIKE roosters!



We went into a very cool store that makes their own fabrics.  I
loved the mural that was painted on the wall.  I also liked a cute
skirt that was made from an old pair of jeans, that had rows
of ruffled tropical fabrics attached to it.  It would be an easy project.

We stopped at La Concha Hotel so Edie could get a bird's eye view of Key West.



Walking down Duvall Street, because you just don't see
people taking a stroll and drinking a cocktail on stilts every day.

We all had the cheeseburgers at Fogarty's, my favorite place to go for lunch.  Frannie and I made the mistake of not splitting a burger, as they are HUGE (and fabulous!)  Donnie was the recipient of my leftovers.  Afterwards, we were on a quest for Dulce de Leche gelato, and I struck out- my favorite gelato place had a freezer broken so they had less than half of their inventory.  We stopped in several other ice cream shops, and I ended up with a Dulce de Leche soft serve custard instead.  It still hit the spot :)

We also stopped in a candy store a bit later.  I was looking for some sugar free treats for Paps.  I got a little side-tracked.  The next few photos are PG-13 rated, and worse.  Understand, it was the giant box of Hot Tamales and Good n' Plenty's that drew us in. Scroll on through if you have virgin eyes...

First were the Dingle Bearies....



Then there were the Jumbo Rainbow Cock Pops- the "jumbo"
candy dick on a stick, that's as much fun to suck, as it is to lick.
Wowzer...

 

How about some extra sour bubble gum Camel Balls? Ewwww

 

The Succulent Willie Lollipops, flesh
colored white chocolate, were. just. too. much.
I can only hope the Amish weren't shopping for any candy.

 

 

Our last stop was at Diver Supply.  I could have bought myself a new dive mask...I tried a few on, but couldn't justify the expense.  Edie got Richie a new lobster bag and some other goodies, and Fran got Ken a dive vest that he had been wanting.  Their husbands made out good today :)  As we were walking back the length of Duvall St., (to get to our fabulous FREE parking spot) the sky was inky black out on the ocean side, and the wind was picking up.  Within a block of getting to our car, the wind really started cranking and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees.  We no sooner got in the car with our packages and the sky opened up!  I mean it was blowing, thunder and lightening, and pouring buckets.  We made a stop at GFS for some supplies, and I took off my sandals and ran barefoot through the rain and flooded parking lot. 

 

It continued to rain, and blow, all night long.  The wind was out of the N/NW, which is the absolute worst for Marquesa.  Cap'n had to adjust our fenders in the rain several times as the wind was blowing us into the dock.  With the waves and tide change, at times the fenders were doing no good, so we wrapped the pilings with boat cushions to keep us from banging.  After the third attempt at changing fenders, she seemed steady enough to leave for a bit, so we went to warm up in the hot tub.  We got to and from the pool in between showers, and met a super nice couple from Indiana :)



Willis was trapped in the mangroves during the storm.  He
hates to be wet, but he hates being on a bucking bronco
even more.  Finally his belly got the best of him, and
he darted down below looking for a little supper.
He was one wet, upset, bedraggled pussy cat :/
G'nite, y'all!