Key West

3/25/2008

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I took a little jaunt down to Key West.  We were desperate for some warmth.

The town itself is pleasantly surprising.  The old part is a tight urban village with lush streetscapes and architecture that is at once traditional and funky: 

The second image (a classic southern manse rendered in Pepto pink) is the excellent B&B where we stayed: the Google friendly Key West Bed and Breakfast.  It is typical of the housing down in the southernmost city in the continental US:  multi-level porches, wide roof overhangs, plenty of filligree, shutters, and a pastel-dominated color scheme.  There are plenty of these grande dames, but the tiny shotguns are just as cheery:

There are, of course, anomalies, like the Santa Maria Resort, a contemporary rendering of Miami Deco:

Very cool.  And a nice contrasting use of grey spiky foliage.

On the landscape front, most homes share a common design theme:  a picket-fenced or walled front yard which is totally consumed by a lush tropical garden (very little lawn here), an entry gate directly in line with the front door, often a little notch in the fence to accommodate a single parking space, and a porch well-populated with lounging furniture.  Here's an example:

Vegetation really dominates.  When walking the street, the houses are visible, but only through a scrim of palms, shrubs, contorted branches, and tall flower spikes.  Those entry gates, however, which lead straight to the front door, make these little estates seem more welcoming.  There are a few clever and startling details to be found:

Interestingly, Key West is not the westernmost Florida key.  There are more than 800 keys scattered in a southwesterly line from Florida, and leapfrogging them on uncountable bridges on US 1 is a big part of the fun of getting to the end of the road.  Key West is actually an anglicization of Cayo Hueso, Spanish for key of bones.  West of Key West, the Key West National Wildlife Refuge ecompasses more than 200,000 acres of water and small islands that stretch out to Dry Tortugas National Park.  We took a ride with Danger Charters (it's so much fun to prowl the docks saying "I'm looking for Danger") out to the refuge in a 2-masted sailboat that could navigate the small channels between the shallow shiting sands.  It is a bizarre feeling to be miles from land with your pilot concerned about running aground if she doesn't hit the channel right. 

The excursion included a kayak trip around and through some mangrove islands.  These could barely be called islands, but they look like islands on the horizon.  Red mangrove trees grow in sands covered by 6 to 24" of sea water.  They prop themselves up on stilt roots and form nearly monocultural colonies.  They look like forests perched on the water.  These odd islands have no actual land.  We kayaked through small tunnels in the trees:

Notice: no land.  Trees growing right up out of the water.  Weird....

But I guess that's Key West for you.  It is perhaps the unlikeliest place to be able to drive to, the whole city is about 5' above sea level, the cheek-by-jowl houses all have metal roofs to prevent catastrophic fires (as if the wood siding wouldn't ignite), the revelers on Duval Street are an unexpected mix of spring breakers and empty nesters (my wife's words), and everyone gathers every evening to applaud the sunset.  Weird... (but kind of nice).

PS: Key West (and the keys in general) is not known for its beaches, but the one at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park (walking distance from Duval Street, the main drag) is very nice: white sand, trees for shade, and a beter-than-average snack bar.

Where to eat: El Meson de Pepe (Cuban food served outdoors near Mallory Square), Turtle Kraals (fresh straightforward seafood right on the historic dockside), Bo's Fish Wagon (literally a shack on the corner of William and Caroline, good for conch fritters, other fried seafoods, and fish sandwiches).