Key West, Part 1
After our rental car fiasco (see yesterday’s post) it took us over 5 hours to finally reach the island of Key West. And for the record, if anybody tells you that you shouldn’t fly into Key West because the drive along the Overseas Highway is so spectacular don’t believe them. It’s a boring ride with nothing to see but water, trailers, tacky shops and palm trees. There are better ways to spend 3-6 hours of your vacation.
That said, we passed over the final bridge onto Key West and drove through the eastern, newer, developed portion of the island that resembles the rest of Florida: ranch houses and strip malls. But once you get into the western half, the Old Town, you know you’ve finally arrived.
Our condo was in an area called Truman Annex, a waterfront complex that was once a navy yard It was just over two blocks to Duvall Street and from our front steps you could see the ocean to the west (but our windows faced north and south). It was a great little condo with two bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, and a back yard/deck with gas BBQ.
From what I’d heard, I was expecting Key West to be Florida’s version of Provincetown, MA. It may have been one day, but I think those days are over. The crowds were at least 80-90% straight (and drunk) and the gay bars were clustered in a one block area of Duvall Street. Then again, this is an actual city with a substantial year-round population where as Provincetown has a year round population of only 3,000 or so.
Each morning, we would find cute lizards on the back deck. And walking down the street every day you’d find chickens. Yep, chickens. There is a wild chicken population on the island (and there are fines if you hassle them). Every morning and every afternoon at dusk you could hear roosters. Quirky and fun…I like that.
We also couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was sunny and mid-70’s every single day. We rented bikes and road around the entire island (which is only 4 miles long by 2 miles wide), and we also explored numerous beaches: Smathers Beach, Higgs Beach, and the one we went to most often: Fort Zachary Taylor Park.
This island LOVES its alcohol, with some “Happy Hours” that lasted from 4PM until midnight (so much for the “hour” in happy hour). Randy’s favorite was the $2 Mojito at a place called Island Dogs. I think we went 3 or 4 times during the trip. This is definitely a party town (bars close at 4AM). I found it shocking to see people walking down the streets holding beers and even mixed drinks. In fact, at night, t-shirt shops will put tables with coolers in the front of the store and sell beer to passers-by. There are street front bars where you walk up, buy a cocktail, then keep moving (there’s no bar to sit at….it’s just a counter on the sidewalk).
I saw people drinking and driving (literally swigging the beer behind the wheel). I could have sworn they were teenagers, but Randy thought they could be legal. There are also a bar with go-go boys dancing on the counter with windows open to the street (so you can see men in thongs…or less…getting groped while having dollar bills placed in their jocks). We also stepped into an amateur strip contest (really sad) and the other guys saw a hot cock contest (patrons expose their penises to win money). I sat that activity out and went back to the condo.
There’s also a clothing optional bar (straight) and guesthouses with clothing optional pools and restaurants where you can eat overlooking the naked people.
Now, I don’t find myself prudish. Overall, I’m a “live and let live” kinda’ guy, but I have to admit that I found all of this a little over the top. Each thing on it’s own didn’t really bother me (minus the drinking and driving and/or excessive drinking to the point of stumbling that I frequently saw). I’m all for nudity. I’m all for go-go dancers. I’m all for later bar closings. I just don’t need to participate in some of those activities.
But (and this is probably going to sound bizarre to New Englanders who find Provincetown to be “out there”) I think I prefer Provincetown because it’s more reserved. Yeah, it’s got nudity. It’s got bars showing porn. It’s got drag queens up and down the streets promoting their shows (more than Key West, actually). It’s got more bars. But the crowds aren’t as rowdy (or loud) and it’s more compact. You can actually get into the restaurants for a quiet meal (quiet is very hard to find on Duvall Street). While Provincetown has a reserved chaos, Key West IS chaos.
Toward the end of the trip we were invited to a small cocktail party hosted by friends of Pete’s family in a residential area. It was the most gorgeous house (high ceilings, guest house in back, pool) and the hosts were lovely. But it was here where I first felt a real appreciation for Key West. It was quiet, it was relaxed, and we got to meet 12 or so locals (or at least people who winter there). It was then that I sensed an actual community…away from Duvall Street and the loud bars and drunk 20-somethings. And I think that’s the real Key West.
We were fortunate that our condo was close enough to Duvall Street that we could access it easily, but it was far enough away that we didn’t have to listen to it until 4AM. And the old town residential areas have such gorgeous old homes with covered porches and lush landscaping. Even the newer developments in the Truman Annex were built perfectly to blend in.
All in all, Key West was a blast. I must admit that after the first few days I didn’t think I’d want to return (once was enough, I thought). But after exploring more and more areas away from Duvall Street, I realized that you can make the trip as peaceful and relaxed as you want. I guess there’s a Key West for everybody…the partier, the retiree, the gay, the straight. And in one trip you can enjoy each facet as long as you don’t stay on Duvall Street the whole time.
But then there was New Year’s Eve…
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There is definitely a Key West for everyone. Many of Key West’s best and most popular restaurants are located in quiet residential neighborhoods, and while the larger gay bars are located in the 700 block, there are several others that you may not have noticed. The Crystal Room at La Te Da and Keys Piano Bar are located in the 1200 block. La Te Da has great shows, and The Keys flies in some of NYC’s best cabaret performers every week. Island House has a popular bar and cafe, and that is on Fleming Street. It can definitely be rowdy in the 200 block area of Duval. Rick’s is popular with younger gay guys who like hip hop. They also have a beautiful martini bar upstairs.
Key West has more “gay bars” today than it has ever had, though the gay community is very assimilated here. We have two open gay city commissioners, an openly gay county commissioner, openly gay police chief, and the chairmen of our Utility Board and Mosquito Control Board are also both openly gay. Key West also has several professional theaters, two professional dance companies, a professional Symphony Orchestra, professional Pops Orchestra, Literary Seminar and about fifty galleries.
Lower Duval Street is Key West’s Times Square. It can be fun, but it is a very small part of what Key West is like for both residents AND tourists. We have about 500,000 gay visitors a year, and we’ve noticed that our gay market has actually been increasing significantly in the past year, especially since cruise ships arrivals have decrease by almost 40%.
Thanks for the comment. Wow – cruise ship arrivals decreaed by 40%? We saw cruise ships every day…I can’t imagine there once were more!
I did want to go to the Keys Piano Bar (but nobody else did). We popped by La Te Da (the day after the owner died, as a matter of fact).