One of my favorite destinations on our itinerary was Key West. My cast was always given some time off to enjoy the fruits of the island, and by fruits I mean key lime in the form of pie. I am not a huge fan of key lime pie, but I obviously ate it because hello it is Key West.
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| If you do not know what to do in Key West the sidewalks will give you an itinerary. |
My friends Stephen, Emy, Rachel, and I got a table at Blue Heaven for brunch and key lime pie with chickens. This restaurant/bar/gallery is located in a sandy courtyard off of Key West's main drag, Duval Street. If you are headed here, be prepared for a thirty to sixty minute wait for a table. This is fine because there is a gift shop with really festive art and signed copies of The New Key West Bucket List which you should buy and plan your day as you wait for your breakfast. Once you sit down to eat, chickens, chicks, and roosters walk around your feet. These creatures are all over the island. They are like the squirrels and pigeons of the Keys. A canopy of sails shielded us from morning sun as we ate breakfast potatoes and banana bread and sipped water poured from a Skyy Wodka bottle. We each ordered an enormous slice of key lime pie and then we ate it all.
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| "Showers $1, To Watch $2" |
For the days we were looking to eat without waiting for a table we went to Two Friends. Key West is low-key very gay which is why I believe in my heart that the guys in the Two Friends logo are more than just friends. Anyway this place is good.
Many of the cast members and guests went to the Starbucks in the middle of Duval Street. There was plenty of seating and really great WiFi there, but I felt like I was at work. This is why I snuck away to the cool blue atmosphere of Keys Coffee Co. I had some bangin' avocado toast here and an enormous cup of coffee.
There were reminders of home throughout my experiences in Key west. One day I took and posted the above photo on Instagram, and one of my classmates from high school messaged me and told me he was in Key West as well! We caught up and walked the island, eventually landing at
Date & Thyme for smoothies. I love a reunion. We also came upon this mural behind a house somewhere.
When my parents sailed we spent the day together in Key West.
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| My parents and my boss |
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| Not Key West |
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| Also not Key West but I wanted you to see this cool drink which comes with a bracelet on the bottom of the glass. |
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| My parents' visit to Key West was bookended by key lime pie. Blue Heaven for regular key lime pie and Gator Joe's for chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick. |
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| My dad used a printing press similar to this one from the 1800s |
My parents went to the Hemingway House for a tour and I would have joined them but it is filled with cats and I am deathly allergic to cats. So I wandered into a shirt store around the corner called Seaplanes, mainly drawn in by the marketing ("shirts for everyone") but also because I needed to kill a half hour by myself. I took a look around and spoke with the shopkeeper. He told me that the shirts are made from fabric remnants in textile factories. Only a certain number of each shirt are made, and that number is embroidered on each shirt. Then I learned that she shirts are made in Callowhill in Philadelphia! I let him know that Philly is the home. And then I bought this shirt.
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| Deck 9 Aft in the Bermuda Triangle somewhere |
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| View of my house from the lighthouse |
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| The ocean in Key West is the same color as key lime pie. |
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| The Kapok Tree |
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| Spongeman (not the original) |
My parents' Key West visit fell on Ash Wednesday, and St. Paul's was distributing Ashes "To-Go" so we did that.
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| This is a neat sign on someone's private property. |
My parents' visit presented me with the opportunity to enjoy some of the activities on the ship I normally would not be able to do. I spent a few nights in our club Fathoms watching our club host #TonyfromSpain play games with the guests. My parents love Tony from Spain. We enjoyed the trivia and Match Your Mate. MYM featured three couples, one married forty-three years, one married eighteen years, and one married for one day. One half of each couple was asked a question and the other half (after visiting the Irish pub) had go guess their spouse's answer. Another night included a fireworks viewing and fancy Italian dinner at Palo. This is the most gourmet place I have ever attended. On our Marvel Sea Day we watched my friend Bobby host a baby race in the atrium. My parents met a number of super heroes and princesses; saw me serve tea, defeat Dormammu, flail with a shoe, and play with puppets; and got a much deserved vacation.
We ended our time on board with a backstage tour of the theatre. They were able to ride one of our lifts on the stage and see the trap room (and all of my puppets up close. My mom loves puppets.) Even I learned some things about our ship and sailing culture which I didn't know before! For example, an anchor tattoo means a sailor has crossed the sea, there are speakers hidden behind in the red fabric all along the walls of our theatre, the patterns on the "Circle of Life" costumes represent different tribes across Africa, and there are Swarovski crystals on the "So This Is Love" ball gowns. I am so happy they were able to share the magic with me.
