Day 12: Key West

Prepared Saturday evening, November 9th

Like Cozumel, we have a history with Key West that pre-dates our cruising passion. In fact, our first visit to Key West was over Christmas 1985. We were both in graduate school, on our holiday break, the temperature in Michigan was topping out at 0 degrees (that's F, not C) and we hadn't seen the sun in a month. We threw a few things into the back of our van and started driving SOUTH. Our goal was to find weather warm enough for shorts. Unfortunately, the entire eastern part of the US was suffering frigid temps, and we ran out of road in Key West before we found warmth. Still, we fell in love with the Keys during that first visit. It was our first snorkel trip, my first time parasailing, our first ever sunset cruise (little did we know)...we were hooked.

In the years after that, we actually lived in South Florida for awhile, and Key West was just a long weekend trip for us. But, our visits have become few and far between since then, and we had not been to Key West since March 2001. When this Nieuw Amsterdam cruise popped up on our radar just a few weeks ago, Key West was definitely part of its appeal.

We were already in the Lido buffet having breakfast as the Nieuw Amsterdam docked in Key West. With two other cruise ships in port today (the Oceania Regatta and the Disney Magic), we were stuck just behind them as the crow flies, but a world apart in terms of reaching Old Town Key West. We were docked at the Navy/Coast Guard Dock Yard, requiring an 8-10 minute shuttle ride to get to the heart of Key West.

We had to go through US Immigration today on the ship before we could disembark, and that took an hour or so for our turn, and when we returned to our cabin to put our passports back in the safe, we were nearly knocked over by a noise coming from our side of the ship. And that's when we found out that the World Championship Power Boat Races (the Indy 500 of power boats) was being held in Key West this week culminating with the final race tomorrow. Our balcony provided the best front row seat imaginable to today's practices, not to mention all the other Key West boat and plane activity on a beautiful Saturday morning. We sat and watched the show until nearly 2pm, when we finally decided that, if we were going to go ashore, we needed to get on it. What we didn't know is that the Dock Yard was the wet and dry pits for the racing boats, and on our shuttle ride into Old Town, we were treated to an amazing array of haulers and motor homes and sports cars, many painted to match the racing boat. $$$$$. Last year's winner and this year's leader is Sheik Hassan from Qatar, if that gives you some idea of the world we were glimpsing today.

Once in Old Town, we were quickly disheartened by the crowds and the filth and the number of $5 T-shirt shops and bars and mostly the number of drunks walking the streets. Has it changed that much in 12 years, or are we the ones who've changed? Perhaps a little of both...by 4:30pm we were in a shuttle going back to the Nieuw Amsterdam. Next time we're here, we want to circumnavigate the island on jet skis, but we didn't get into town early enough today to do that.

Our shuttle ride back to the ship took us through the Truman Annex, a former military base that now houses quaint, but very pricey homes and town homes in traditional Key West architecture. We adore Key West architecture, and our house is proof of that. We love the pastel colors with bright white trim and white balconies and railings, and white picket fences and palms. We've tried to create a bit of that at home and it was wonderful to once again observe the source of our inspiration.

But, oh-so-nice to get back on the ship and get cleaned up. I couldn't wash my hands fast enough. For some reason, Key West just felt dirty today. We continued to watch all the boats from our balcony, and were rewarded with a most surprisingly pretty sunset after it initially looked like it had been lost to a cloud.

It was also wonderful to have cell phone service and Internet today. Wonderful, and perfect timing. The boys had a football playoff game today, and frequent texts kept me up to date...behind at the half, tied in the fourth quarter, and, finally, in the last minute, another TD to win it 20-14. I was able to FaceTime with the champs (ain't technology great?), and I felt well, not like I was there, exactly, but a satisfactory substitute for personal spectatorship.

We decided to have a final dinner in the Manhattan Dining Room. I think we both know that these meals may be the best we'll enjoy all winter. Next on our agenda for tonight...we're packing again. Yes, we're moving on tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for more updates!

Photo 1: program from the power boat world championships

Photo 2: practice sessions with Sunset Key in the background (search Sunset Key, Key West, Florida in Zillow for some great Key West architecture photos)

Photos 3 and 4: Old Town Key West architecture

Photos 5 and 6: sunset