As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, we were on our way to the Dry Tortugas, a National Park 70 miles off the coast of Key West, Florida. The park, which is situated on and around the tiny island of Garden Key, can be reached by sea plane, private boat, or the Yankee Freedom III, a high speed catamaran ferry that operates out of Key West. Key West was going to be our base station to get to the Dry Tortugas, and we planned to spend a couple days there with family.

Travel Tip: The ferry is the most cost effective method to reach the Dry Tortugas. I will go over this in more detail on a future post, but in the mean time, more information can be found on their website: https://www.drytortugas.com/

Roving Mom did a great job of finding us a place to stay one block off Duval Street. Duval is the main drag in Key West. If you’re looking to party, it is the place to be. If partying isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other activities to keep you occupied. Duval Street is a large LGBT hub, and has a very friendly atmosphere.

Walking Duval is comparable to the Las Vegas strip, but more cozy and tropical. It takes about an hour to walk the length of the strip from end to end at a moderate pace. Towards the South end of Duval Street is the Southern most point of the Continental United States. There is a buoy marker with this claim painted on one side, however, if you want a picture, be prepared to wait in line. Despite the line, this end of the strip is considerably less busy than the other end.

Travel Tip: If you are going to walk Duval Street, it’s best to bring some comfortable shoes, and some water. An umbrella isn’t a bad idea either. The rain can come out of nowhere, but usually is over pretty quickly.

On the other end of Duval is Mallory Square, the aquarium, and a few other attractions. There are considerably more people on this side of Duval, and for good reason. Every night there is a “sunset party,” which works out perfectly due to its Western orientation. Full of street performers, vendors, and tourists, Mallory Square is definitely worth visiting.

Due to being on a small island, and the higher population of people at any given time, the speed limits are considerably low. If you do visit, you will not need an automobile. If walking is out of the picture, bicycle, golf cart, and moped rental places are dotted everywhere. I would highly recommend renting at least one of these, if anything, for the experience.

After we got soaking wet in a sudden storm, we made a pit stop at El Siboney for some Cuban food. All I can say is, it was the best Cuban food I have ever had in my life. We spent about $50 in there, ate enough to make us sick, and walked out with enough food to feed a small army. You can visit their website here:
https://www.elsiboneyrestaurant.com/catherine/

The food that we ordered to go, along with our left overs barely fit under the seat in our moped. A short drive later, we dropped the food off at our cottage for the rest of the family, and continued cruising before we had to turn our moped in. Driving that moped made me feel like a kid again.

Key West was so much fun. The next day we would be sailing out, and had no idea what was in store for us at the Dry Tortugas National Park. Next post coming soon!