Ladies let’s go fishing” what a great name for an organization! It sure caught my attention! I had never really gone fishing for anything bigger that lake trout, but could have written a book about salmon fishing, after having listened to my husband talk about it for years. I remember steaming his flies every spring so they would be fluffy and bushy tailed, and sorting out his tackle box every time he came back from a fishing expedition. I have kept them all and even moved them to my new place…But what was I to do with all this equipment now? So when I found “Ladies let’s go fishing” online, I decided to give them a try. Learning how to fish with a bunch of women sounded a lot less intimidating than trying to fit in with a group of seasoned male fishermen…even if my friends thought it was a terrible waste of my time and money as I would never meet a man there! The event I finally registered for was a weekend fishing seminar in Islamorada, Florida. I had never been to the Keys, so this would kill two birds with one stone and hopefully a fish or two in the process. To take advantage of the trip down I got there early. I booked a hotel (The key Largo Grande) in Key Largo which is the first island off the mainland in the Keys and the one right before Islamorada. The Keys are known for the fishing, the diving and the sunsets, not for the beaches although the resort I was staying at did have a small one. But its best feature was the food! I had the most amazing grouper and snapper I had ever had in my life! I was not able to get the chef’s name nor his recipes but he is definitely creative and talented!
I took one day to go visit Key West which is the last of the islands, 100 miles away. It is a very lively town swarming with tourists. The architecture of the old part of town reminded me of New Orleans, with lots of gingerbread trim and nice balconies and verandahs.
Even the cemetery is similar as they both have above-ground tombs
But real estate here is doing much better than in New Orleans … this abandoned house has an asking price of…almost four million !! Not bad for a fixer-upper.
Some very famous people have lived there such as Ernest Hemingway whose house is open to visitors as well as one of the bars he used to frequent such as Sloppy Joe’s… I went in but it was so crowded that I gave up on getting a seat or even just a beer…. Most of the action takes place on Duval street…
President Truman had a special fondness to the town and spent a lot of time there. Jimmy Buffet opened his first Margaritaville bar there. I even saw some parrot heads around…
Another thing the Keys are known for is the Key lime pie! Two companies have cornered the market in Keywest: the Blonde Giraffe for the meringue topped pies and Kermit’s for the whipped cream topped pies.
Two of the landmarks that cannot be missed are the “The End Of the Rainbow” where Highway US One ends and the Southernmost Point in the Continental USA, only 90 miles from Cuba.
The other must see is the sundown party in Mallory Square. There are street entertainer, musicians, storytellers, sword swallowers…and of course the sun in all its glory!!!
