Being a bum in Key West

Since I didn't do very much blogging in Key West, I'm going to try to try to write some highlights of the trip, not necessarily in chronological order, just as I think of things!  

Once the half marathon was out of the way, it was time to have some fun in Key West!  I couldn't wait to visit a bakery that I visited last year, Mattheessen's bakery for a giant cookie!!

Giant chocolate chip cookie from Mattheessen's bakery! 

Erika and I each had a chunk of the cookie and took the rest back to the hotel room and had more later and finished it off the next day!  They are really good!  I bought another chocolate chip and an oatmeal raisin on the last day we were there to bring home and I cut each into four pieces and froze them!
We rode our bikes around quite a bit.  We had fun goofing around with a bunch of sculptures in the Mallory Square area:

High-fiving a sailor

flirting with railroad worker

Helping an elderly lady with groceries

We saw cruise ships docked in Mallory Square, we took lots of pictures in those photo thingies - I'm sure they have a name but it's where you put your face through an opening:

Oyster waitress

Fishing charter

Sunday night we went to Willie T's bar to listen to my favorite Key West singer:

Gerd Rube

I listened to him last year when I was there and I looked up his website shortly before my trip and found out that he was playing in Key West again this winter!  I was so excited!  He also had a brand new CD so I bought one when he was on his break:

My new BFF!

While he was on the stage and between songs, he commented on my shirt! He asked if I had run the half marathon and asked what my time was! 

We went running both of our remaining mornings because we were in Key West and could run in shorts and back here that was not an option:

71 degree temp difference at 7:23 am

Running along the ocean

playing in a sculpture on the beach

Monday night we stopped by the Southernmost point because every time we go by there it's crowded and there were always long lines for pictures.  When we got there, there was nobody else around!  We took each others pictures and then two men came along and asked if one of us could take their picture so they took ours together.  It worked out well!

Southernmost Point at night

goofing around at the Southernmost Point

We went to a drag queen show!  That's something I've never done before!
Monday afternoon, we rode our bikes all the way around the perimeter of Key West.  The half marathon used to go all the way around but the main road is under construction on the north side of the island so for the last two years the course had been an out and back along the south side.  Last year a lady told me that the other side is really boring and we really are running the best part of the course twice with the modified route.  She was right.  The other side is very commercial and looks like any street in any town around here:  McDonalds, Burger King, Home Depot, gas stations, muffler shops, etc etc etc...  There was also a lot more traffic.  If I'm never on North Roosevelt Ave. again, it will be ok with me! 
All too soon, it was time to pack up and check out of our hotel room.  We were able to leave our luggage in a room at the hotel since our flight wasn't until late afternoon.  It rained a little bit on Tuesday morning while we were packing but then it stopped and the sun came out and it was really nice.  We rode around, stopped at shops, and had a late lunch since our flight was going to be so late.  While we were having lunch, it began raining again and rained really hard.  We were sitting along an open wall in a restaurant on the harbor.  It did eventually stop raining and we got on our bikes for our last hour of riding around Key West.  At the time we started to head back to the hotel it started to rain again.  We got soaked!  We had to change our clothes before leaving.  (We had to change EVERYTHING, that's how soaked we were!)  The desk clerk called us a taxi, the taxi came and we were headed to the airport.
Our flight home was uneventful, both planes left on schedule.  We got back to Detroit, my diesel Jeep even started right up.  (I parked in the enclosed parking garage connected to the airport; well worth the extra few dollars per day cost.)  I dropped Erika off at her apartment and headed home.  I got home at about 2:15am.
To sum up my 2014 trip to Key West:  I had a blast!!

Key West 2014

Runner Nerd
home from Key West

Key West Half Marathon

I started this post in the afternoon of the half marathon and then worked on it some more in the evening but never finished it.  I  never worked on any blog posts after that so I am finishing it up after coming home.     .

Today's the day!

My countdown app on my phone started at over 200 days and now the day is here!  I got dressed, ate my bagel and banana, put gels and a hand towel into the bag I'd be checking and we were off on our bikes to the race site!  We took pictures, of course!

ready to run in Key West!

A really odd thing happened before the race.  The Half Shell Raw Bar, which is a main sponsor of the races, was open for runners to hang out and use bathrooms.  A young man was bringing out the cleaning cart to clean restrooms but runners were lining up to use them.  A man said to the crowd, "Does anyone speak Spanish?"  Erika does speak Spanish so she asked him why he wanted to know.  He asked her to tell the restroom cleaner to hold off cleaning until the race starts so that the runners can use them. When he came out of the supply closet, Erika proceeded to speak to him in Spanish but he shook his head and said that he doesn't speak Spanish!  Erika apologized and asked him in English to hold off on cleaning until the race started.  The man who had asked for someone to speak in Spanish was nowhere to be found, he had left.  I also apologized and told the young man that someone had asked for someone to speak to him in Spanish and so did some other people.  He said it was no big deal.  That was just so odd.
Anyway, I checked my bag and eventually we headed to the start line.  I got in the mass of people and Erika stood along the side because she didn't start the 5K until 20 minutes later.
Once I got out of the crowd of the start, I was running along at a comfortable pace but I wasn't running at 9 minutes.  I knew right then that the sub two hour goal was going right out the window, it wasn't going to happen.  My first thought was 2:05.  Miles 1 - 8 fell between 9:19 to 9:51.  Miles 9 and 10 were 10:00 and 10:21.  Mile 11 was a bit faster at 9:54.  There's something about passing the 10 mile mark of a half marathon and I always get excited after passing 10 miles!  It didn't last long!  Miles 12 and 13 were 10:20 and 10:15.  Mile 12 was the worst.  I actually thought I'd passed the 12 mile marker and missed it.  The mile markers are painted on the streets and I did miss the 2nd mile marker earlier.  I looked at Garmie and saw that I was only at 11.8 miles and hadn't missed the 12 mile mark!  Finally, 12 miles came and that last mile was tough.  Erika was by the side about 1/4 mile out and ran in with me.  I ran as fast as I could with Erika trying to get me to go faster!  We crossed the finish line together with out hands in the air!  I got my medal.  This was the strangest medal I've ever seen:

strange medal

I couldn't figure out why there was a pointy thing sticking out of the bottom of the medal!  It's a bottle stopper!  Once I recovered and the nautious feeling passed, we got a bottle of water and went looking for the food!!  They always have beer and a special cup for the beer.  Last year, I just went to the front of the line and grabbed a cup because I don't drink beer.  Erika is all about the beer so we stood in the long line, which moved along pretty fast, to get beers and a cup!  The truck behind me in the picture has the beer kegs inside of it and they are dispensing it on the outside of the truck. 

Erika and her beer! 

My Garmin read 2:08:36.  Kind of disappointed but it's ok.  This is just the wrong time of year to be in the kind of shape I'd need to be in to break 2 hours.  When I got my bag back from gear check, I checked my phone because I'd signed up for text tracking!  My results were in a text message.  My actual time was 2:08:28!  Erika really surprised herself by running the 5K at an 8:20 pace!  I can't remember just what she said her time was.  I can't look it up since she took the timing tag off of the back of the bib.  (explanation for removing timing tag in my last post.)  We had some snacks and hung around enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful day!  It had warmed to 70 degrees! Yay!  I couldn't believe that the Key West Half Marathon was already over!  I looked around for what was promised for after race food and has been a regular feature of the Key West Half Marathon.  I'm talking about -- Frozen, chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick!  They had it last year, they had recently mentioned it on their Facebook page.  I didn't see anyone walking around with it, we looked everywhere.  I guess they didn't have it this year.  Someone told us that a shop that sells it is right nearby so we walked over there and Erika bought us frozen key lime pies on sticks!  The shop, kermit's, is right on the half marathon course very close to the end.  We stood along the side cheering for people who were running in.  One lady saw us with the pie on sticks and yelled out, "YES! The reward at the end!"  I felt bad because we weren't able to tell her that we had bought them and there was none this year.  As we were walking back, several people walking by asked us where we got them and we told them that we bought them at Kermit's.  I will have to write to the race director and ask what happened to the pies. 
We rode our bikes back to the hotel, showered, went to lunch and then to the beach!  Erika is all about the beach!  As I sat on the beach, my body began to stiffen up and soreness set in.  Yep, I guess I really did just run a half marathon!  We snuck into a big hotel across the street from the beach to use the restroom and then we rode our bikes back to the hotel.  I actually felt better after riding the bike and wasn't as stiff and sore. 

I can't believe that another Key West Half Marathon is over already!  I'm really looking forward to the two days I have left in Key West.  I am definitely going to get to the bottom of why there was no frozen key lime pie on a stick this year!!

Runner Nerd
Key West Half Marathon finisher again

Long bus ride to Key West

Soooooooo, We did make it to Key West!!  We arrived on the big tour bus at 3:15am.  What a day. 
After the flight was cancelled, they arranged for a bus to come and take us to Key West. 17 of the 34 passengers elected to take the bus.  I think it was just shy of 11pm when the bus finally pulled up and we loaded up for the drive.

On the bus

Shortly after we left, I called the hotel to let them know that we were, indeed, on our way there.  The lady I talked to said that she'd have our paperwork all ready with a note for the overnight person.  She assured us that our room would be waiting for us.  Our bikes had been delivered and she had the keys for the locks in an envelope with our check in paperwork.
Even though we didn't get to our room until 3:30 am, we woke up around 9 am and even though we were still tired, we got up because we didn't want to waste any more of our time in Key West.  We went and got a few things from the hotel's breakfast bar and ate by the pool.  After showering, we were off on our neat-o rental bikes!  I did this last year and still remember my way around but Erika was really nervous about riding around with the traffic.  She hasn't ridden a bike in a long time.  She loved it!  We rode to where the race expo was being held; it wasn't open yet but I wanted to show her how close it is and how easy it will be to get there in the morning before the race.  We had lunch and visited some shops.  Erika LOVES jewelry and was going crazy over all of the handmade jewelry offered in the shops around Key West!  We made our way to the expo and got our race bibs and shirts.  I love the shirt this year! (this pic is from the race website)

Cool shirts! (from KWHM website)

Erika had some injuries in the late summer and hasn't been running very much even though her injuries have healed.  She had a lot of work traveling in the fall and then was sick right after the holidays.  She thought it would be better for her to switch to the 5K.  Our bibs had our names on them and they were just so cool:

coolest race bibs ever

For her to switch to the 5K, she'd have to give this bib back and her new one wouldn't have her name on it.  She decided to keep the bib and remove the timing tag from the back and just run the 5K and then she would meet me near the end and run me in so we could cross the finish line together and have a finish line picture together.  I know it's probably not the best thing to do and most people would probably have a fit but it's what we decided to do!  We rode around more and came back to the hotel.  It was getting chilly so we changed before we went to the pasta dinner.  After dinner, we rode over to Duval Street which is the main touristy party street in Key West.  We went into a bar and listened to the singer for a while and then headed back to the hotel so we could get some sleep before we have to get up early for our big races.  We are both really tired.
It's so hard to believe that tomorrow morning I'm running the Key West Half Marathon again! 

Runner Nerd
tired on half marathon eve

The Last Day

It was my last day in Key West.   It was 68 degrees at 7am and it was -6 (yes, negative 6) and schools were closed back home so how could I not go running!!  I put on the same clothes I wore for the half marathon; I didn't bring any others.  I set out to run along the ocean on the half marathon course.  I saw a pier when I was riding my bike yesterday and saw a runner turn and head onto it so I wanted to check it out myself.

The White Street Fishing Pier

It wasn't much; it was a bridge-like structure out into the water for fishing from.  I looked at Garmie when I turned onto it and it said .86 and when I came back off I was at 1.31 so running down and back was .45 miles so it is nearly a quarter of a mile long.  I took the picture above and posted it to Facebook saying, "out for my morning run along the pier, no big deal!" (as if I run on a pier every day!!)  I guess I just felt like rubbing it in since I so rarely travel!  I'm always the one seeing friends' cool vacation pics so it was my turn!
I admit that I did stop and take pictures several times during my run!!  I am actually surprised that I never forgot to restart Garmie when I started running again! 
The course came within a block of my hotel so I ran down to that street and followed it out to the road that runs along the ocean.  I ran past the 10 mile mark again!

Running past the beach on my morning run! Yes, I could handle this as part of my every day routine!

Running ocean-side

There is a really nice paved biking/walking/etc lane which is separated from the road along the ocean which is where quite a few miles of the half marathon ran.
I planned to run 4 miles so I ran another mile down the ocean side path and turned back.  As I got close to my hotel, I kind of "forgot" to turn right on Simonton St. to go back to my hotel and went straight through the intersection  to run past this Key West landmark:

The Southernmost Point!

Then I HAD to head back because I had to check out by 11:00 and I didn't want to be too rushed.  When I got back, the hotel was still serving breakfast so I had some breakfast by the pool!

mini muffins by the pool after running

Then it was time to shower, dress and get ready to vacate my room.  As I was getting ready to shower, I had a thought...what am I going to do with these sweaty running clothes????  I was really sweaty and they were wet!  I ended up putting them in a plastic bag and stuffing them into the outside pocket of my suitcase! 
The hotel kept my luggage in a room in the office area so I could ride around all day until it was time to head to the airport.  My flight wasn't until 5:40 pm.
I had lunch at Cheeseburger in Key West.  It's on Duval St. and I had ridden or walked by it several times.  All the restaurants in Key West have their menus posted in front so I have looked at all of them.  This one had a cobb salad that sounded really good!  This was the only non seafood meal I had in Key West.  One other thing I keep seeing on every menu was Conch fritters.  It doesn't matter if the restaurant is super fancy and expensive or not, Conch fritters are on every one.  I asked about them at one of the places I was at and they said that they are a specialty in the Florida Keys.  I decided to try them today since they weren't nearly as much here as they were at most places.  I could also get a small order of only 6!

Key West Conch Fritters

The way I would describe them is like tiny crab cakes except that it's Conch instead of crab and they are deep fried.  The chunks of Conch remind me of clam strips.  I ate one and then just ate the centers out of a couple more since I had a big salad coming.  They were good but I doubt that I will order them the next time I'm in Key West.
I spent the afternoon riding my bike around and taking lots of pictures.  I took zillions of pictures of houses and chickens!
My last stop was, of course, ice cream!!  I had ice cream on the Historic Seaport!

Ice cream at Key West Ice Cream Factory on the Historic Seaport

All too soon it was time to get back to the hotel, have them call a taxi and give them my bike.  (They took care of returning it to the rental place.)
The flight home was uneventful.  I had a hard time finding my car back in Detroit.  I left it in the Blue Parking Deck.  I had written down "D2 across from elevator, middle row" when I parked.  I was right in front of a sign that said D2 and I was across from an elevator with one other row of cars between where I was parked and the elevator.  I thought that the 2 meant level 2 so I went to the 2nd level and began wandering looking for section D.  I found section D2 but my car was not there.  I was FREEZING!  I only had a light jacket.  I was wandering around and beginning to panic and a security truck stopped and asked me if I needed help.  I showed him what I had written and said that I walked the whole length of D2 and could not find my car.  He asked if I might be in D2 on a different level.  He explained that D2 is a section and that every level has a D2.  He gave me a ride and it turns out that I was on level 1.  So, next time I leave my car there I guess I need to determine which level I'm on along with the section number!  I was probably so excited to get going when I got there that I didn't really look at the signs very well.  Anyway, I got going and got home just shy of 2 am.  I was starving so I had stopped at a 24 hr McDonald's on the way home and got a chicken wrap.  When I got home, I had some popcorn and the rest of my Mattheessen's oatmeal raisin cookie!!  I also brought a whole one home which I cut into 4 pieces, wrapped and put in the freezer. 
So, that was my adventure, my graduation present to myself, my graduation celebration, the trip I had been planning for over 3 years was over.
I love Key West and I will definitely be back!
Well, I need to get to the grocery store and get some decent food in the house since I gained 5 lbs in Key West.  I guess it's back to counting Weight Watchers points for me!  

Runner Nerd
missing Key West

I don't want to leave this place

Today was my last full day in Key West.  I don't want to go home.  This morning one of my friends who thought I was going home today texted me the following: " It's 17 and snowing.  Don't come home. Stay there!  Change your flight!"  
I slept in this morning.  I don't remember what time I got up but I know it was after 10!  (I went back to sleep after replying to the above text message that I wasn't going home today.)
I have no idea how many miles I rode my bike.  I rode all over the place today.  I went out to ride along the ocean where I had run during the half marathon yesterday.  I saw the mile markers which were painted on the ground.

10 mile mark on half marathon course

I got a little choked up when I saw this particular mile marker because I remember passing it yesterday.  I don't know if it's just me or if everyone feels this way; there is just something about passing the 10 mile mark in a half marathon.  It's not like you are anywhere near the finish line yet but once you pass the 10 mile mark, you are on the home stretch; there's just a 5K to go!  I love passing the 10 mile mark in a half marathon. 
Today was beautiful!  It was 77 degrees most of the day!  This is the warmest it's been since I've been here.
I toured the oldest house on Key West!  It was built in 1829.

The oldest house on Key West

I saw this shop:

Pelican Poop Shoppe

It was a typical Key West tourist gift shop with brightly painted metal crabs and lizards, Southernmost Point and mile 0 stuff, magnets, etc.  (I never saw any pelican poop or jelly beans being called pelican poop!)  I learned from a sign on the wall that this was Ernest Hemingway's first house. It was later made into a hotel.  It has a courtyard in the middle of it.  You can go into the courtyard and the store clerk starts a recording telling the history of the building.  It was very interesting.

(

remnants of the former hotel with palm trees reaching the 3rd story balcony

Courtyard pool of the Pelican Poop Shoppe, former Casa Antigua Hotel and former Ernest Hemingway house

I bought a Key West t-shirt at a shop near the Pelican Poop shoppe.  After lunch, I went back to the cookie place to get a oatmeal raisin cookie!  Oatmeal raisin cookies are my favorite and this one was sooooooooooooo good!!!!  Oh my!  It was awesome!!!  I ate a chunk of it and wrapped the rest for later.  

I had a postcard to send to my running friend, Erika.  I asked at the hotel desk about a stamp and they did not have any but said that the store next door sells them.  I went in and asked for a post card stamp and the gal looked in her bag and told me that she is all out of postcard stamps and began to put her bag away.  I could see stamps in the bag so I said, "but those are stamps", to which she replied, "they aren't for postcards, I'm sorry" and proceeded to put the bag away.  I explained to her that I could still use the regular stamp on my post card and that the post office doesn't care if regular stamps are used on postcards.  She had to ask someone else before she would sell me a stamp!!

I got my "One human family" sticker!!  It is the motto of Key West.  It is true there.  You will see couples of all types dancing on the same dance floor.  I think that's a good thing! 

After supper, I did one time up and down Duval street taking it all in then I went back to Mattheessen's to try their homemade ice cream!!  Yep, it's as good as the cookies!!

I can't believe I have to go back home tomorrow.  It's below zero back there.  I have my stuff mostly packed.  I only bought a few small things here but it's hard to fit them in because I only brought a small carry on size suitcase and my backpack.  I'm going to go running in the morning; I have to.  I'm in Key West and it's below zero back home, how can I not go running?  I have to be out of the hotel by 11 but my flight isn't until 5:40 pm.  I can leave my stuff in a storage room at the hotel until I have to leave.  The hotel will also take care of returning my rental bike!

Well, I better get to bed so I can be out running by 8am.

Runner Nerd
doesn't want to leave Key West

What a day

What a day!!  I ran a half marathon, I had a yummy seafood lunch on the Historic Seaport, I had a gigantic chocolate chip cookie, I took a nap, I went on a ghost tour of Key West, I listened to live music, I got hugged by a drag queen, I  am in Key West!!!!!

Lunch was great!  The restaurant is open like the one I went to yesterday.

view from my table

This restaurant is on the Harbor in the Historic Seaport District.  Right behind it are charter fishing boats.  Fishing trips are a big thing here.  This was on the menu:

you hook 'em...we cook 'em

Apparently, they will cook fish you catch and bring in!!
I also saw this in the restaurant:

Doggy having lunch with his humans!

you would NEVER see that around here!  Only in Key West!!
After lunch, I rode my bike around, went into a couple of shops and then I got away from the town area and rode in residential areas.   One thing I've noticed is that everything in Key West is old.  Everything is well kept up but it is old.  I really love the architecture here.  The houses all have porches the length of the front; two story houses have two story porches.  Many houses have palm trees taller than them.
I came back to my room and took a nap for about 1.5 hour.  I also put my running clothes in a washing machine here at the hotel and run it without any detergent.  My clothes were soaked and quite smelly.  Even the t-shirt I changed into before riding my bike back here was sweaty.  I don't have any detergent so they got washed in just water; it has to be better than leaving them in a pile in my room to ferment! 
Around 6 pm, I headed back out.  I had to be at the trolly tour place at 7:30 to check in for the Ghosts and Graveyards tour.  But first, I had another thing to do!  I had read on a woman's blog about a place with really good gigantic chocolate chip cookies!!  I wrote it down and looked it up online so I'd know where to find it.  This is the mother of all cookies:

Mattheessen's 1/2 lb chocolate chip cookie

It was really good!!  I didn't eat all of it, more than a quarter but less than half!  I went into some shops along Duval street.  Duval street is "the" street in Key West where it all happens! 
I decided to ride back to my room and put the rest of the cookie in my refrigerator, I grabbed my jacket because it had cooled down a little.  It was still warm but it felt a bit chilly when riding the bike.  Then I went to check in for the Ghost tour.  I wish I had taken a picture of the trolly.  It was fun, I learned a lot of history of Key West.  We went into an old fort that is now a museum.  They passed out EMF detectors - just like on Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures!!!

my EMF detector!!! 

Mine blinked a few times when we were in there.  Only three of us had them blink.  Who knows?  It was fun! 

After that, I was back to wandering Duval street.  All the bars are open to the outside and have live entertainment so you can listen to the music from the sidewalk.  I listened to this dude for the rest of his show; he was awesome!

Gerd Rube

I listened until he was done and then I found out that the place I was going to eat was closed.  It was a pizza place I saw earlier.  They make individual pizzas so I was thinking I'd do that for my dinner.  Oh well.  It was worth it to listen to Gerd Rube!!  I ended up having a slice of pizza at a place that was still open.  It was a place that sells pizza by the slice from the heated case.  (like at the mall) It was not terrible but I'm sure I would have liked the other much better.  I went back to my hotel and ate the rest of my cookie.

Sooooo, yes, this was a great day!!!  I love Key West!!!!!!

Runner Nerd
loving Key West