Touring the Southern-Most City in the U.S.

By GERRY and PAMELA BARKER
North Palm Beach Life
December 16, 2018

KEY WEST_Head south until you run out of road and you'll find yourself in Key West, an island of some four square miles, 150 miles or so from Miami and 90 miles from Cuba.

While it's a scenic drive, we arrived by ship on the Carnival Victory. Key West was our first stop on a 4-night cruise, roundtrip from Miami. Earlier in the month, one of the Key West ports was knocked out of commission for three months when a cruise ship hit a mooring after a gust of wind. Lucky for us, Carnival uses a different port.

Carnival offers a wide selection of shore excursions, and since our stay here was short, we chose "Key West Sights and Bites," a walking tour that included historic places of interest, and some eats along the way.

On a previous visit here, it was hot -- real hot. That was in September. So imagine our surprise when we awoke to rain and clouds and the coldest day of the year -- temps were in the sixties. But like weather in the tropics tends to do, the rain was brief and before long, the sun made an appearance.

But enough preliminaries ... let's take the tour!

Pam is ready to get going!

Photos by North Palm Beach Life

Our tour guide was Rebecca. She's made Key West her home for the past 20 years.

Our first stop is The Little White House ...

It was President Harry Truman's vacation home, among other things

At the corner of Whitehead and Caroline streets sits First Flight Restaurant and Brewery. This is the place where Pan Am was founded in 1927. 

The second oldest house in Key West also features 'Pirates Well,' used by pirates in the 1700s. Argh!

Our guide said this house is haunted. We kept stepping.

This B&B has a fascinating history. Read about it HERE.

Besides being rich in history, Key West is also rich in fun and whimsy

Next we made a stop at Peppers of Key West, where we sampled sauces that ranged from mild to 'nuclear.'

Just down the street from Peppers is the Key Lime Shoppe ...

The man at the counter is Mr. Key Lime himself, Kermit Carpenter, who has been making all things key lime for 26 years. 

Pam with Kermit and
his famous pie

It even has a koi pond

Across the street is the Historic Seaport and Harbor, where we ended the tour.

We had to do a selfie by the Christmas tree with fishing float ornaments.

With our free time, we headed for the famous Duval Street, where the action is.

Back onboard Carnival Victory, we say goodbye
to Key West as we head for Cozumel.
​But like Arnold said, we'll be back!