The Historic Seaport District...

So I've had a fun few days! Byrd and Mindy were in town from Columbia, and we had a great time down here. I was planning on doing a long blog entry about it, but I'm waiting for Mindy to send me the pictures from the trip, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Anyways, when they first arrived in town we planned on meeting at Pepe's cafe for breakfast. As can be expected, they were running on "island time" that morning, so I had some time to walk around and snap some pictures while I was waiting for them to get there. The first one is of Pepe's cafe, said to be the oldest restaurant in key west. Byrd had a funny story of a previous trip down here, he was at a bar downtown, and asked the bartender where the locals go to eat. One of our smartass locals was sitting next to him and immediately said "the locals eat at home"! Then the bartender asked if they had been to Pepe's, and he said no, so after checking it out, he's been going there ever since. Pepe's opened in it's current form in 1909, and before that it is said that pirates used to meet here and plan their plundering before going out to sea. Not sure if its true, but makes sense since its right across from the harbor.

The next is B.O.'s Fish Wagon. This is right across the street from Pepe's, and it is run by Buddy Owen, who is in his 70's and is still there a lot today. (Don't call him bo, he'll throw you out) He started out selling his fish sandwiches from his old pickup truck which is still parked out front. The city said no, to run a restaurant you have to have a physical structure, so he laid down a concrete slab and a tin roof over his truck, and the rest is history. The food is excellent, I get the grilled mahi sandwich when I go.

Finally, some pictures of the ships in the harbor. These sailboats make a ton of money taking tourists out for sails, the most popular of which are the sunset sails. For about $40, depending on the boat, they sail you a couple miles out to sea, usually they have an open bar, and some have food included. It really is the best way to see the famous sunsets out here!

Being that it is sunday, not too much going on today. I have my meeting at the high school on tuesday, where I'll meet with both the athletic director (I'm trying to coach wrestling, and maybe track and field, both of which I did in high school), and I'll see the principal, and figure out what's what in terms of open teaching positions for the fall. I'll keep you all updated on that! For now, its off to the gym, something I really need to get back in the swing of doing. I have been eating horribly down here, especially with Byrd and Mindy in town! There is so much great food to try, and there are some places off the beaten path that are very reasonably priced. Some great happy hour specials too if you know where to go! I'll weigh myself at the gym, and hopefully that'll make me wake up and start going every day. I go to Old Town Fitness on Truman avenue, a short walk from my house, and not as cramped as most gyms in Key West.

Till next time! I'll write either later tonight or tomorrow, whenever I get the pictures from Mindy!