Key West

By Bridget Marquardt on May 14, 2009 12:19 PM | Permalink | 15 Comments

The Florida Keys are unbelievably beautiful. I had no idea (other than Hawaii) that the United States had such beautiful coastline with white sand beaches and turquoise water. The Keys are made of the exposed portions of an ancient coral reef. There are about 1,700 islands, but over 30% of the population lives on Key West - the southernmost point in the continental U.S. -- and, I don't blame them … it's gorgeous, laid back and friendly.

I brought along my friend and fellow Playmate Patrice Hollis with me for the trip. She met me in Miami and we went on a road trip in a convertible VW Bug all the way to Key West. We loaded up on snack food, sang our heart out to fun music that we knew all the words to and gawked at the tropical beauty all around us.

We stopped on the Island of Marathon for a helicopter tour of the Keys. From up above we got a birds eye view of all the islands that make up the Keys as well as sea life, especially rays and dolphins. The helicopter actually set down at a restaurant called the Island Fish Company that is famous for its Key Lime Pie … You can't take a trip to the Keys and not have Key Lime Pie!!! We had regular Key Lime Pie, deep-fried Key Lime Pie, a Key Lime Martini and a Key Lime Colada!!! We definitely had our share of Key Lime!!!

About half way to Key West we stopped at Isla Morada. The beach there is spectacular!! The water is beautiful and warm. Here I learned paddle boarding with instructor Girard Middleton. Paddle boarding is a lot of work but once you get the hang of it, it can be very therapeutic and zen-like. At least on a fairly calm day like I had. It is definitely a work out!!!

While in Key West I got to explore the haunted and creepy side of this gorgeous seaside community. A tour guide named Brant gave me a tour of the East Martello Museum. He told me the creepy story of the affair of Count Carl von Cosel and Elena Hoyos Mesa. The Count was a doctor that cared for Elena while she was dying of TB. He fell in love with her and claimed she spoke to him from beyond the grave. This led the Count to dig up her grave and bring her home where he preserved her and lived with her for 7 years until he was caught. Brant also showed me Robert the Doll and told me the story of Gene whom the doll was made for. Robert is very particular about getting his picture taken and if you don't ask permission from him first he will curse you with bad luck. There are tons of letters hanging around of people asking for Robert's forgiveness.

Lloyd's Tropical Bike Tour is a really fun way to see Key West. The tour takes you along the cute little residential streets, through the art deco buildings and down to the beach and to the southernmost tip of the U.S. The closest point you can get to Cuba! We watched the sun go down and shared some sweet, fresh coconut water.

Tags: bridget , florida keys , key west , key lime pie , east martello museum , lloyd’s tropical bike tour