Author: <span>Island Genn</span>

Key West Offshore Power Boat Races Update

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:November 12, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

Well, yesterday was another sad day for the racing circuit. Another crash claimed the life of another racer. Joey Gratton of Sarasota, Florida passed away yesterday at Ryder Trauma Center as he was being treated for his injuries. The one glimmer of light to this accident was that Gratton’s partner, Stephen Page of Fort Myers, was spared his life; he freed himself from the wreckage and was released after being treated at the Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West.

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Key West: 11-11-11

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:November 11, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

Well, it will be quite some time before humanity sees this date again. I was getting a lot of calls for accommodations for this week and every one of the places that I work with and all of the ones that I don’t work with as well were totally booked up. Yes, the World Super Boat Races are this week, but in years past there has still been some availability on accommodations down here during that week. What I just found out was the the date 11-11-11 is the most popular date for weddings this year. So, in addition to all of the visitors to our area for the races, we also have a bunch of visitors here for Destination Weddings. Who woulda’ thunk it.

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2011 World Championship Power Boat Race Update

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:November 10, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

Very sad news. Yesterday was the first day of racing and they did not get off to a good start. Big Thunder Marine owner Bob Morgan and his throttle man Jeff Tillman were both killed when their boat flipped during the third race of the day. The boat was a 46 foot Skater catamaran with four 1200 HP engines powering it. According to witnesses, the boat was going about 130 mph when it caught some air and flipped, completely damaging the right front hull of the boat. It took less than 60 seconds for rescue divers to be deployed but they were unable to save the two men who both died upon arrival to the Lower Keys Medical Center.

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Key West World Championship Super Boat Races

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:November 9, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

For those of you that may be in Key West currently you have probably noticed an influx of BIG boats coming onto the island via trailer. These boats are painted up colorfully and that is to draw attention to themselves since they are going to be competing this week in the 31st Annual Key West World Championship Races.

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Jimmy Buffet in Key West!

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:November 7, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

This past Friday night Jimmy Buffet made quite the surprise appearance in Key West. And it was just in time for the Parrothead’s Convention, Meeting of the Minds, which is held annually on the island. This is the 20th year anniversary of the event that draws thousands of Buffet fans to the island. Buffet and his band, the Coral Reefers, ended up preforming for over an hour, singing many hits including “A Pirate Looks at Forty” to over 3,000 fans.

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Key West Baby Hawk Rescue

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:November 7, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

So my husband and I rescued a beautiful baby hawk today. I was walking my dog Indie around the block and I looked down and there was this bird about Indie’s size just sitting on a coconut that had fallen to the ground. We were only a couple feet away from it and it did not try to move at all so I called my husband Steven over being that he is like the bird whisperer, lol. He put on some work gloves, gently picked up the bird, and we brought him back to the house with us. (more…)

Key West – Hurricane Rina

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:October 27, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

So, it looks like Key West are dodging a potential bullet with Rina, making everyone happy since she would have put a damper on our Fantasy Fest Celebrations. Only once in the past 20+ years has Fantasy Fest been cancelled and rescheduled, and that was in fact due to a hurricane. You can read more about this and Fantasy Fest in general by reading my article on the history of the celebration.

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Key West Fishing & Weather

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:October 23, 2011
Post category:Activities Fishing

Well, we had an unusually soggy week in Key West last week. It rained for about 5 days straight, flooding parts of the island. That means that most activities like fishing, sunset sails, and water sports tours were shut down during that time. Visitors were relegated to only hanging out at the bars like Sloppy Joe’s or visiting museums like the Hemingway House. Now that can be fun and relaxing, but after a while people surely want to get out and about. Now is the time. Weather is clear and a little breezy making the outdoors extremely comfortable this time of year in Key West.

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Key West Historical Markers: The Captain George Carey House and the Pirates Well

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:October 6, 2011
Post category:History

I was wondering downtown the other day and I came across a sign posted in front of one of the historic downtown homes that said “Pirates Well.” I have walked by this place a hundred times and had never noticed it before, so I read the marker at the house and did a bit or research on it.

Apparently where this house sits was where the first fresh water on the island was found by pirates in the 1700s. But this house, located at 410 Caroline Street between Duval and Whitehead Streets, known as the Captain George Carey House has a few more claims to fame.

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Key West Fantasy Fest is Almost Here!

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:October 5, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

Well October is here, the weather is starting to cool slightly, and Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas displays are already going up in the stores. That means Fantasy Fest is just around the corner. I always equate this annual festival to Mardi Gras. We have a ton of celebrations during these days (October 21 – 30) including parades, costume parties and contests, street fairs, body painting, and all sorts of wacky events.

I have an entire section of this blog dedicated to Fantasy Fest information. You can check it out HERE!

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Discovering Key West

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:October 3, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

I have lived in Key West for nearly 13 years now. Wow! I know the island pretty darn well. But every once in a while I still get surprised. Hard to do on a 2×4 square mile island? I say not! Key West is very tourist industry driven so we have a ton of restaurants, bars, shops, and attractions directed toward capturing that tourist market. Often times businesses start up and don’t make it so something new will pop up before you know it.

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Key West Restaurant Review: Ambrosia

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:October 1, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

My BFF”s birthday was Thursday so to celebrate she wanted to go to her favorite sushi restaurant, Ambrosia. When we got there at 7pm there was nobody there yet, but as the evening progressed the place became packed. Moral, make a reservation to eat here, lol.

Ambrosia is located at the Santa Marina Suites on Simonton Street. The decor is very modern and sleek.

When we first arrived we sat at the bar for a little bit and got a drink. Saki, sakitinis, beer. The sakitinis are the bartender’s version of a martini, but made with saki instead of vodka. I had a white peach sakitini that was delicious, if not a bit sweet. But after one I was good with water the rest of the evening. (Typically I order plumb wine which is also a sweet wine that I adore, but I decided to go with something different since other members of our group got sakitinis too. The bartender was fantastic (sorry cannot remember his name). (more…)