The Key Wester Blog Page - The Key Wester

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…)

Key West Shopping on the Cheap

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:September 28, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

So this past Saturday my BFF and I decided to do a little shopping. We met up at Ross around 2:30 and before we knew it it was 6:00! We had a blast.

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Key West – Shooting Range

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:September 20, 2011
Post category:Activities

Until about a year ago, local gun enthusiasts had no place to go to shoot their firearms unless they took a boat offshore. I guess that could be fun but I would think that aiming on a rocking boat would be pretty hard to do. And plus, what would you shoot at? Sounds like a big old hassle, and an expensive one at that with fuel prices what they are. Anyway, we now have the Big Coppitt Gun Club located just about 7 minutes north of Key West.

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Key West Fishing Report

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:September 17, 2011
Post category:Activities Fishing

September is a notable month for inshore fishing. The flats are alive with baby tarpon, bonefish, and permit, although there are many other species available as well such as sharks, jacks, barracuda, snook, redfish, and jack crevalles. Typically this time of year though avid flats fisherman, both spin and fly fisherman, tend to visit our area for the trifecta of tarpon, bones, and permit. I have to say that the Dream Team is doing a great job with their clients at it too.

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Key West – Bike Week 2011

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:September 17, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

All you have to do is step outside today and you would know exactly what event is going on this week. You guessed it; that constant roar up and down the road signifies bike week is finally here, formally called the 39th annual Key West Poker Run.

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Key West Cuisine 101

Post author:Island Genn
Post published:September 14, 2011
Post category:Uncategorized

Key West has an eclectic hodgepodge of restaurants for locals and visitors to choose from. You will find everything from Jamaican, French, Cuban, American, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican and of course local Key West style fare. What exactly is Key West fare you ask. Well, if you consider the location and heritage of the island, you will find a great deal of influence from the Caribbean islands as well as an abundance of local seafood items in several of these recipes, although plenty of recipes will make the landlubbers happy too. Cubans and Bahamians introduced items such as black beans, rice, marinated pork, plantains, conch, and flan to Key West. Today you can find these items served as they originated or in a style locals have coined as Conch-fusion.

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