2/5/2022 – 2/21/2022
Sorry for the delay in the posts fans. Between people coming to visit me and me being sick, it’s been a crazy month. On the 5th I left Miami to go back to Orlando to pick up some packages that I had ordered. That night I went to Flavour Kitchen for a glass of wine and then Jonathans Pub for the rest of the night. The band at Jonathans was really good. They played good variety of rock and hard rock covers.
I hung out for the next couple of days, going to the beach and not doing much. On the 8th I headed back down to Miami to pick up Ashley on the 9th.
I picked up Ashley in the early afternoon and we went to La Carreta for lunch. I wanted to go to an authentic Cuban restaurant while in Miami. We both got a Cuban sandwich. It was meh. Ashley enjoyed the Cuban coffee though. We couldn’t check into the Air BNB until 3 so we went to walk the beach for a mile or so. We checked into the Ocean Spray Motel around 4. This was a cool art deco style motel built in the 30’s. The lobby was the style of a French palace. It was a neat place. The room was alright, nothing fancy. We got a killer deal on it though. $80 for the night right on Miami Beach is a steal.
The 10th was a great day. We checked out of the hotel at 11 and went to Haulover Park, the nude beach. We got naked and enjoyed the sun, ocean, and scenery for almost three hours. I managed to score tickets to the TOOL concert so we headed toward downtown. We parked in the same spot I had the last time, right near the people mover. We got ready and made our way to FTX Arena. The arena was half empty until right before TOOL got on stage. The opener was not my style. They were some indy band, Redhead Blonde. Tool put on an awesome show, as they always do. They played a lot of their new stuff that I didn’t recognize. I overheard several people that were disappointed that they didn’t just play their classics. The light/laser show was good, but not quite as good as NIN.
The next day we went to Jamaica Kitchen for lunch. This place was featured on Diners, Drive In’s, and Dives. We both ordered the jerk chicken and spicy meat patty’s. I’ve missed Jamaican food so much since Darrin’s closed in Fargo. After we ate we blasted off to the Keys.
We stopped at Islamoreda to take a pic of the giant lobster.
Next stop Key West!!!!
We got to Key West around 6PM. As soon as we got out of the van a local on the balcony told us that we shouldn’t park there overnight. We assured him that we wouldn’t. We started the night by going to the Southernmost point in the USA. Next we walked up to toward the Hard Rock Cafe. We walked by Ernest Hemingway’s house on the way.
We found the Hard Rock and they had a surprising amount of really cool memorabilia.
The Whistle Bar/The Bull was across the street. They had 2-4-1 wells and margaritas respectively. We hung out there for a drink then moved on since we could bring drinks with us on the streets.
Next we walked to the other shore over to Mallory Square. The square was boring, but we found another van dweller. I looked at his YouTube site and there he did several things that I wish I would’ve. We walked to First Flight Brewing next. This place was pretty good, but pretty expensive.
We started getting hungry so we headed to the other brewery on the island, The Waterfront Brewery. On our way there we ran into a winery, The Funky Rooster. I had some of the best beer cheese that I’ve ever had. We started talking to an older couple here and chatted it up until they closed.
Next we made our way over to Capt Tony’s Saloon. Captain Tony was the Mayor of Key West for several years and turned into an icon for the island. This was an amazing dive bar. There were dollar bills stapled to all of the walls and ceilings. We played a couple rounds of pool then hung out for a few drinks before heading home.
On the 12th we headed back to the mainland. I wanted to go to the Everglades, but we got there too late for it to be worth it. We went to the visitors center and then headed up to Ft Meyers.
On the 13th we went to Orlando since Ashley had to fly out of there on the 14th. We went to the Hard Rock Hotel, lame, then went to Korean BBQ for supper before the Super Bowl. After stuffing ourselves we tried a couple of places before ending up at a BJ’s to watch the game. I’m happy that it was a good game, but I started feeling like garbage earlier in the day. By the end of the game I was freezing and ready for bed.
I’ve been sick for eight days now, probably got COVID, and my ear is still plugged up. I literally didn’t leave the van besides taking a shower twice in seven days. I got tired of laying down all day and made it to Tampa today. I’m at Angry Chair Brewing now, they are alright, lots of sweet stouts.
Again, sorry for the mile long post and waiting so long to make one. Hopefully you enjoyed it though.