Sightseeing and Turtle Kraal

When I woke up this morning, I first went to check if I had dreamed the location of our room or if it was for real. It was for real and it was exceptionally beautiful in the morning to just stand there right above the ocean and watch how the wind played with the palm trees.

Today was the day we had planned for taking a sightseeing tour. So we got ready and decided to have breakfast at the Southernmost Beach Café. All we had to do was cross the parking lot and go past the pool and then we were at the back entrance. The servers were very friendly and we were seated in this open air café immediately. Tom ordered some coffee and the Crab and Shrimp Omelet. Succulent claw meat and juicy grilled shrimp in their fluffy three-egg omelet with Hollandaise sauce, house potatoes, and buttered toast. I was less adventurous and ordered some hot tea and The One. Two scrambled eggs, house potatoes, buttered toast and jelly, and bacon. What a yummy breakfast and what a location to enjoy it in. After we had finished our meal we picked up our stuff from the room and wanted to wait for the tour trolley at the pick up spot right across from our hotel. We waited for some time, but then decided to just walk down Duval Street and board a trolley right there.

So we slowly marched to the trolley stop, exchanged out ticket and right when we were ready a trolley came round the corner. We got on board and decided to ride one full round and not get off at several stops. At Mallory Square everyone had to get off, since this was the official end and starting point of the tour.

Since we had at least 15 minutes to spare we went to check out the shops at Mallory Square and ended up spending a lot more time there. We went to the cruise ship terminal, where a Carnival Cruise ship was docked and then went to another shopping center that we wanted to go to because it had a sweet little shop that sold cat and dog treats and merchandise. After some browsing we ended up taking home about $40 worth of kitty treats and toys.

When we went back to Mallory Square we found out that we had to wait another 20 minutes for the next trolley so we decided to just take a break, get some drinks, a Pina Colada Slushie for Tom and a Key Limeade for me, sit down and relax for a while. We boarded the next trolley and went on with our tour. There were lots of sights to see while on the tour and our driver knew lots of fun little stories to go with all the different places.

After a little more than an hour the weather changed and it started to rain, so since our hotel was at the very end of the tour we decided to get off at our hotel stop and relax for a while, while it was raining. Back in the room we checked the weather channel and found out that tropical storm Ana had disintegrated and was no longer a threat to our vacation! After such good news we relaxed for a while and had a little snack while we decided on what to do for the rest of the day.

Since we didn’t have lunch we decided we would go and have an early dinner and then check out some more shops on Duval Street near Mallory Square. We agreed on giving Turtle Kraal a try and on the way there we passed the church that our trolley driver guide had told us about. It has a special little grotto where people go to leave candles so hurricanes will not hit the island. Since the storm that had been threatening us had dissolved, we thought that it would be nice to light a candle there.

So we parked outside the church and went in search of where to purchase a candle. After a while we found out that the church shop was only open during special hours and we were too late, so we gave up and decided to come back another day. Next stop Turtle Kraal. Well, had I not read so many good reviews on the internet about it, I would have never dreamed of going there to have a meal. But once inside and seated we had fun taking in the special charm of the place.

We both ordered Diet Coke and decided on sharing a starter, Lobster Rolls with a Jalapeno Marmalade dipping sauce. And it was a good choice, because they were really good. Tom tried “The Carolina Piggie”, authentic North Carolina style chopped porked mixed with their peppered vinegar sauce and topped with their spicy slaw and a side of fries and baked beans, while I had the BBQ Beef Brisket Platter. Expertly seasoned and slowly wood-smoked for 14 hours or until it absolutely melts in your mouth, that is what the menu promised. And it was a very generous portion that was true to what the menu promised and it came with fries, coleslaw and some corn bread. A truly yummy meal. After the meal we decided to do some more window shopping and drove to the parking lot at Mallory Square. We went down Duval and checked out a store we had a coupon for. They had a few very nice things but we had left the coupon at home and needed to go back there the next day.

After some time we turned around and decided to go and check out the Key Lime Pie Factory. It didn’t take us long to find one of their shops and I had one of my favourite Key West treats, a Key Lime Pie on a stick. It is frozen Key Lime Pie dipped in chocolate and it comes on an ice-cream stick. Tom had some Key Lime Lemonade and we picked up a piece of Key Lime Pie to take away and enjoy later. One of our other purchases was a box of Key Lime cookies, but these were really not very good and we never finished them.

One of our other purchases was a box of Key Lime cookies, but these were really not very good and we never finished them. After a little more window shopping we got the car from the parking lot and drove back to our resort. We sat on the balcony for some time and took in the beautiful scenery, nibbled a little bit of the Key Lime Pie and had some drinks until it was time for bed.