Key West - Stores nearby

Inside, it's like small Hope Depot - lots and lots of stuff

One of the reasons we chose Key West Bight Marina instead of one at Garrison Bight or even further away is the closeness of Duval Street and the nearby stores. I already mentioned Faustos's food market which is only two blocks down and three blocks over from our slip but there are also other very handy stores. There is no WalMart in Key West, the nearest one is in Miami, a serious oversight I think of WalMart marketing. There is a Home Depot and Kmart along with the major brands of supermarkets (Albersons, Winn-Dixie, Publix, etc.) but you have to take the bus to get there although it's only 50 cents each way, you'll kill and hour doing it.

Only one block away from the marina

Within walking distance there's Fautos's for food and West Marine only one block away. The West Marine store is a full sized store, stocking everything you would expect. If you're looking for hardware, there's the Strunk Ace Hardware store just three blocks away. Between West Marine and Strunks, you can find just about anything. If they don't have it, they will order it - but mostly likely they will have what you want in stock. Additionally, by staying at Key West Bight Marina, you can order anything over the Internet and have it delivered right to the marina. When I ordered the exhaust elbow, it came the next day (next day delivery charge was $32 for the $500 part).

So, there's plenty of things to spend money one down here and I didn't even mention eating out. If you want to eat cheap (but good) you can always get sandwiches at the Cuban Coffee Queen. Tonight I had the Hot Roast Beef with Cheese and Ann had the Key West Chicken Salad, both on Cuban bread. Total cost $12.50. If we had chosen the Cuban Mix sandwiches, the total cost would have been $12.00.

The reason for eating cheap tonight is the debilitating effect of the antibiotics on Ann. She's really feeling punk so we're not very active now. We're eagerly awaiting our return visit to the doctor on Wednesday to hopefully get a clean bill of health (or at least recovering on schedule) so we can leave Thursday for points east. Wish us luck.