Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Key West - We rent a car, provision and explore art galleries

Alas, only an outside view of the art gallery, no photos allowed inside
First on the agenda was renting a car from Enterprise. As advertised, they will come and pick you up which is a necessity for us. Unfortunately, the Key West office does not honor the $10/day weekend rate. I guess they don't think they need the incentive for their location and they are right. They do a booming business.

Nearby was La Te La, see the link for details
Upon returning and picking up Ann, we headed out to Publix this time. They have a few items that Winn Dixie doesn't carry but their prices average 10 to 20% higher. When we provision next week for our return trip north, we'll certainly go to Winn Dixie. The problem was in getting a parking space on the return to the marina. Key West is full, absolutely full of cars, there's no room, no extra spaces anywhere. There is a parking garage by the pool which all the spring breakers use and next door is the municipal parking garage of Key West. They used to both have the same $3/hour rate but the one next to the pool raised their rate to $4/hour. So now the municipal garage fills up first, by late morning. Unfortunately, the only garage we can use overnight is the municipal garage, overnight parking is not allowed in the one next to the pool. Given that, I sat for about 1/2 hour waiting for someone to leave and positioning myself right behind the departing car to grab the space. There were several other cars also waiting. Key West is a pain if you have a car.

Key West version of the gentlemen's club
Next was a tour of the art galleries on higher (southern) Duval Street. It's also the gay part of the street with many bars of that persuasion such as La Te Da. However, close by is the VIP Gentlemens Club so the area has all kinds.

We were interested in the art galleries along that section of Duval Street. We started at the Gingerbread Square Gallery. which Ann enjoyed. It has both oils and sculptors on display. A short walk then brought us to the Imagine Art Gallery. with many unique pieces. Next was a visit to the Lucky Street Gallery on White Street. Ann just loves to look at the various techniques and discuss the paintings with the hosts, it's like talking shop I guess among the artists. For my part, I just enjoy seeing the paintings. They are always current, not the old masters - which I also enjoy - it's just a different experience. Why go to a museum when there is such a variety nearby? Since the art is all new, it's also copyrighted so I'm not allowed to take photos, one downside.

Returning to the marina, it was once again wait time for a parking space in the municipal garage. Eventually the day trippers to the pool gave up and I got a space. I don't see how they  brave the cold weather with at temperature in the high 60's and winds of 15 to 20 kts, it's not warm, especially in a bathing suit. Hopefully, this will be the last week of the spring trippers.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

UBER - forget rental cars in Key West.

Bob423 said...

Uber is not legal in Key West