We're back from our Thanksgiving trip to Key West. Two parents, two adult children. We stayed at Cypress House, on the corner of Caroline and Simonton. Great location, very fun guest house. Huge continental breakfast, with fresh baked muffins and multiple types of coffee cakes every morning, plus fruit, yogurt, bagels, cereal,you get the idea. Also 'happy hour' at 6pm with a full bar and some nice 'finger' foods. A nice time to meet other guests, or if you just want to sit alone and chat, that's fine too. Our room was fine, two bedrooms, large bathroom. Not fancy, but tall ceilings, fans, a/c. Very clean. Also a fridge and microwave.

We went on a kayak tour which was fun. I'd never been before, and being a real wimp when it comes to paddling, decided to do a tandem kayak, and let dear husband do most of the work. That worked fine, but it didn't look all that hard, and next time I'll paddle myself. Saw lots of neat sea creatures.

We also did a sunset 'pirate' cruise. This was disappointing, after cruising on the schooner America last time we did a sunset cruise. Much smaller ship, crew seemed sort of clueless, and no beer/wine on the ship. Who ever heard of a pirate ship with no booze? Not a big problem, but sort of unexpected. Also, the advertised pirate type goings on were pretty lame. It was a beautiful sunset though, and was a nice sail.

We didn't eat at anywhere fancy (read expensive) this trip, since we were paying for four and my kids aren't into 'fine dining'. We had great meals at Half Shell Raw Bar and Alonzo's Oyster Bar. Decent food at Conch Republic Seafood Company. The usual great fish sandwich at Bo's. Good ribs at Meteor. Good pizza at Upper Crust, but they need to figure out a way to make sure that people who don't want take out will actually have a place to sit and eat when their pizza is done. Last night we were there the guys were getting hungry for a good burger. Finnegan's Wake has wonderful burgers, also great fries and a huge beer selection. Sort of off the beaten path on Grinnell.

The weather was perfect, highs in the low 80's, cooling off at night to where several nights I wore a light weight jacket.

I know not everyone loves Key West, but I can't imagine anything more pleasant than my early morning strolls through the side streets and lanes of Old Town. Jean

Thanks for the mini trip report Jean!

We leave next Wed. for KW and are really looking forward to so many things we have enjoyed on our trips there before.

Tell me more about the Kayak trip and where you did that - sounds fun! What all did you see?

Sounds like you enjoyed the America trip more. Do they do that every day? We have done the Fury cat trip to snorkel, but I have heard the reefs are pretty much history with all of the cruise shippers visiting them, so I think we will not contribute to their continuing decline by visiting them.

Thanks again!

Diana, We kayaked with Blue Planet Kayak. Phone 305-294-8087. Main reason was he was the first one to return our call. The tour is out of Boca Chica, and they picked us up at our hotel. I know absolutely nothing about using any sort of oar or paddle, and I'm a real wimp when it comes to upper body strength. So, we decided on a tandem for my husband and I. He finally gave up on me and told me to just sit still and he would paddle. <g> We saw a huge starfish, lots of jelly fish, conch, sea urchins and a really ugly slug type thing called a sea hare. Darn thing squirted ink all over my fingers. I have mixed feelings about the guides fishing those critters out of the water, but they seem to be careful they aren't injured and return them quickly to their home environment.

We kayaked through narrow water ways through the mangroves. It was fun. Apparently they often see rays, but we only saw a small one, and a quick glance at that.

We definitely preferred sailing on the schooner America, but it's expensive, $75.00 for a sunset cruise. However, after spending $50.00 on the schooner 'Wolf' pirate cruise, it seems well worth it.

I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did. Jean

Gee the last time I stayed at Cypress House -- around 1983!! -- it was 100 percent gay. How the old place must have changed.

The current owner has been at Cypress House 11 years. I don't think there are nearly as many totally gay guest houses in Key West as there used to be. Darn, I'm cold, wish I was back there now. Jean