Mountain People

Aidan on the left is almost thirteen and Connor on the right is a bit younger. They live in Asheville and are, lucky them, my nephews. They liked Key West the few days they came and saw the water -"Why is it so blue?" they asked me, their oracle. We took the ferry to Sunset Key and fed the whole brood lunch. It was a success.

Not surprising really. I like Key West and I live here and they came in a cool front that didn't overwhelm them with heat and humidity and respected their delicate mountain sensibilities more attuned to cold and frost this time of year. 

 The Pier House looked just fine under the sun as the waters of the harbor swept through on the tides trawling away impurities and leaving clear turquoise water to bedazzle our visitors. 

 The Coastguard base above, the former rail terminus for Flagler's Over the Sea railroad from Miami. Below we see visitors to the end of the road enjoying outreach beyond land buzzing aound like bluebottles on jet skis.  

I am a subversive soul and I suggested such a tour to my nephew, a fine upstanding father of two who does his part to combat climate change managing a  bicycle parts factory in Asheville while driving a suitable hybrid while living in a self designed home that employs nature for heating and cooling with minimal fuel consumption. However even his eyes lit up as the devil in me suggested a jet ski tour. "No one will know," I said using the age old formula to encourage deviance. What happens in Key West stays in Key West. Jet skis are scourges of course but tremendous fun and Jacob deserves fun as well as responsibility. I like him and his family a great deal.

We arrived at Sunset Key docks and I had my camera around my neck playing the crippled tourist with the walker. I ended up walking enough to make my legs scream by mid afternoon when I had to repair to bed and take a nap. I enjoy being mistaken for a tourist though.

You can understand why Latitudes restaurant was a hit.  The scenery was perfect, the food excellent and they even use cardboard straws to satisfy the Asheville hipster in all of us. My sister-in-law Geeta giving a passable impression of Her Majesty the Queen, Bevin and husband Jacob:

 Jacob:

 Bevin:

 Conner:

 Aidan:

Geeta:

 Brother-in-Law Bob:

 The fight for the lobster bisque:

Danger out sailing in a brisk breeze and looking good. I believe it started life as a Chesapeake skipjack hence the low free board to allow crabs to be brought aboard easily (and tourists to be rolled off if they get obstreperous no doubt!). A lovely ambassador for Key West:

I had a Cuban sandwich just for a change and regretted not sticking with my usual fish tacos which Jacob pronounced excellent. He also finished my sandwich which proved too much for me. The in-laws are a high maintenance crowd questioning the menu and adding things on the side so my wife was blissfully at home. I kept my head down and ordered. 

 And looked around and took pictures. What a day! You should have been there.

 My Cuban with turkey and mojo (Cuban garlic/citrus sauce)

The family was looking forward to a charter the next day, snorkeling and dolphin hunting and a picnic on an island and generally learning why we find it hard to consider living elsewhere. Mountains are lovely for a vacation and Appalachia around Asheville very much so as I have documented here (put North Carolina in the search function at the top to check it out) but, well, this...

 It wasn't  a day without clouds and indeed by the time my wife dropped me off at home to recuperate it was drizzling too but never cold enough for a sweater.

 The trip back...

 ...to Key West.

 Organizing the next event, a downtown walk ice cream and so forth, as you do. 

To be a tourist in Key West is a fine thing. I expect to be mistaken for one many times to come, I hope.

Latitudes

Van and Philip came visiting and we went to Sunset Key for lunch at Latitudes Restaurant. Out of the breeze it was lovely on the beach, the view across the harbor only slightly impaired by the necessary plastic screens. 

And the wind was noticeable as soon as we boarded the ferry at the Westin Resort on the waterfront. 

It was quite cool,  somewhere close to 65 degrees, but the boys, residents of Maine and former Key West residents were quick to admit they were feeling the chill.

 It only looked like the cruise ship was boxing us in to the Westin Marina. 

For some reason, even though the boat was empty my companions figured sitting outside was the thing.

 Nice views of the harbor...

 ...as we crossed the five minutes of water separating the city from the luxury island.

 Hoi polloi at anchor, next to Wisteria Key, known to locals as Christmas Tree Island, thanks to the Australian pines that flourish there. 

We were thrust into the lap of luxury, a place where drinks with umbrellas appeared as if by magic,  as we waited for our cheese plate first course.

Victor took our picture so I reciprocated while he was between plates, glasses, trays and orders. Latitudes is monstrous pricey (and romantic) for dinner but lunch is actually quite reasonable with a whole long list of sandwiches between fifteen and twenty dollars.  We lounged around talking and eating, and enjoying the sun, while Victor waited on us.

Our conversation centered around where we might like to live. Van and Philip like to move around, buying and selling homes and tasting life here and there. We last visited them in the summer in Boston and now they live in Portland up the coast. What makes for a desirable place to live was the subject of our meandering lunch time conversation. Phillip had an interesting take: he said the town has to have an edge, citing Boston as being too clean and middle class in his neighborhood. I started the conversation by expressing my confusion over the state of Key West, dirty chaotic and unorganized, and yet appealing perhaps because of that. "Decadence" Phillip said, saying a touch of the down at heel makes a town interesting. I need to come to terms with it, an ongoing process. The meal was excellent, the conversation was thought provoking.

I did kind of splurge with red wine, coffee and a suggestion we go for dessert as well. My vote for white chocolate bread pudding got nixed but the three flavored  creme  brulee  was just fine. Everyone else preferred the coffee flavored section, I preferred the bourbon but I didn't mind the mango in the middle either. 

Sunset Key used to be called Tank Island because the Navy built fuel storage tanks here (and never used them) but when the city sold the place for a pittance to the people that own the Westin it's fate as a sterile "Key West style" retreat was sealed. I have been round the island and it looks pretty much all like this, as seen from the restaurant area. The wealthy and the famous come here to get away from their tedious fame and vacation bum-free, chicken-free and reality-free. If you want to stay on the island they do have some cottages for rent for the well heeled masses. Guaranteed to be quiet, though noisy colorful Duval is but a 24-hour ferry ride away....  

Tank Island used to look like Christmas Tree Island does today, created out of material dredged from the harbor floor when the modern deep water turning basing was created in front of the city. Sunset Key has a pleasant little sandy swimming beach for the summer visitors when the waters are properly heated by the sun.

 And then we were back, and the crowds poured off the boat and mixed themselves back into the Key West street scene. I was sitting outside on the way back, such was the crush in the cabin and next to me there sat a grumpy looking dude dressed half way to homeless (worse than me) who carried some large bag and put me in mind of Pablo Picasso. He said nothing and didn't encourage conversation but he appeared from the depths of the island so you can speculate as you will on who he is and what his story might be.

At home, meanwhile, Cheyenne got on with the serious business of getting some beauty sleep.

A good day had by all, was Valentine's this year.

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From The Archives: Sunset Key

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Latitudes Restaurant

We were on the Westin Pier for the 12:15 ferry to Sunset Key. There were cruise ships docked for a fine Christmas Eve in Key West and tourist boats were sailing up and down the harbor. We were waiting for this one to complete it's latest round trip across the water:Nephew Tim showed up exactly on time which was when we discovered we should have checked in with the Westin Concierge to get our boat passes. A quick call by the captain confirmed our reservations for a ride to lunch across the water. We were not Westin guests, which put us in an unusual category, we were just visitors to Sunset Key's only restaurant, called Latitudes. As we are relatively impoverished in our brave new world (and because I was working Christmas Eve) we were having a Festivus lunch rather than dinner. It's a five minute ride across Key West harbor and we were preceded by the other launch that serves the exclusive island. In the background we see uninhabited Wisteria Key, known locally as Christmas Tree Island, which is also privately owned. The owners have announced plans to turn it into a boating center surrounded by a mooring field which I thought sounded rather interesting. I'm sure the anchor outs who live for free around the island will complain about gentrification...
It's been a while since the wife got out on the water thanks to shoulder surgery that disrupted our usual summer boating activities so she was enjoying the open water ride.
Frankly the ride from the Westin Marina to the Sunset Key dock is too short, with not enough time to take in all the sights. Pretty soon the sand beach comes into view: The homes on the island are strictly private and sell for millions of dollars even though they pretty much resemble the standard "Conch Style" sold in similar developments like Truman Annex and Tranquility Bay (the Singh property in Marathon) which still sell for lots of money but not as much as this lot. Tin roofs, porches and palm trees on a private island equipped with narrow streets and golf carts is what Sunset Key amounts to. I have been around the island in a previous life when I worked at Fast Buck Freddie's and helped deliver furniture. Our van was loaded onto the elderly tank landing craft docked at Trumbo Road (and which is used to transport the garbage truck among other utility vehicles to the island) and we rolled off at the vehicle ramp on the east side of Sunset Key. The house we delivered to was unexceptional, hardwood interiors, high ceilings, granite countertops in the usual way. It was an interesting diversion to discover that Sunset Key is vaguely like Key West only Disneyfied, sanitized and rather boring. Sunset Key, like Wisteria Island is made of dredge spoils from efforts to make the key West harbor deep enough for ocean going ships. The original dredging was done long enough ago that nowadays the islands are not really considered "spoil "islands- they have become part of the scenery. I have heard it said that homeowners insurance is difficult to buy for these homes as they are built on what is essentially human made land, but movie stars and the like buy here (Oprah Winfrey is rumored to own one) and I expect it is of little moment to the likes of them if insurance is ridiculously expensive. It is possible to rent a bungalow on the public beach side of the island next to Latitudes, the corner reserved for plebs like you and me who get to play on sand imported by barge from the Bahamas. No expense is spared in this crazy place:

As the ferry approaches the dock one can see Latitudes sitting right on the beach:The dock is covered to protect the precious cargo (you and me) from the ill effects of sun or rain:

There are docks for private boats but only residents are allowed to use them, no hoi-polloi may land on the island. Indeed, residents have been known to complain about plebs daring to anchor off the island. One can only imagine what would happen were you to land and claim Florida's inalienable right to public use of beach up to the high tide mark. Good luck if you try it. There is a fire truck stationed on the island (staffed by city firefighters as needed) and they do have security I believe, but the Key West Police Department has to send officers over from the city if they call for them, as Sunset Key is part of Key West (Wisteria Island is in Monroe County, not the city), and it takes time to ferry them out and get them back so as far as I am concerned, when i am dispatching, the less mayhem on the island, the better. And of course, Sunset Key is really an unruffled oasis of tranquility, all joking aside. There aren't even any roosters running loose. And if you think that as a guest at Latitudes you are going to get to run around the island at will, think again. A nice young lady met us at the dock and escorted us cheerfully to our luncheon appointment:

This is about as much view of the island as you get:Consider that we were having Christmas Eve lunch and this was the weather:Temperatures in the upper 70s, (around 25C in Canadian weather), with a light breeze and plenty of sunshine. we elected to eat outside on the beach. Though at Latitudes "inside" is a relative term:

And eating outside doesn't involve anything quite so gauche as actually sitting in that fine Bahama sand; tables are set on their own wooden decks:Young nephew Tim has been in Key west a few weeks and had yet to explore Sunset Key. Our choice of lunch venue worked for him:The lunch menu is relatively simple, with salads, sandwiches and a few appetizers.

We opened up with a cheese platter featuring four wedges of cheese with crackers, fruit and bread in an exquisite display:Then my wife and I shared a steak salad, and this was one half portion:And we followed up with a shared grouper sandwich. Tim had a turkey and bacon sandwich and left nota crumb on his plate. I think it was up to snuff... We all three elected to try the intriguing sweet potato salad, which is obviously the orange ball on the plate. It was quite delicious with a gingery tang:Decidedly I wanted something sweet to finish up with but Tim and my wife demurred. Then Michael, our smart waiter dropped by a dessert menu "just in case..." and I spotted my wife's weakness: creme brulee. They had three flavors in a tasting dish, vanilla, amaretto and something else. We scooped them up whatever they were:

Our meal was in many respects modest, they drank water I splurged with a delicious, full bodied ice tea (unsweetened if there were any doubt about that). The whole shebang including a decent tip (18%) came to exactly $100. And the view was free:

Guests from the Westin can come over apparently and enjoy the beach and they were out sunning themselves in the weak December sun:

For us it was time to take the 1:45pm ferry back to the mainland, we had places to go and all that good, real world, stuff. So when we saw the ferry heading towards the island dock from the city, we reluctantly got up and walked past the indoor guests, some in festive outfits:Sunset Key used to belong to the Navy, which organization built fuel tanks on the island and ran utility lines out to the place they called, unimaginatively, Tank Island. Then the Navy handed the island back to the city, without every having actually stored a drop of fuel on the island (!) and the city commissioners of the day sold all the waterfront land and the island to the Hilton developers for the bargain basement price of eleven million dollars. What made Tank Island so valuable were the water and electrical utilities laid across the harbor by the Navy. And the lack of such amenity has made it hard to develop Wisteria Island (Christmas Tree Island) just fifty yards north. I find the raggedy anchored out boats rather endearing as a symbol of the determination of the marginal and dispossessed to hang in and make a life in Key West even as gentrification continues even in the face of economic collapse. On Sunset Key the only free living these days is for the wildlife:

Lesser mortals off work and on vacation may circle Sunset Key on jet ski tours but they may only look and not touch:
Which goes doubly for anyone on the island:

We rated the lunch an enormous success and plan to do it again before too long. We enjoyed our previous foray to Latitudes and were wondering why we took so long to come back.And there in the distance is the US Coastguard base overseen by the huge pink bulk of the "Fly Navy" building as the Bachelor Officer Quarters building is known.The help gets to ride in the small boat well away from guests like us:

And if like us you parked in the Westin's multi-level garage on Front Street you will want to get your ticket validated at the restaurant for free parking:

Residents' dogs get to ride to the island, but Cheyenne is not so privileged so she got to nap in the Nissan while we stuffed our faces:

It's a dog's life but I doubt she would have enjoyed the sweet potato salad. We'll never know for sure.