Key West adventures with Jeff and Mindy — Traveling Life's Highways

Sometimes while Traveling Life’s Highways you need others to share your adventures and create stories. Friends, Mindy and Jeff, arrived to spend a couple of days with us in Key West for another mini adventure. This is the second time we have met up to explore the oddities that make Key West fun and unique. This year’s adventure started off Monday evening with Happy Hour at The Boathouse followed by returning to the base and spending time at the Sunset Bar and Grill by the water.

Tuesday’s adventure began with a leisurely breakfast at Blue Heaven. During the 20-minute wait we visited the shops on either side of the street. Before long the coffee was flowing as we settled into the ambiance that is Blue Heaven.

Blue Heaven – Breakfast

Breakfast at Blue Heaven feels like stepping into a tropical daydream run by roosters and chickens. Eating outside under the trees while roosters strut around like tiny divas, and honestly, they are the stars here. The restaurant and its courtyard have a bohemian, historic, and eccentric atmosphere, with the rooster cemetery adding to its unique charm. The restaurant building itself has a deep history, having served as a bordello, a tavern, and a pool hall that once hosted cockfights. The roosters buried there are descendants of the birds used in those past cockfights, a practice that is now illegal.

The Breakfast - Mindy had pecan pancakes and grits, it was totally delicious. I had Eggs/Bacon Benedict which were plentiful. Jeff has the “Rooster Special”, eggs, potatoes, and banana bread while Maria had eggs and cheese grits. Never disappointed here with the funky decorations, leisurely ambiance and morning coffee. It was a nice way to start the day.

Rooster Cemetery at Blue Heaven - The Rooster Cemetery is in the outdoor courtyard area of Blue Heaven, a popular restaurant known for its Caribbean-Floridian cuisine and resident free-roaming chickens and cats. It was located just behind our seating area, with little fanfare and no large sign directing anyone to look at it. Another quirky, easy to miss thing to see on the island.

Today, the descendants of the buried roosters and some of Ernest Hemingway's famous six-toed cats (from the nearby Hemingway Home and Museum) wander the grounds freely, creating a unique dining experience for visitors. The small cemetery serves as a whimsical and historical tribute to these iconic Key West animals.

After breakfast, we strolled up Whitehead Street past the zero-mile marker of US1 to Caroline Street; passing the First Flight Restaurant, we found the Pirates Well, a hidden gem in Key West.

Pirate’s Well

While walking and wandering around Old Town Key West, have you ever stumbled upon the Pirate’s Well? Tucked away behind the pastel-colored houses on the streets and palm trees in front yards is a small but fascinating piece of island history.

Long before there was Duval Street, before all the now famous bars, even before modern plumbing, this location is believed to mark the first freshwater source on the island of Key West. In the 1700s, pirates, privateers, ship wreckers, and passing ships relied on places like this to survive in the Florida Straits.

Fresh water determined where ships stopped, how long crews stayed, and even why Key West grew as it did. Today, the Pirate’s Well is part legend, part history—and easy to miss unless you know where to look. Is this your first time hearing about it?

Found by Pirates in the 1700’s and used primarily for drinking & cooking, this water well became part of Key West history. It can be found at the Captain George Carey House at 410 Caroline Street, which is in fact, the 2nd oldest home in Key West! Look in the front yard on the left side of the porch in the heart of Old Town Key West. It’s FREE to see this part of history and take your souvenir photo. It’s sad so many people hurriedly pass this way every day and have NO idea how important a role it plays in the town’s history.

Fresh water was hard to come by in those times and ships enroute to European countries (Spain, France, England, Netherlands to name a few) now had a source to restock their supplies before their long Atlantic ocean voyage HOME!

Captain Carey House

Captain George Carey house is located at 410 Caroline Street between Duval and Whitehead Streets in the Historic District. Historic Marker Number One - “This house was built in 1834 by Captain George Carey, a wealthy Englishman who ran a seaport bar and wholesale liquor business. The original house, which is the second oldest structure in Key West, was quite small, consisting of two rooms and a separate cookhouse at the rear of the property.”

“In 1844, Captain Carey enlarged the house to its current size for his bride, a German woman who, along with her four sisters, was rescued from a shipwreck off the coast of the island. Carey's bride and her sisters all married men from Key West and the shipwreck have come to be known as the "Wreck of the German Brides. " Over the years, the house changed hands several times.”

“In 1934 it was purchased and restored by Jesse Porter, a fifth-generation Key Wester. Miss Jesse, as she was known to her friends, was instrumental in saving many historic structures of Key West and in creating our historic district. She lived in the house from 1934 until her death in 1979.”

“Her home became the gathering place for many of Key West's famous visitors and residents including Gloria Swanson, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Ernest and Pauline Hemingway, John Dos Passos and Wallace Stevens.”

“The small single-story cottage located to the right of the house opening onto the backyard is named after the poet Robert Frost who spent sixteen winters there as a guest of Miss Jesse.” The Oldest House in Key West is located around the corner at 322 Duval Street.

Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden – Parrot Rescue

Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden is an educational sanctuary for orphaned parrots located at 518 Elizabeth St, Key West, FL. “ We rescue, rehome, and train parrots. We have been welcoming the visiting public for 30 years. We are the smallest parrot sanctuary in the US, one of the very first to emerge 30 years ago and one of a very few sanctuaries that offer in person education to the public daily. We specialize in macaws. We have eight different species of macaws and two hybrids. Our mission is to stop parrot abuse.” There is plenty of educational material to read including a rescue story for each parrot. There is a $10 entry fee which helps provide funds for the parrots’ care.

The day continued with a walk along Duvall Street, a stop at Margaritaville for a couple of new T-shirts and to lift a drink in Jimmy’s honor before heading back down Duvall to The Conch Shack. This little kiosk serves up some of the best conch fritters on the island and we continue to try them all.

We walked back to parking at Mallory Square as the “sunset” brigade arrived for the daily ritual of watching the sun go down and the observing various street performers showing their skills for everyone.

The drive back to the other end of Duvall Street took us to Louie’s Backyard and Dog Beach. The sun was already down so it was a brief stay before finishing the day at Schooner Wharf Bar for dinner, drinks and music by a local. Sadly, it was ok but not the level of musicians we have in Helen, Georgia.

Jeff and Mindy, Louie’s Backyard, Key West

After a quick breakfast this morning, Jeff and Mindy headed back to the mainland ending another adventure. Thanks for coming and spending time together, enjoying the sun, tropical breezes and fellowship. See you on our next adventure.