Mysteriously, there is no disruption to my sleep. Has the night of St. Patrick's day been the only one of peace and quiet? Perhaps everyone is still at the bars? A mystery.
I am awaken early to a commotion of roosters crowing
. We decided to call this a "Chill Day". Let our sunburns mellow. We roamed the streets a bit but then planted our tired butts poolside at the Andrews Inn main campus. They have a pool, poolside furniture, cold water, a hammock, etc.
As we wondered the streets later in the day, we ran across the “Office of the Secretary General of the Conch Republic”. For those of you who did not know this... and I was one of them prior to my Trolley Tour... Key West seceded from the United States of America (aka “The Union”) on April 23, 1982. Evidently, the drug trade had motivated the United States of America Customs and Border Patrol to create a Roadblock and Checkpoint that stop and search all vehicles entering and leaving the Florida Keys. Vehicles were stopped and searched for narcotics and illegal immigrants. The Key West City Council complained repeatedly about the inconvenience for travelers to and from Key West, claiming that it hurt the Keys' important tourism industry. When the City Council's complaints went unanswered by the federal government and attempts to get an injunction against the roadblock failed in court, the Mayor and City Council declared Key West's independence. In the eyes of the Council, since the federal government had set up the equivalent of a border station as if they were a foreign nation, they might as well become one. As many of the local citizens were referred to as Conchs, the nation took the name of the Conch Republic. You can get your Conch Republic Passport here.
The Café “A Mostly Vegetarian Place” was recommended for a meal. For Lunch, we had the BEST stuffed Acorn Squash ever! Definitely a “go to” location. I want their recipe.
Later, we are off to dinner where we had previously viewed some colorful parrots. A Bellini Martini and then say “Goodnight” Casey!
Chill Day
Monday, March 18, 2013
Key West, Florida, United States
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2025-02-12