So I finally got my butt off the recliner and headed to the Starbucks to book my next abode… I researched, and finally found a place that was almost reasonable. It is An Island Oasis. I got it on Priceline. I looked it up on Expedia and it said that there were no rooms… they must have an exclusive with Priceline…
After surfing for some time I finally get hungry. I decide that I want to get something to eat. I decide that I want to get something to eat. I read about this place called the Bayside Grill. It is supposed to have great food and have a great view. This sounds good to me. The guy at Starbucks tells me that it is 5 doors down. That should be easy. Well it’s not. First of all Route 1 at this point is a divided highway so you have to be going south to get to it. It is on the Bay Side, hence the name… the good news is that there are business in the median area. Most all of them have access to both north and southbound so you can sneak through… very convenient when you have to U-turn several times… I first pull into the Bayside lodge… nope… keep going. I am crawling down the road trying not to be a great hazard… and I finally spot a sign for Bayside Grill parking. I quickly turn in… I am in front of a strip mall and I can not find the sign that I just saw!!! I drive around a bit and there it is on the wall way up high. I park near the sign and start walking down the way… well the way is way long so I go back and get the car. I drive 300 yards to the actual Bayside Grill parking lot… I made it. I sit at the bar and order conch (pronounced konk) fritters and a burger. While I am there I talk to the bar tender about how hard it is to find the place. While I sit there he gets 4 phone calls on how to find the place. One guy has called 3 time and he is across the street!!! It turns out that the bartender does not really get it that you can only get to the place if you are traveling southbound…
The guy from the phone finally shows up and he is a bit of a dweeb… him and his girlfriend are twenty something and not that bright… one other thing is the girl has a nice dress on that probably distracted him :>
I ask the bartender if there is a local bar around that would be fun to hit. Key Largo ahs no clubs, just a few local bars… he tells be about the Caribbean Café. It is supposedly where the movie Key Largo was filmed. He said that there are not too many fights there, but don’t go out back or watch what people are doing on the picnic tables… I feel really safe now… he gives me directions, that are only slightly wrong. It turns out that the place is right down the road from where I am staying. I was going to walk, but it was further then I think. I grab the car. I park facing out for a quick get away…
I have never seen the movie, Key Largo, but am pretty sure that it was filmed a long time ago. Walking into this place confirms it. The place has NOT be updated in at least twenty years… and neither have the people… it is mostly locals so I fit right in… NOT. At first glance these people are the redneck’s rednecks! There are long-haired hippy dudes, scary old drunks, large, not very intellengent looking people, one guy with a shaved head and a pony tail… and of course bikers… hmmm.. I look out back and see the picnic tables… I don’t see anything going on, but there are some people coming in that are high and drunk and who knows what else.
I order my na beer and make sure I put it in a cup. I stand out bad enough as it is… I settle in at the bar and watch the people. As the initial shock wears off and I listen up, they seem like alright people… of course they are, people are people. This woman, Trish and her man Serge are standing next to me and she introduces herself to me. She lives down there and is nice to talk to. She has all her teef and a cute cowboy hat to boot. I talk to another guy who comes to the bar for a round for the table and he is also on the dole. He has been gone for a year and a half. He figured that if he was going to be unemployed, he might as well do it back home in Key Largo… one other guy is a great welder that put in a spiral staircase in Trish’s house… hmmm
I ask Serge about the band that is purportedly coming on at 10:00 and he tells me that they are really good. The problem is that it is already ten of… no thump, thump of the drums… turns out that the band was doing some old-folk wedding so they were a little late. They are actually pretty good, playing none other than southern rock! He lead singer looks like Charlie Danials. There is dancing and drinking (neither of which did I partake in) and more drinking. At around 12:30 I had seen all there was to see and headed out and call it a night… tomorrow off to Key West