Day 13 - Miami to Key West

Tony Cacciarelli • June 28, 2020

Miami, FL (KOPF) to
Key West, FL (KEYW) - June 27, 2019

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Original Instagram Post

Used the experience I got from flying with Tobi yesterday to navigate the Opa-Locka airport departure and flying along the eastern Miami coastline. But this time I just kept going to Key Largo, Marathon and all the way down to Key West. I had to make one slight detour to avoid a big cloud build up, but otherwise it was smooth flying and got there in about 1:45.

Key West has that island feel where everything is a little slower and more laid back. I'm trying the conch fritters every chance I get. Had some for lunch at the Conch Flyer at the airport and again @conchrepublicseafoodcompany in downtown. I'm definitely not an expert, so they're all good to me. 🤷🏼‍♂️

The sign at the Conch Republic bar reads: IITYWYBTBAR. Took a bit but I think I figured it out - If I Tell You Will You Buy The Bar A Round. Clever.

Met a really interesting couple, Robbie and Debbie, at Conch Republic. They're originally from New York, but retired to the central coast of Florida now. Great folks to pass the time with and compare life in LA vs NYC and Key West.

Also had some fish tacos at BO's Fish Wagon. They put cheese on them, which seems like it'd be wrong but it works! Great little place away from all the tourist stuff. Just my speed. Oh, and it wouldn't be Key West without a chicken. They're everywhere!

Tomorrow I'll head up to Jacksonville, FL. I was hoping to spend an extra day in Key West, but the weather looks like there might be thunderstorms on Saturday, so I'm going to try and get ahead of it. Of course, if I had to get stuck somewhere, Key West would be my first choice, but I have to get up to Massachusetts by July 5th, so I'm not taking any chances.

😀👍🏼

Once I was out of the Miami area the flight down to Key West was pretty straightforward as far as the technical stuff, but the views were amazing. It's uncontrolled airspace through most of the Keys, so I was able to check out the islands and the turquoise blue water as I flew along.

As I got closer to KEYW, there's a Naval Air Station to the east, so I had to check in with them before getting handed off to Key West tower. It's a nice approach out over the water and the folks at the FBO were helpful getting me parked and shuttled back to their office. I'd checked ahead and knew there wasn't any kind of wash rack at the airport, so I didn't do any water landings - even though part of me wanted to just say 'screw it' and go for it.

The weather forecast was showing some major thunderstorms brewing in a few days, and as much as I would've liked to get stuck in Key West I did have a schedule I was trying to stick to.

This kind of planning was very different from my normal, local or overnight flights. I had to be thinking several days out and making decisions so I wouldn't put myself in a position where'd I'd be tempted to do something unsafe just to stay on schedule.

Since I'd just have the one night in Key West, I took a quick dip in the hotel pool then headed out for the downtown area. I probably ate and drank way too much, but there were a lot of things I wanted to try. I figured I'd just put one less gallon of gas in the plane the next day :-)