I will always have a place in my heart for Key West. The first time I ever went was when I was 12. Our family had a timeshare and would go every October during Fantasy Fest. It's quite a festival if you've never been. I also love the fact that you can pretty much walk around everywhere you want to go. As a 12 year old, it was great. It doesn't get any better than spending all day at the beach, getting sunburned, eating the best slice of key lime pie you've ever had, and going to Mallory Square to watch the street performers and take in the sunset.
Key West is gorgeous and it's filled with so much history. It's also filled with bars, but some of those bars helped contribute to a few of the best literary minds of the 20th century. My favorite obviously being Ernest Hemingway. He was a man's man who lived hard and played hard. A visit to the Hemingway House is always on the list of things to do. Being the crazy cat lady that I am, i love all the 6-8-10 toed cats that live there, they are the best and I get a little kitty love from them. I have to visit them every time I go to Key West. Key West also has so many great public beaches to visit as well as private beaches located behind all the resorts. Most of the sand that makes up these beaches are mostly trucked in as part of a sand replenishment program. The hurricanes hit Key West really hard and take all that pretty sand with them. The only natural sand beach in Key West is Fort Zachary Taylor Beach. You can tell when you look at the sand because it's made up of mostly white coral. I've never been able to figure out why because in my opinion it's a very exposed beach. There isn't anything protecting it from hurricane force winds.
I also visit the Southernmost Point when I am in Key West too. The Southernmost Point Buoy Marker is pretty much a landmark that should be on everyones bucket list. A short distance away is South Beach which is the smallest public beach in Key West. South Beach is my favorite beach in Key West. No one can really prove this, but Tennessee Williams came to South Beach and swam every day. It's also the perfect beach to watch the sunrise. If you're looking for the sunset, Mallory Square is the spot.
If you go to South Beach in Key West, you can say that you've been to the southernmost beach of the continental United States. As a beach bum I really like saying it and think it's pretty cool, but I am a weirdo. More than anything, I just really like the beach there. I can and have spent all day there relaxing and staring out at the ocean picturing Cuba in my mind. After all, if it's good enough for Tennessee Williams, it's good enough for me.