Afternoon View - Key West Detritus

Just the stuff that made it to the coffee table of my hotel room.

Morning View - Tough Guy

He still has the attitude that probably cost him that chunk of his ear.

Morning View - Truman Adult Video

A rolling billboard for one of the local dirty bookstores.

Afternoon View - Conch Republic Passports

Morning View - Key West Walgreens

I found this description of the funky building now housing Walgreens on Duval Street:

The Strand Theater in Key West opened in the mid-1920s as a single screen movie house that sat 800 around people. The theater closed sometime in the early 1980s and reopened as a nightclub. It remained open as a few other nightclubs until it became a Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum in 1993. The theater was sold in December 2001 and closed in April 2002. It has since become another location of Walgreens drug store. Based on research, over the past 20 years the marquee had become damaged with parts even missing. Walgreens restored the marquee to its original status, with the exception of adding their own advertising. All of the interior has been removed and/or covered over with the exception of the balcony.

Evening View - Key West Sunset

Afternoon View - Cranky Manx

This raspy-voiced fellow has been pacing on the railing outside my hotel room every morning.

Morning View - Southernmost Point

I went whizzing all over the island on my little scooter this morning.

Afternoon View - Conch Republic Cigars

RECAP: Key West Pride, Day One

Yesterday Father Tony and I arrived in the mid-afternoon and were whisked to our Cypress House accommodations with instructions to quickly prepare for the Key West Pride kickoff party at Island House. After a few hours of poolside menz and frozen drinkies, we were hustled off to dinner at The Flaming Buoy (heh) where the co-owner related how a recent positive mention from the New York Times nearly sank the joint with business it wasn't yet ready to handle. Fantastic char-grilled scallops, by the way. After dinner, the irrepressible Father Tony continued onward to some of the bars on Duval Street, but I was zonked on the bed by 10:30pm. I am the party animal.

DISCLOSURE: As I mentioned when I first posted about this trip, our entire Key West shebang is being funded by the Key West Business Guild - airfare, hotel, meals, nightclubbing, hookers...everything. (OK, maybe not hookers.) As always for these things, press junketeers are not "required" to review or even mention any of the places we visit. If we do, hey, that's nice of us. If we don't, oh well. I usually only mention the joints that I liked. Just so you know.

Morning View - Cypress House

Father Tony and I are staying at the fabulous Cypress House, where we have adjoining apartments. I'll post a slideshow recap of yesterday's goings-on shortly.

Evening View - Key West International

I love everything about Key West's airport, like the one luggage carousel. (Where's my bag? Oh. Carousel one.) But especially the super creepy multi-culti statue family on the roof.

Afternoon View - MIA To EYW

Father Tony and I are about to board our little prop plane for the hop from Miami to Key West, where we'll be celebrating Gay Pride Week. Nonstop.

Key West Pride

The Key West Business Guild has invited me down on a press junket to cover this year's Pride events, which run June 8th thru June 13th. And of course I'll be hosting a JMG readers meet-up at the fabulous Island House, date and time TBD. My third trip to Key West in 18 months! Hope to see some of you there!

Afternoon View - Porky's Bayside

Father Tony and I just crossed the Seven Mile Bridge and have stopped on Marathon for conch fritters and pulled pork at the way-funky Porky's Bayside Shack. Where they have free wifi. Go figure!

Evening View - Lunar Eclipse

Somehow I managed to stay awake for last night's lunar/solstice eclipse and crept up to the sundeck of the Island House for some photos. At first I was the only one up there, but I was shortly joined by patrons who'd set their alarms and the event turned into quite a charming and chatty collection of camera-toting gay men from around the world. Two highlights: the very tall and probably normally forbidding-looking man who played the Star Wars death march and Total Eclipse Of The Heart over his phone speakers, and the hilarious modeling agency rep Jose C. from Manhattan who turned out to be a rather devoted JMG reader. Totally a great way to close out our final night in Key West.

Afternoon View - Key West Phelpsian

Even in the paradise of Key West, whose city motto is "One Human Family," one cannot escape Christianist hatred, as discovered by Father Tony and his husband, who ran across this idiot standing on the city side of the final bridge to the island. Does anybody know if he's actually part of Westboro? Or is he just a local loon? Note the camera in his right hand, which he has at the ready in case anybody "tries something."

Morning View - Sloppy Joe's

You know I had to go in.

Afternoon View - Key West Lighthouse

The Key West Lighthouse is only 86 feet tall, but feels much higher when you are climbing its rickety circular metal staircase. Ow, my nuts.

Morning View - Island House Pool

At this early hour, there are only a few guys having breakfast in the restaurant adjacent to the Island House pool. But it'll be a mob scene very shortly.