The $100 Key in Key West

I went to Key West last weekend to celebrate the wedding of my college friend Josh (in the khaki and white suit). My travel itinerary was pretty complicated. I took a greyhound bus from Asheville to Greenville, SC and then to Charlotte, took a cab to the airport, flew into Atlanta and then took a connector flight to Ft. Lauderdale where I met up with my college roommate, Chris (the handsome gent in white next to me at the pool). From Ft. Lauderdale we drove a rental car four hours down to Key West. We spent most of the weekend directly in or beside a pool and were never far from a corona or colada. Josh and his bride, Erin got married on the beach. It was a unique wedding in that Chris, a weatherman from Milwaukee, presided over the vows. He did it as a friend. As strange as it sounds to turned out to be very heart-warming thing to experience. Josh and Erin will go to a church this weekend to seal the deal in a more formal fashion. Key West is a fascinating place. It's the most tropical place you can find in the continental U.S. There's a beautiful historic section in the western half of the 4-mile island that has beautiful french colonial Victorian homes. Duval Street turns into a mini Bourbon Street at night with sidewalks flooded with people walking from bar to bar in search of the best live cover band and best drink specials. In Key West stray cats and wild roosters roams the streets and 800 square foot concrete block houses go for about $500,000. It's come a long way from being an abandoned, boarded up old fishing town. I met a couple of Cab drivers that made it their life's mission to move down there. They seemed very happy. The night before I flew back home I went for a swim in the ocean in Ft. Lauderdale with Chris. Unfortunately, I had the electrical car key in my pocket. The salt water short-circuited the key. My rental company didn't offer to pick me up or come out and replace the key. They did however suggest that I could sit and wait for the water to evaporate out of the key or put it under the hot air dryer in the men's restroom. 3 hours and $30 in cab fares later I was back at the hotel arguing with Payless rent-a-car about the irony of their name. I wound up eating $100 for the key. The rental car insurance covered any damage to the car, but of course the key wasn't included. Of course...