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It started off cool last weekend in Key West.  The locals were not happy--it was a high of fricking 52 degrees on Friday.  Fisherman were bundled up like Eskimos.

The rest of us loved it.

We were in the warmest place in the whole USA and we had a city crammed full of tourists looking for adventures in dining and art.

I took off from freezing Ybor City early Friday morn around 5 AM.  We had the plants covered, and I was covered too--still had bare knees, no long pants on me, I don't own any.

It is usually a nine hour journey to the bottom of the Keys.  This time I knew it would be longer.  Everybody who could afford it got out of the frigid north and headed to the Florida Keys.  The roads were packed.

Ironically, I thought gas would be way higher down there than Tampa.  When I left, it was $2.19 per gallon.  Guess what?  I got to Key Largo and it was still the same price.  Now down in Key West it got up to $2.58.  Still pretty cheap.

I have done this show, off and on, since the early nineties.

I have never had huge, bang-up shows there, but i always make a paycheck.  Plus, I get new work.

I had missed the last three years due to illness to Ellen, and me.  So I was excited.

I was going to be sharing a room with my old glass art bud, Jim Wilbat.  He is a Chicago boy, but he easily translates into the tropical style of the Keys.

He was coming off a great Coconut Grove and I was coming off a great Artigras.

We snagged a bedroom via AirBNB.  Our first time using this site.  It went well.

We ended up in a place about 17 miles north, Sugarloaf Key.  About a 30 minute ride into KW.

It cost us about $150 a nite for the two of us.  We shared a bedroom, separate beds, of course--otherwise both Kara and Ellen would be pissed.  We got use of the whole house located on a canal near the Atlantic.  Drank lots of good wine and a few tastes of Vodka.

So here is the thing about this show.

It aint cheap staying down there.  It is high season and you will pay top dollar.

In the old days I could bring my trailer down and stay at Jabours Campground for $40 per nite right downtown.  Jabours is long gone now.  There are no campground rentals in KW.  Nearest place is north at Stock Island at Boyd's Campground.  It will cost more than $40 per night.

A glass artist friend got together with five other people and rented a whole house during the show.  Actually, they stayed for six days.  Cost each of them about $100 per night.  But they partied hardy.  It was worth it.

On the CLC card I used to get a Days Inn at the top of the Island for about $125 per nite--but that was being remodeled.

There are hundreds of B&Bs there.  You just gotta get on the horn early to try and get a good rate.

So finding a cheap room is almost nonexistent for this show.  You gotta know that right away.  And plan accordingly.

That is the only detriment that I can think of for this show.  Everything else is blue skies and plenty of fish and margaritas.

The nice thing about this show is that you can meet people from all over this planet there.  And, most of them have money, or they wouldn't be there.

Between the airlines and the cruiseships, let alone the ones who just drive there, there are people from Europe, South America, Asia, and from all over the USA.

I spoke to seven persons from Philadelphia on Sunday.  Heard a lot of mid-western accents with a sprinkling of New England.  And, of course, you have a ton of New Yorkers and Jersey people thrown into the mix.

Which means anything is possible to sell here.  You just gotta give it your best shot.

It is a two day show with early morn setup on Saturday.  Six AM if you are on Whitehead Street and seven AM if you are setup on the Truman annex part of Caroline Street.

The local Art Association led by the very able director Lois Songer run a very smooth show.

Lois learned her chops from longtime director Florence Rechter, and she learned well.

It is a tight street for setup and everybody flows the correct way.  Nobody hogs the road and blocks it for others.  Teardown is equally smooth.  Most people are out in a hour-and-half  or less.

You got storage room behind in most spaces.  Side to side is tight unless you have paid for one of the few corner spaces.  You need weights.

They have free parking for artists few blocks away.  You can park in a municipal garage nearby.  There is a pay lot, about $20 per day, right off Caroline near the show.

They provide coffee and bagels in the morn, water and juice too.

They run a very enjoyable show.

I just don't know any other place I would rather be in the last weekend of February.  Oh, there is Naples.  But Key West is way more fun.

There is Kellys Restaurant right on the corner of the show.  They do a killer happy hour 4-7 with cheap Margies and Buffalo Wings.

In the mornings I hiked it down to Pepes Restaurant for breakfast each morn, it is about six blocks down.  Just beyond Pepes is Harpoon Harrys, another great spot, which serves a killer coffee con leche.

After the the show each night, Jim and I hit Origami Sushi bar in Square One Duval complex.

They have the freshest seafood and at reasonable prices.

At least one night you gotta have cocktails on the Afterdeck Bar at Louies Back Yard, right on the Atlantic Ocean.  It is the best ocean bar, bar none, on the Atlantic.  In the old days, Jimmy Buffett used to live right next door.

NICE STUFF ABOUT FOOD AND BOOZE, NELS, ARE YOU EVER GONNA TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT THE SHOW?

THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER ASK. (to be continued ...)

Well, Saturday crowds were strong and sales happened pronto for many.  I saw  several large paintings go out and they were not just tropical images.

People kept buying most of the day, most of us turned $1K or better, usual for Key West.

One important note about this show.

This is the fine art show and no crafts are allowed.  In January they have a craft show at the same site and no 2-D art is allowed.  So be aware of these things.

Back to saturday.

You have to be ready to ship art.  Post a sign in your booth that says this.  You have customers who have flown in, or boated in for the most part.

I never sell big items here, it is mostly out of the browse bins with some 16x20 frame sales included.

Ironically, I have loads of Keys images (been shooting there for 40 years) yet I sell very few of them.  How do you figure?

Wilbat and I did a good happy hour at Kellys followed up by sushi at Origami.  We made it an early nite.

BTW.  The temps went up nicely on Saturday to a breezy 68 degrees.  Sunday, it got even warmer.  We were the warmest spot in the nation.

Sunday morn we got there early, did con leche at Harpoon Harry's and read the paper.  I got two hours of good shooting in, came away with some great Key West Gold--photo-wise.

Sunday was much slower.  Thinner crowds, more looky-lookys than real buyers.  Time seemed to drag.  I consoled myself looking at the tropical birds flitting above the trees.  I dreamed of fried Mahi and Golden Margaritas.

At 5 PM show was over and the load out began.  Surprisingly, while I was gone to get my van, a guy came in and was waiting for me.  He ended up being a $300 sale which made the show a decent paycheck.

Monday morn I was on the road home to Tampa at 5:30 AM.

Around Marathon I spotted the first silvery glimmer of clouds starting to crowd out the night light.

Then slivers of pinks, followed by deep purples emerged.

The Keys sunrise, to me, is the best.  I always feel real joy seeing it.

You smell the salt in the air, you see the coral blue waters, fish jumping and boaters skirting atop waves.

It makes it all worthwhile.

I made it home by 3 PM, safe and sound, and a little renourished from my Keys adventures.

Not a bad way to be earning a living.  Living the good life.

Later, Gators.  Nels.