On the last day of our first week in the Caribbean, our ship docked in Key West, Fla., the southernmost city of the continental United States. The Conch Republic, as its citizens prefer to call it, truly is an entity unto itself, and we were instantly charmed by its laid-back atmosphere, free-range roosters strutting everywhere   and tropical architecture.

Because the island measures a mere 2 miles by 4 miles, we eschewed any organized excursion and opted to stroll about town a bit to get our bearings and then rent a gas-powered golf cart to range a bit further afield. The cruise dock sits smack in the center of town, with the piers ringed by fairly new, well-kept condos and neat, low-rise commercial buildings. Palm trees and tropical landscaping and brick pavers present a clean, pleasant face to arriving cruisers, but a quick stroll takes them past the lovely Old Customs House and into the Old Town. Nearby lies the Key West Historic Memorial Sculpture Garden, featuring 36 busts of important figures in Key West’s development.

Our travel companions recalled staying at a B&B several years before during an uncharacteristically chilly visit to the Keys, and we decided to stroll about, admiring the grand old Victorian-era homes and hoping their memories would guide us to the right spot. Their memories proved excellent, and we arrived at the Curry Mansion Inn (built in 1869) and were welcomed in for a self-guided tour of the place by the owners, who treated us all like long-lost friends. The owner’s mother, who’d opened the house to guests decades ago, was a prolific antique collector, and each of the public rooms (and, I believe, many of the guestrooms) overflows with beautiful pieces and vintage knickknacks. The woodwork   and stained glass   is exquisite as well, which we admired as we made our way all the way to the top of the house and out onto the widow’s walk to admire the view over neighboring rooftops.

Later, after poking into a few shops (six days into our cruise, souvenir fatigue and boutique boredom had set in), we hopped into our golf cart and set out to circle the island. We experienced one of those serendipitous interactions with a local when we pulled over to consult our map and a gentleman on a bike pulled up next to us and offered a recommendation for a good lunch spot. Following his directions, we made our way to the Hurricane Restaurant and Marina for some cool libations and local seafood. My husband strolled over to the adjoining marina to observe the local fishermen cleaning their catch (yellow-fin tuna) at large, open-air tables while we sat alongside the water, watching enormous tarpon feeding on the fishermen’s leavings.

Slaked and sated, we headed back into town, stopping for the requisite photo op at the southernmost buoy marker, cruising past the Hemingway house and strolling past more shops and the Art Deco Strand Theater on Duval Street. We stopped at one of the many watering holes for which Key West is known for a pitcher of margaritas before heading back to the ship. All in all, we enjoyed our quick visit to this little bit of the Caribbean in the U.S. and decided a longer visit could be in our future.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor