Where did you go over break?

By Audrey Treece




Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone had a stress free break and is ready to get back to school mode.

I have always enjoyed the breaks throughout the academic school year. It is guaranteed time that you have where you can plan trips, explore new things and take care of unfinished business. I truly do not know what I am going to do when I have to enter the “real world” and work forty hours a week All. Year. Long.

That being said, one trip that I took over break was to Key West, Florida. It is one of those places that I would have never purposely visited without the influence of my father. I can say that it was nowhere near my preconceived expectations, but I can also say that it did not let me down.

I will be an advocate of Key West and say that it is one place that I think every person should visit at least once in their lifetime. The island is only a few miles big but has a lot to offer. You can see the southernmost point in the United States, the home of Ernest Hemingway or you can browse up and down Duval Street to check out new restaurants, bars and hidden shopping centers. On the other hand, there is a working port and marina which is a new experience in itself. If you are looking for a beach, however, you are headed to the wrong place. There are only two beaches on the island that are MAYBE the size of one of the architecture studios.

If nothing that I listed sounds of interest to you, I highly suggest visiting just to see their architecture and the way the spaces work. It is filled with indoor and outdoor spaces that are truly unique to their location which you will never find here in the Midwest. Although many of the spaces are truly open air “shacks” there is a valuable lesson to learn on how the space is utilized. Buildings that we would find unacceptable here in Southern Illinois flourish in Key West.

Key West is incredibly hard to describe. It is one of those places you truly have to visit. If I was forced to describe it…the best I can come up with is a mixture of Bourbon Street, Las Vegas and the Lake of the Ozarks in a tropical setting.
Just take my word for it and visit! If you want to check out live footage on Duval Street: www.liveduvalstreet.com/.



Photo credit:
Visualphotos.com
visit-florida-keys.com
traveladvice.hotels.com