The RIGHT turn that changed my life

After seeing the "Waffle House Sign from God", I was very excited.  This is not what I expected AT ALL.  I grew up spending my summers in on a tiny little island off the Gulf Coast of Texas call Port Aransas.  Everyone in Texas goes there. It is the closest hot spot for Spring Break.  It has one major street and like 5 stop lights.  Everyone walks to the beach.  It has ONE Dairy Queen it's so small.  You take a ferry across the channel to get there. It has one small grocery store/outfitter/bait stand. 

 That was what I was expecting Key West to be.  But instead of some sleepy little beach town I got this shock!

The last thing I was expecting to see was K-Mart!  We don't even have one of those where I come from.  So now my perception of the whole island has changed.  I'm thinking "Hmmmmm,  this could work".  Driving a little farther down North Roosevelt, I look out over in to the Gulf of Mexico and see a sunset that will forever be seared into my brain.

Is that not a thing of beauty?  A little farther down the road I came across this American Icon and I knew that I was not in some sleepy little beach town any longer.

McDonald's!  Woohoo! Who can resist those french fries?  So...I'm driving a little further and I see one of the most important things anyone would ever need, no matter where they live...The Mall.  (Well, it's not really a mall but it will do in a pinch.)

The Overseas Market.  It has a Winn-Dixie (where a lot of local action takes place). A Foot Locker, Pier 1, a liquor store, Post office, a Ross (the only place for local to buy clothes except for Kmart).  It has a CVS, a GNC and other stores thrown in for good measure (till they run out of money and close down 6 months later.)  There was a Blockbuster there for a while, but alas, gone with the tide.

Now that I'm certain that all the major stuff can be accounted for (Groceries, Liquor & Medications) I move on down the road and see the Mecca of all things necessary.

So, now I have established that this place really is inhabitable and I'm ready to relocate.

It was almost dark and I need to find the Bed & Breakfast I was staying at and I didn't really want to do that in the dark.  I was still on N. Roosevelt and as the sun set, the last thing I see is the quaint Garrison Bight Marina.

With it's rows of sailboats and house boats swaying in the wind, I said goodnight to my adventure and headed forward.