Key West St. Patrick's Day Bar Stroll

     It all started around noon on Saturday and by 4:30 ish most of the revelers were crawling.     This is one of the really fun Key West annual events.     You buy a T-Shirt for $30.00 and that is your ticket to a "high time" on Saturday afternoon.     How popular is this event, well the shirts were sold out by Thursday ( The actual St. Paddy's Day), and scalpers and others were organizing their own crawls.     This is one of the biggest that I've seen in my years here in the Keys.

     The organizers have really done an unbelievable job of promotion and selling of this event this year.     I think that the locals were just ready for a good blow-out afternoon, judging from the number of locals in costume for the stroll.     Everyone was smiling and carrying on, just cutting loose and having a really fun afternoon. 

     The procession went from participating bar to participating bar until they reached the Schooner Wharf Bar and the end of the procession.     That was the start of the real party for some, while others were "finished" when they arrived at the end of the stroll.     They started out at the Southernmost Beach Cafe, then to the Southernmost Tiki Bar, then headed on down Duval Street to Sweet Teas, Cowboy Bill's, Ilona's Garden Cafe, Kelly's Caribbean Bar, The Bull, The Whistle Bar, The Garden of Eden, Rick's Key West, and finally to the Historic Waterfront and the Schooner Wharf Bar.     This doesn't include several of the other stops many of the strollers made at the Rum Bar for instance, as we were completely swamped with "Green People" as they waited to get into Sweet Tea's across the street.   

     The "professionals" were undaunted by the end of the trail and partied on back to Duval Street and joined the "Super Moon" party going on as the moon rose over Key West.     I guess that when you are on vacation and feel the need to party and you don't want to see it end, you just let 'er rip.     That is a part of any good rumstyler's creed, party til you don't feel you can party any more. 

     By the way this sold-out event raised a lot of money for Cancer Foundation of the Florida Keys and the Boys & Girls club of Key West.    Rick Dostal, another terrific job of organizing, promoting, and carrying off this your 35th annual St. Patrick's Day Bar Stroll.     ;o)