The past six weeks or so here in Marathon have been somewhat monotonous. Primarily because there isn't much to do here in the Keys other than to go drinking and prowling about in the evenings.
So for better or worse I can often be found making the rounds at the various taverns in town for lack of anything better to do. For starters there is the "Sunset Grille & Raw Bar" on the north end of the Seven Mile Bridge. The place has great Tiki-Hut style ambiance overlooking a wide expanse of open water.
You'll want to go there for food and beverages if you happen to be doing the tourist thing. However, be prepared to pay full price and then some for the drinks and food. It is nevertheless a pretty decent spot to indulge in a few happy-hour beverages since this spot tends to draw in more than just a few cougars on the prowl and prowling cougars can indeed make one's overpriced beverage taste that much better.
"Burdines Waterfront, Chiki Tiki Bar & Grill", on mile marker 48 is another pretty decent place to indulge in a few cold ones and grab a bite to eat. Bottled Buds go for two bucks a pop which is not unreasonable.
It too has a nice feel about it. It's a dockside bar and grill overlooking the entrance to Boot Key Harbor. The food is decent enough, the beer is cold and more importantly it is all reasonably priced.
"Castaway", but a fishing-cast away from Burdines.... (ooopps... lousy pun... couldn't help myself... so sorry!) is simply overpriced. A dinky plastic cup of draft beer shouldn't cost $3.50 a pop. The place has nice decor but I happen to be on a cruising budget, not a European tourist budget and prefer to drink elsewhere.
"Porky's Bayside" is an outdoorsy type bar that happens to sell bar food as well. It's the kind of place bikers might prefer since it's right off of highway one. Other than that it really doesn't have much going for it. Check it out anyway just to say that you've been there.
"Hurricanes" is my preference for indulging in a few cold beverages and they sell pitchers of draft beer at a very reasonable price. The place also has free Wi-Fi, two separate bar areas, a restaurant area and a number of flat-screen tvs for viewing sports.
In addition, live bands play on Friday and Saturday nights. It might be Motown one night, Reggae another, and Blues and Country another. Without exception it's all been good.
Lastly, "The Brass Monkey" is about as seedy as it gets... it's a neighborhood type bar and caters exclusively to the locals... and these are hardcore service-industry locals and out-of-towners should enter with caution.
This is a smoking bar so it goes without saying that it is somewhat difficult to breath in there. Patronizing the place are nevertheless a number of skanky-looking women all bulging at the seams looking for a good time if that happens to be of interest to you.
So... after giving you the brief rundown of watering-holes here in Marathon, I'm thinking that I need an evening activity other than drinking.
There has got to be something better to do and it's way past time that I set sail and venture off elsewhere.
