Why Summer Rocks

Living in Florida, we tend to thrive in winter – warm days, cool evenings and very little rain. What’s not to love? Then summer shows up and smacks you in the face with heat and 95% humidity everyday. We retreat indoors to air conditioned comfort while the rest of the country is basking in end-of-snow warmth. We also tend to go other places in the summer – the mountains of North Carolina are a popular getaway.

But what a lot of people forget is that Key West is great in the summer. Why? I’m glad you asked.

1. Things get less expensive. Hotels are not fully booked, so their rates go down and restaurants offer specials to entice those willing to brave the heat.
2. No dinner reservations needed (see point #1). Of course this sucks for the men and women that make their livings in the restaurant industry. But for diners, there is no fighting long lines or being turned away at the door for not planning ahead.
3. The Red Barn Theater has a summer season this year. Not one, but THREE shows running from July 12 through the 30th, with 5 days stints for each show.
4. The water is finally warm enough to swim. I love the beach, but despise it in January when I can barely get a toe in the water. Yes, I’m a wimp. I know it, now let’s move on.
5. Lobster mini season. 48 hours of lobster catching fun before the commercial guys are in town.

This doesn’t even begin to cover all of the events going on this summer: Swankey Palooza this weekend, Hemingway Days in July, the famous Battle of the Bars at Schooner Wharf in August and more.

I, for one, will try to stop complaining about how hot it is all the time. What are your summer favorites?