There are so many reasons why I love Key West. One of my favorite things is that I cannot go anywhere without seeing people I know. Grocery shopping? All the time. Home Depot? Undoubtedly. A great restaurant? That goes without saying. Of course, also on this list is the Tropic Cinema. The Tropic is a fantastic movie theater. It lacks crowds, overloads on charm and personality and has a hell of a good concession stand, complete with wine by the glass or by the bottle. I remember thinking, on one of our first visits, how fabulous it was that you could get decent wine at a movie. I have come to now think that it should be standard issue at any concession stand. Maybe I have been in Key West too long, or maybe I have just been to crappy movie theaters in the past. As we were debating which wine to get, and should we go by the glass or bottle, I spotted our diagonally-across-the-street neighbors. (Admittedly, this was not an impressive feat as we were the only four people in the theater lobby.) We began chatting, realized that we are all going to see The Hundred Foot Journey (good, but not as good as the book, and I felt like they glossed over some important parts from the book), so we could continue our chat in the theater once we decided on a beverage. We did just that. We were in the theater for about 10 minutes before the move began, so we had plenty of time to discuss our house, our pool, if we were happy with our builder, etc. We then began talking about other construction projects we see around town. One such project is at the top of Solares Hill, and has been under construction by various owners, and several builders over the last few years. We were wondering aloud if the current owner would live there or not. Someone else, sitting behind us, chimed in with some information about the owner living in the house and also renting out part of it. We also discussed the cost of the renovation. That is how it happens here. You start talking with people you know, about a random subject. All of a sudden, a complete stranger chimes in with additional information to add, because it would be impossible for five people to be talking and not have someone know the owner of the house in question. I love that Key West is a small town, but we have wonderful venues, like the Tropic Cinema, and loads of great restaurants.
