Southernmost Shelter

Arriving in Key West at a moment when our work woes and overall life stresses are at a peak, the Brawny Sherpa and I embrace escapism of the overindulgent sort. Having learned that when lost in the jungle, the first step to assure survival is to make yourself some shelter, we stop first to check in at our hotel even though it’s barely midmorning and refreshments are foremost on our minds.

We quickly want to be best friends with the folks at the front desk of the Southernmost on the Beach, where we check in for a couple days’ stay at the La Mer Hotel, which is part of the complex. There is not so much as a whisper about 3 o’clock check-in times.

Not merely a bed and breakfast, La Mer allows us to avail ourselves of all of the amenities the Southernmost has to offer: beachfront, a pier, several pools, a restaurant, bars, a spa. Yet we have privacy amid the hubbub and Randall to show us to our room and to ease our way around the cappuccino maker in the mornings. I have a little veranda at which to write and read the paper while the Brawny Sherpa clicks around with the camera.

We discovered the little La Mer thanks to some very generous cousins who gifted us with a certificate from BedandBreakfast.com. Where shall we go? What shall we do? I had been cruising B&B’s website one night as cold weather approached. Head to Key West, the universe whispered to me.

Slipping into the easy comfort of this small hotel, our northern worries recede. This journey to the Florida Keys can’t help but be a good one.

Note from the Brawny Sherpa: Waffles were great. Ask Randall for one.

—Lori Tripoli