Explore its six-plus miles of paved trails by bike and keep a lookout for some of the 84 protected species of flora and fauna including the Key Largo woodrat, American crocodile, wild cotton and mahogany mistletoe. Navigate nature trails: This 2,805-acre park in the northernmost Florida Keys is among Key Largo’s treasures, with one of the largest tracts of West Indian tropical hardwood hammocks in the U.S. Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park, Key Largo Here’s the low down on each of the 10 state parks of Florida Keys. The 10 state parks boast some of Florida’s most appealing waterfront views and beaches, with many just steps from the azure waters of Florida Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. If you’re visiting Key West to celebrate Pride, the 10 state parks are an extra reason to stay on for a couple of days to explore what else this 125-mile-long Florida Keys island chain has to offer.
#GAY PRIDE WEEK IN KEY WEST HOW TO#
Key West knows how to throw a parade, as reflected in the progress & improvement of legal rights of the LGBT citizens, since the election of the 1st openly gay Mayor in the US, Richard Heyman, of Key West where the official motto is ONE HUMAN FAMILY! Key West Pride is in a small town and the parade has a small town feel, but with big surprises. Restaurant review: in Taj Hotel, London - 30 April, 2022įlorida Keys and Key West Pride week runs from today (7 June) through to 11 June.Dopamine Land – the new immersive art experience arrives in London - 1 May, 2022.Inverroche Terrace at The Gantry hotel – Stratford, London - 2 May, 2022.As Lore maintains, “There has to be someplace like this, and thank god there is - and when I say god I say it with a small g.” Praise be for Pride with a capital P, and blessed be the Island House. Pilgrimage complete, I am grateful to have been a guest where carnality is celebrated and freedom is exalted. A veteran of the Island House had some choice wisdom for me and anyone looking to strip down, “Honey, don’t take your shoes off around here - they’ll disappear.”Īs the sun set, I made my way home, shoes in hand and glitter everywhere else, having lost nothing but my Island House virginity. As Lore explained, “We’re a clothing optional establishment and even during an event like this we intend to stay clothing optional.” As the evening progressed, nudity, for men and women alike, became the favored option, with the pool and dance floor happily awash in bare skin. This substitution was among the only measures of modesty taken by the resort for the coed event.
On Wednesday, in lieu of pornography, the video screens played Island House promotional videos. “This is the multicultural center,” joked one reveler. Cold as a meat locker and painted red as the devil’s toenails, the lounge welcomes visitors through a corridor of funhouse mirrors into a room with tasteful glory holes, television screens and a sex bench. On the condition that I cease recording of any kind, Lore was kind enough to give me a tour of the Island House’s infamous video lounge. Asked if this was business as usual for the Island House, one local coolly explained, “It’s usually more sex and less people.”
The sun was shining, house music was blasting, and a battalion of beautiful men in little more than bow ties and booty shorts passed bottomless glasses of champagne.
#GAY PRIDE WEEK IN KEY WEST FULL#
There’s no reason why they can’t share in the goodness of this place, the simple fact that it exists.”ĭuring the Pride party, the goodness of the place was in full swing and on full display. “It’s a very welcome chance for us to open our doors to women. It’s a sanctuary Lore is happy to share, on occasion, with us lady folk. I’ve been tasked with stewarding it and I don’t take that lightly. Anyone who has an open mind and comes here will recognize that it’s a special place. “It’s more than what it means to me, it’s what it means to a world of people, now including yourself. When I asked what the Island House means to him, Lore noted that the spirit of the place begins with, and belongs to, all those who visit.