A few weeks ago, my wife, my dog, and I loaded into the car and headed to Key West. We were planning on celebrating our anniversary by going on a day trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park. Unfortunately, Hurricane Wilma had damaged the park enough to shut it down for a few weeks: we were "stuck" in Key West. So what is there to do in Key West when you can't go diving or snorkeling?

The short answer, of course, is: plenty. The long answer is more like: drink, eat, shop, and sightsee. In the two nights/three days we spent in the Conch Republic, we had a glorious time. Several weeks prior to leaving, we booked a room at the (pet-friendly) Palms Hotel ($141/night for a room with two double beds in the off-season), which is a short and scenic eight block walk through historic Old Town to Duvall Street.

Friday:

We left home about 10 in the morning, and – after stopping in Key Largo to try to take some pictures of Jules Undersea Lodge, which sadly, we couldn't see, because, um, it's undersea – we arrived at the Palms at about three in the afternoon. We unloaded the car, and enjoyed $3 frozen rum runners near the pool during Happy Hour.

Shortly before sunset, we headed to Duvall Street – the French Quarter of Key West – and plunked ourselves on some sidewalk-facing stools at Fogarty's. Across from the Bull and Whistle Bar (note: the third story of the B&W is the Garden of Eden, a late-night, clothing-optional bar that plays dance music), Jodie and I sipped $4.50 gin and tonics and watched people pass. After a few drinks, we headed to (my wife's favorite place) Sloppy Joe's to eat dinner, but it was packed, so we headed across the street to Rick's. Unfortunately, after we ordered drinks, we realized that the peanuts on the tables were the only food Rick's served, so we listened to the band as we tossed peanut shells on the floor and sipped our drinks. The two-man band was only so-so, but I really enjoyed one of their songs: "My Girlfriend Left Me, and She Took My Dog (Stupid Bitch)."

Next to Rick's is Durty Harry's Entertainment Complex, a very club-y bar that focuses on the college crowd. Nevertheless, the band playing at the time was a great rock cover band and played the only Pearl Jam cover I think I've ever heard. And it was really good. Adjacent to Durty Harry's is the awesome Angelina's Pizzeria; we stopped in and each had a slice ($9 for two slices).

After dinner, we headed to the Hog's Breath Saloon, a Key West institution. At the Hog's Breath, we listened to a band called The Massacoustics, who were, in a word, terrifically, fabulously awesome. Seriously. The band was only two young guys: a lead singer on guitar, and a guy who drummed with his right hand while playing the bass guitar with his left hand! I'd never seen anything like it. I was especially impressed when he whipped out the maracas and played all three instruments at once. The crowd was going bonkers: we were all dancing. After the Massacoustics finished their set, we headed back to Sloppy Joe's and danced to an 70's cover band for a while. About 1 in the morning, we returned to the Palms. Jodie went for a late night dip in the pool, while I ate M&Ms on the pool furniture and watched her swim. My dog, Cabela, sat at my feet, waiting for me to drop a precious, chocolatey morsel. Sadly, I didn't. Let me just say: it was a good night's sleep.

Saturday:

We enjoyed a nice continental breakfast by the pool in the morning and took Cabela on a long walk through Old Town, looking at the historic homes and admiring the landscaping and architecture. Most of the houses in Old Town are crammed together with very little space between them. Many of the residences are small – maybe only two-bedrooms – but a few are sprawling, gothic giants, many of which have been converted to B&Bs.

For lunch we headed to Willie T's. Thirty-six dollars got us drinks and two lunch plates. (Jodie's southwest chicken panini was excellent.) After lunch, we headed to the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum. Eleven dollars got us into this excellent museum, and we spent two hours looking around. The highlights included a 77.7-karat smuggled emerald; gold and silver bars that looked spit-shined; and some beautiful majolica earthenware. After the museum, we headed back to the hotel for an hour, to relax and shower.

Around four, we headed to Mallory Square to watch the Sunset Celebration, a nightly display featuring tightrope walkers, magicians, human statues, a guy who's trained stray cats to jump through flaming hula-hoops, and (our favorite): a unicycle-riding juggler. The event is free (although tipping the performers is encouraged. Strongly.) and happens each night just before sunset. (FYI – Unless your dog loves crowds, this is not the place for him.)

After the celebration, we wandered over to Two Friends Patio Restaurant, two blocks away. The ambience was nice (think: seafaring), but $70 was way too much for the portions and quality of food. For dessert, we grabbed a fresh-from-the-oven one-pound chocolate chip cookie ($6) from Cookies and Cream. Mmmm. Earlier in the day, we had arranged for a Ghost Tour. For $18 a head, this 90-minute walking tour takes guests about six square blocks from the La Concha Hotel – Key West's tallest building – and explains the ghostly history of the city. Starting at 8, the tour was fun, but our guide Carlos kept referring to himself in the third person, and appropriated a bizarre quasi-Hispanic accent that he dropped about half way through the tour. I spent as much time wondering about his speech as I did listening to his stories.

After the tour finished, we headed to the Green Parrot ("a sunny place for shady people"), which is a block off Duvall, and listened to Chicago blues-rocker Pistol Pete. The Green Parrot is one of my favorite bars in Key West – mainly because it feels much less touristy. Draft beers were $3. After we'd heard enough from Pistol Pete, we wandered to the beautiful, indoor-outdoor Virgilio's, but they were charging an $8 cover, so we passed. (We'd been there before, and if anyone in America wants to understand the concept of gezellig, Vergilio's is it.) We cruised by Sloppy Joe's and Hog's Breath again, but they were both charging covers, too (it was Saturday night, after all), so we headed to Captain Tony's – a.k.a., "Hemingway's Sloppy Joe's" – and had some $3 Miller Lites. (I put my business card on the wall, along with the zillion others already there.) After one drink (the live band was boring), we left. We swung by Angelina's, gobbled another slice of pizza, and headed home.

Sunday:

We woke up early and had another long walk through the neighborhood. We grabbed a bagel from the continental breakfast and headed downtown for some souvenir-shopping. We didn't get much – a few birthday gifts only – but Jodie found some excellent Cuban coffee at Cuba Cuba for $8. I drank some of the strong, black stuff this morning, and I could've run to work. As we headed out of town, we stopped at a few more shops, but the art in the Keys is prohibitively expensive. For lunch, we ate at Sandy's Café – on the 1000 block of White Street – which is a Cuban restaurant that shares a building with a laundromat. Naturally, the $11 we spent there was likely the best meal we ate all weekend. Get the Sandy's Special – a modified Cuban sandwich with less fried pork, and more cold cuts. Mmmm.

There's a lot to do in Key West, but this is just a quick description of what we did. On a final note, when we visited before, we toured the Hemingway House, which I think is another must-see.

Have you ever been to Key West? What did you do?