Just got back yesterday from my trip to Key West for a chili promo at Peppers of Key West, and it was a blast. I finally had an opportunity to meet owner Pete Legrady and his fantastic staff of hot sauce fanatics, and perhaps best of all, the shop employees loved T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili. That right there is a huge victory because when you stock 600 items, there are only so many favorites to go around when customers ask what you recommend. So hopefully I'll find myself in that category soon.
My wife and I, accompanied by our friends Brady and Erin, who flew us down for the weekend, departed Maryland Thursday night and spent the evening in Savannah. Refreshed by morning, we flew the final leg in Brady's company Cirrus, so a big thanks to my friends and cookoff sponsors at Airtec. I don't think many people would complain about a trip to Key West, but making an 1800 mile venture puts wear and tear on any plane, so for that I'm thankful.
Here are some photos we were able to snap along the way, and I'm sure there will be a few more rolling in over the course of the week.
We're not trying to prove how cool it is to fly with your eyes closed; the girls were taking pictures and had to use a flash because it was dark (night flight). So three seconds of blindness was definitely better than three minutes.
Here's a good shot of our final 20 minutes in to Key West. If you look closely on the screen, the plane is just about in the very middle.
Great shot of the runway (and the propeller) on our approach. My wife also grabbed a great camera phone picture of the asphalt right as we landed, so I'll put that up as soon as I get it.
Captain Brady posing with Amie and Erin in front of "Stiff Willi One."
My hair's seen better days. Hat-head and wind: not so sexy.
Kicking off the afternoon at Sloppy Joe's on Friday. It made for a very exciting night (if not an entirely memorable one, if you know what I mean). I wish the picture I took of the hottie with the paint-on bikini top at Irish Kevin's came out. Boo.
Brady giving me a break behind the spice mix display on Saturday. Suffice to say, the early part of the gig was a little rough after Friday night's festivities. By the way, if I remember correctly, Peppers of Key West is the only non-bar in the area where open containers are not only allowed, but welcomed! That definitely allowed me to get a little "hair of the dog" and snap out of my hangover.
Pete Legrady and I pose with customer Dale McCool, who lives in Springville, N.Y., about an hour from where I grew up in Olean. Ah, Key West..
Big thanks to Erin and Amie for working as my Stiff Willi Girls for the day. They did their best to get patrons at Sloppy Joe's to come to the shop for some free chili, but most of the guys just offered to take them back to their boats for "chili" or to take them for motorcycle rides.
Many thanks to Pete and the fine folks at Peppers of Key West for making this an outstanding trip!
And last but not least, is this a photo of our next Stiff Willi Girl? This is Amanda, a pole dancer at Big Uns sports bar in Key West. We were just hanging out Saturday night listening to some live classic rock and talking to bartender Margaret (who, interestingly, is a fellow SUNY Geneseo alum -- though she graduated a full 10 years later than I did) when Amanda jumped on the bar and started workin' it. (Hey, there were three poles and she picked the one in front of me. What was I supposed to do, move?)
And yes, that's my $5 bill.
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