The Pineapple Punchline Duval Inn’s Guest Newsletter

Like most Hurricanes, dodged Irene entirely. The island suffered only minimal rainfall and slight winds. As for our friends in the Northeast, we can only hope you all weathered the storm and are safe and sound. In honor of Irene’s aftermath, we invite our guests to celebrate survivng Irene at the Duval Inn this month! After all, what could be better than a Hurricane Party after the fact? Specials Enjoy 2011 prices for your 2012 vacation to the Duval Inn. Come December 1st, our rates will be increasing, but book now before the hike and save. Book Now! In addition, if you book two (2) nights or more for a September trip, enjoy 877.418.6900 20% off of your stay. Use Code 7712 at the time of booking. September Events Calendar

Robert James Sales Key West Brew Fest September September SLAM Celebrity 1-5 Tournament 9-11 This Labor Day Weekend Event features over This is the first in a trilogy of Tournaments, 60 varieties of beer, including award-winning which also include legs in and microbrews. Brew Fest promoters have planned Islamorada, benefitting Cystic Fibrosis research five days jam packed with events, ranging from and treatment. Find more information on this Pool Parties, themed dinners, brunches, and Tournament and how to enter, visit their website: after-parties. www.redbone.org. 39th Annual Key West September USS Spruance September Poker Run 15-18 Arrives in Key West 23 This renowned motorcyclist tradition reaches its Deemed the “most powerful Warship in the 39th year this September. Almost four decades World,” the USS Spruance will arrive in Key West ago, Peterson’s Harley Davidson of began on September 23rd and will be commissioned at this Event, and it has become one of the largest NAS Key West Truman Annex Mole Pier on October party weekends of the year in Key West. Bikers 1st. If you are in Key West for this weekend, catch from across the country congregate in Miami, and a glimpse of the monstrous ship or admire it from ride down to Key West, collecting playing cards up close. Either way, this is something you are not from five determined stops along the way. going to want to miss. The Conch Republic The conch is an important symbol in Key West. It is the mascot of the island that is often referred to as the “Conch Republic.” On April 23, 1982, the US Border Patrol set up a blockade on US 1 at City, isolating citizens of the Keys from the US mainland. US citizens were forced to show their ID in order to obtain access onto the roadway. Key West residents were livid, and seceded from the Union. On their day of secession, the Mayor of Key West, Dennis Wardlow, declared the island “Conch Republic” and a separate entity from the . He then broke a stale loaf of Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a Navy uniform, turned to an Admiral in charge of the Naval Base in Key West and surrendered to the Union Forces, demanding $1 billion in foreign aid and War Relief to rebuild our nation after the long Federal siege. Of course, a demand and action expected only from a Key West conch! And so the name remains, and Key West retains its reputation as the Conch Republic. Tradition In the Bahamian tradition, when a child is born, the parents place a conch shell on a pole in front Competition of their home. So, in the early 19th Century, the Bahamian men and women who immigrated 2012 will mark the 50th Conch Blowing to Key West were referred to as “Conchs.” The Contest in Key West. Although the contest is term stuck, and with great pride, residents only fifty years old, making noise from the conch of Key West coined themselves “Conchs.” The shell has been used as a signaling device on the term has become more intricate over the years: seas surrounding the islands for centuries. a Saltwater Conch is a person born in Key West, while a Freshwater Conch is anyone who has lived in Key West for more than seven years.