Key Lime Pie Drop

July 6, 2021

Key Lime Pie Drop

Unlike our drive up to North Carolina from Key West, the return trip did not feature much in the way of stops or spending time anyplace other than a quick bite or stop to pick up some Georgia peaches at Georgia Peach World along I-95. We were going to spend some time in Savannah, but when we drove into the city, we found it to be completely packed and we did not feel much like fighting crowds and traffic so we were back on the road to Key West almost immediately.

It is strange that after almost an entire year of not leaving the house much due to covid, you would think that we would not be in such a rush to get back to Key West and would enjoy being on the road. The ruth is we do enjoy it, but this summer has been so disjointed and weird that it has been tough to get into a rhythm and being home seems so enjoyable.

It's not like there isn’t stuff going on, though we still are trying to keep a low profile and not venturing out with the frequency that we did pre-pandemic, we are going out to a few, hopefully relatively safe events such as one of the premier events of the annual Key Lime Pie Festival.

Our friend Nadene has taken over the organization of the nice little festival that falls over the July 4^th weekend and involves a number of events that highlight the fruit that is so identified with our island, the Key Lime. The event that I choose to attend this year was not the pie eating contest or the bar stroll but the famous Key Lime Pie Drop.

The Key Lime Pie Drop involves contestants designing contraptions designed to protect a small Key Lime pie as it is dropped off the top of the Key West Lighthouse. The contestants try to at once protect the integrity of the pie, as well as trying to hit a large target that is set up on the ground to see who can come closest to it.

This is an event that I had participated in a few years ago and one that I always enjoy. I know how difficult it is as dropping a pie from such a distance is not conducive to it retaining its shape and consistency and hitting the target is much more difficult than it might seem at first. The wind is a major factor as creations that are too buoyant tend to float well away from the target while those that are too heavy tend to splat and ruin the pie.

There were close to 40 entries in the family friendly event this year and hardly any of them really came close to hitting the target and most of the pies were destroyed, making the judges decisions fairly tough. What was evident and the reason that this is such a cool event is that once again the creativity of Key West residents and visitors is on full display as the contraptions are inventive, fun and unusual, a perfect Key West recipe.