The Rain Barrel Village in the Florida Keys, a must stop on the way to Key West!

RAIN BARREL VILLAGE

While driving to Key West along Highway 1, you’ll come across this huge lobster when driving through Islamorada. Stop in and stroll through the Rain Barrel Village. A funky, rustic spot with lots of sculptures, paintings, pottery & gifts. It got me in the mood for the Florida Keys!

For over 40 years, Rain Barrel Village has been a top Florida Keys destination for both tourists and locals alike. I liked the open-air complex, a tropical garden oasis lined with a collection of specialty shops, art galleries and boutiques stocked with local art, handmade crafts, custom jewelry, fashionable resort wear, and unique souvenirs.

As most of you know by now, I record unique places that I run in to when researching scenes for my spy novels, places that I think you would be interested in. I took this photo of “Betsy the Lobster” in the parking lot outside and decided to make it a Dead Drop location for CIA Spymaster Corey Pearson to exchange information with his contacts. So, when you stroll through the tropical gardens among the beautiful, indigenous plant life and talk to the artists, keep an eye out for suspicious characters… one might be a contact that Corey plans on meeting. BTW, it’s got great eateries; I recommend ordering the lobster sandwich served at a small food booth. It was quite large! There is something for everyone.

The first thing you’ll notice about Rain Barrel Village is “Betsy the Lobster” outside, so you won’t miss the place. It’s a 30-foot-tall, 40-foot-long sculpture and is a cherished must-see landmark, for “Betsy” is a Florida Keys spiny lobster… a major symbol of Florida Keys wildlife. It makes for an unforgettable photo-op, too. It’s the world’s largest lobster and is among the most photographed landmarks in the Florida Keys, second only to the Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West.

BTW, the name for Rain Barrel Village was inspired by the fact that the property used to be called the “Cypress Barn Building” and housed a 5,000-gallon cypress cistern in what is now the beautiful garden inside. The Rain Barrel Village supports local art and works with several resident artists as well as crafts men/women. More than 500 artists are represented through its galleries.

I was enthralled by the huge lobster sitting in the parking lot, for it symbolizes the uniqueness of the Florida Keys. The spiny lobster is the most celebrated species of wildlife throughout the keys. Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Keys on the last Wednesday and Thursday of July for Lobster Mini Season. Unlike their northern relatives, the Maine Lobster, Florida’s Spiny Lobster has no claws, but are caught for their delicious tail meat. They call them ‘bugs’.

To commemorate this popular crustacean, Sculptor Richard Blaze, hired by a local restaurateur, created Betsy. Made from fiberglass, she is a biologically correct model of a Florida Spiny Lobster. The sculptor began to work on the piece in 1980 in Marathon, Florida and it took five years to complete. Betsy was eventually moved to the Rain Barrel Village (MM 86.7) and sits right out front on the Overseas Highway for all to see.

Lastly, if you enjoy the Florida Keys and Key West, the Bahamas and Caribbean locales, check out the MISSION OF VENGEANCE spy thriller and take the journey with CIA Spymaster Corey Pearson. Meanwhile, enjoy this neat video: Rain Barrel Artist Village in Islamadora, Florida Keys.