THE GREAT KEY WEST ADVENTURE | JANUARY, 2018
We picked a good week to find some warm air in Florida -- while we were away, it went down to 2 below zero at home!
» FLORIDA FROM THE AIR
Flying into Fort Lauderdale, we got a grand aerial tour of Florida's west coast, all the way from the Panhandle to the Everglades...
» KEY LARGO & JOHN PENNEKAMP STATE PARK
In spite of all the cheesy jokes about the 1980s Bertie Higgins song, "...just like Bogie and Bacall", we had a good couple of days in Key Largo...
» HENRY FLAGLER'S RAILROAD BRIDGES
Deb brought along an audio book, "Last Train to Paradise," about how industrialist Henry Flagler first connected Key West to the mainlaind by railroad 100+ years ago. That narrative provided a wonderful historical backdrop to the trip. As we drove the modern bridges out to Key West, there, running right alongside us, Flagler's magnificent railroad trestles still stand, having survived a century of hurricanes (the latest of which was Irma, the preceding summer), as testimony to the skill of his engineers and constructors.
» THE GARDEN CLUB IN THE FORT
And the award for the most unique place to put a local Garden Club's signature landscaping project goes to ... the Key West Garden Club, for cleverly using the remnants of an 18th century brick fort on Key West's south shore as the backdrop for their horticultural showcase!
» SCENE AROUND KEY WEST
It's a groove ... it's a vibe ... it's whatever it is that makes Key West such a wonderfully eclectic place to visit ...
» ERNEST AND HIS POLYDACTYL CATS
The Good Author had his residence and writing studio in Key West for many years in the early 20th Century. Today, 54 ancestors of his polydactyl (extra-toed) cats still roam the grounds ...
» THE KEY WEST LIGHTHOUSE
A great place to get the 50,000 foot view -- er, OK, 73-foot view -- of Key West!
» THE DRY TORTUGAS & FORT JEFFERSON
The apt name "Dry Tortugas" comes from two truths about these small spits of sand at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, 70 miles west of Key West:
1. There is absolutely no fresh water anywhere on this small archipelago, hence "Dry" was added to its original name to warn mariners not to expect to find any here.
2. Back in the day, the waters around these small keys were full of giant sea turtles (hence "Tortugas," Spanish for "turtles") ... before their numbers were seriously reduced from overfishing, but they are making a comeback!
» "I WANNA GO TO MIAMI!"
Deb had never seen Miami (much less the Keys), so since we'd flown into (and out of) Fort Lauderdale, we had two opportunities to take a detour into Miami and Key Biscayne...
BONUS VIDEO! »» In addition to the galleries above, check out our compilation of cell-phone videos from the Key West trip.
» FLORIDA FROM THE AIR
Flying into Fort Lauderdale, we got a grand aerial tour of Florida's west coast, all the way from the Panhandle to the Everglades...
» KEY LARGO & JOHN PENNEKAMP STATE PARK
In spite of all the cheesy jokes about the 1980s Bertie Higgins song, "...just like Bogie and Bacall", we had a good couple of days in Key Largo...
» HENRY FLAGLER'S RAILROAD BRIDGES
Deb brought along an audio book, "Last Train to Paradise," about how industrialist Henry Flagler first connected Key West to the mainlaind by railroad 100+ years ago. That narrative provided a wonderful historical backdrop to the trip. As we drove the modern bridges out to Key West, there, running right alongside us, Flagler's magnificent railroad trestles still stand, having survived a century of hurricanes (the latest of which was Irma, the preceding summer), as testimony to the skill of his engineers and constructors.
» THE GARDEN CLUB IN THE FORT
And the award for the most unique place to put a local Garden Club's signature landscaping project goes to ... the Key West Garden Club, for cleverly using the remnants of an 18th century brick fort on Key West's south shore as the backdrop for their horticultural showcase!
» SCENE AROUND KEY WEST
It's a groove ... it's a vibe ... it's whatever it is that makes Key West such a wonderfully eclectic place to visit ...
» ERNEST AND HIS POLYDACTYL CATS
The Good Author had his residence and writing studio in Key West for many years in the early 20th Century. Today, 54 ancestors of his polydactyl (extra-toed) cats still roam the grounds ...
» THE KEY WEST LIGHTHOUSE
A great place to get the 50,000 foot view -- er, OK, 73-foot view -- of Key West!
» THE DRY TORTUGAS & FORT JEFFERSON
The apt name "Dry Tortugas" comes from two truths about these small spits of sand at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, 70 miles west of Key West:
1. There is absolutely no fresh water anywhere on this small archipelago, hence "Dry" was added to its original name to warn mariners not to expect to find any here.
2. Back in the day, the waters around these small keys were full of giant sea turtles (hence "Tortugas," Spanish for "turtles") ... before their numbers were seriously reduced from overfishing, but they are making a comeback!
» "I WANNA GO TO MIAMI!"
Deb had never seen Miami (much less the Keys), so since we'd flown into (and out of) Fort Lauderdale, we had two opportunities to take a detour into Miami and Key Biscayne...
BONUS VIDEO! »» In addition to the galleries above, check out our compilation of cell-phone videos from the Key West trip.