day2

 

 

 

On our first day at Key West we walked west.  The next day after another yummy breakfast at the b&b we walked east and south.  This is the only thing here, at the southernmost point of the continental USA.  People lined up and waited their turn.  As with everywhere in Key West, everyone was relaxed and friendly, often offering to take pics of the people following them in line.

 

Next on our list of things we must see was the lighthouse.   Why, you may ask, is the lighthouse in the middle of town?  The answer is that originally the lighthouse was in the water.  Key West is the only place that I know of where the ocean didn't erode the shore but the shore built up into the ocean!

The lighthouse and keepers house were surrounded by large gardens.  These are Banyon trees, native to Africa and brought here by travelers.  They grow roots from the branches, the roots turning into trunks so that one tree may have hundreds of trunks.

Inside the lighthouse looking up.

View of the town. 

 

 

The lighthouse is small inside so the keeper kept his equipment in the little shed attached to it.

 

The keeper's house is across from the lighthouse.  Only one family lived here at a time.  As usual, when the keeper was unable to do the work, his wife stepped up and kept the light lit.   The widow of  the first keeper, a staunch Southerner, was ousted from her job when the Yankees blockaded the ports during the Civil War.  They thought she would use the lighthouse to warn the Rebels.

Note fact 7.

After visiting the lighthouse we walked east and came upon this beautiful mural.

We stopped for a cola at a little neighborhood store across the street from the mural, then walked west and south to here.

Click on the pic to enlarge it to read.  It explaines a lot.

The park consists of the fort, a nice restroom with vending machines outside, the beach and this blacksmith shop.  The shop was not original to the area.  Someone found the equipment and built it to display it.

View of parade ground.  We entred from the lower right corner, but the sally port, the main and only original entrance is located about where the guy in orange is walking.  To the right and left of the port were two jail cells.  The rest of the wall was mess halls with dorm rooms on the two floors above.  The one facing was two upper tiers of cannon and latrines and kitchens on the ground floor.  The two on the left (there is one just out of the pic in the lower lefthand corner) were built later of concrete filled in with all the bricks and outdated ordanance from the original walls.

One of the large mess halls

Between two of the messes was this tiny chapel.

A work camper volunteer lead us around the fort and answered all our questions.  He apologised many times for not being able to show us all the fort, the kitchens etc being set for their Halloween program.  View of the port.

From the top a view of the parade grounds and one of the added walls.

The fort, like the lighthouse, was originally built out at sea.  Bad weather delayed the building of the fort.  At one point the bay was dredged and used to fill the space between the fort and the mainland.

View of some of the outdated cannon used as fill in the new(er) walls.

After our morning of touring we were warm and tired and hungry, but I just had to stick my feet in the Atlantic.  We cut across to the beach.  Very nice with warm sun and cool breeze.   The water temp  was in the seventies but people were swimming.    Inland from the beach was a nice shaded picnic area. (The water is actually a beautiful sea green.)

Ahh!

Ok, no more messing around. We were hungry so we headed back to Duval St. and stopped at Jimmy Buffetts Margaritaville Restaurant for some seafood mac-n-cheese.  The cheese was white, sweet and creamy.  Yum!

With our bellies full we went back to our room for a rest.  About 5pm we headed west again but turned north to visit the old wharf district.  There were lots of little shops and large restaurants.  I decided we had to eat seafood since we were here  so that's what we did.  We walked around looking at the shops and boats, then picked a restaurant and chowed down on lobster tail, scallops, and shrimp.

Here and there we saw people in costume.  We passed two ladies dressed as dance hall girls, but thought maybe they might have been in a show.  While we were eating, our hostess was dressed in a ball gown.  Finally it dawned on me that it was Oct. 31, Halloween.  I don't know why we didn't take any pix.

More boats in the Gulf.

After another beautiful sunset, we walked down Duval St. enjoying the revelers.  About a quarter of the people were in some kind of costume--just a mask or head to toe.  Too dark by this time for photos, we went in search of Key Lime Pie.  We found it at Fogarty's, sitting at the table I pointed out in day 1.  Duane drank coffee, I had iced tea and we both had some very delicious pie while watching the parade on Duval St.

Next day, with all our touring behind us we headed home, back across the 7 Mile Bridge.

More of the original Flagler rr bed.

Clouds moving in.  All during our long ride home (we did it in 1 day), we alternated overcast, clear skies, partly cloudy.  We rode sr 1 to sr 27 past miles of pastures and citrus trees interrupted by towns of varying sizes.

I liked this sign.

Except for stops for meals, gas and leg stretches, we kept on rolling, determined to make it home before dark.  Our last sunset, but not Key West, but still pretty.

Dramatic clouds opposite the sunset.

We stopped once more for gas and made it home just a few minutes after dark.  The whole trip was wonderful.  We were both very pleased with it and it will live long in our happy memories.

Next up, touring closer to home.

Louise and Duane

KEY WEST

 

For all the attention Key west gets, it is a very small place:  2x4 miles.  On the keys that have towns, some are the same as the Key  such as Key Largo, whose other town is named something different.  The town of Key West takes up the whole island.  The north part of town is the same as Anytown, USA.  The southern half--1x2 miles is where people go to have fun.  We took 1 south.

 

 

Coast road, with construction on the Gulf side.

We found our home for the next two days, 320 Simonton.  The place consists of a big house with rooms to rent, several smaller buildings each with several rooms, and five swimming pools, all connected by this beautiful walkway.  Our room is just inside the gate on the right.  The bike is in the parking lot at the end of the walk and behind a fence.

Our little porch.  Through the window you could see the bed, then the door to the bathroom.  To the left of the door is a connecting hall to the next room, the tv on a chest of drawers, and the closet.  Cosy but all we needed.

Four of the pools are heated.  This is the biggest.  I am facing the courtyard area you see in the next pic.

Main house, courtyard where we have breakfast--fresh fruit, coffee, tea, hard cooked eggs, waffles, bagles.

After cheching in and shedding riding clothes, we walked one block over to Duval St, the heart of the action.  One of the many interesting buildings.

We ate at Fogerty's, one of the places recommended by our B&B. You can see Duane sitting right in front of the porch.  The building is the actual restaurant, but most people sit outside in the courtyard dining area.  The next night we sat whaer the lady in blue and the man in white tee-shirt are sitting.  The bar is Flying Monkey bar is to their right.

Pink cab.  Taxis are one of the ways to get around.  Scooter or bicycle rentals are most popular during the day.  Walking or hiring a bicycle taxi were the popular choises at night.

There were many eye catching signs, buildings and displays.  In this part of town where competition is fierce, one has to be creative. 

Interesting building.  Key West has been inhabited since the 1500's, but most of the "old" buildings date from the early 1900's because hurricanes periodically leveled the town.

Our walk up Duval St. ended in this wharf restaurant on the Gulf.

The restaurant on our right is adjacent to this bar, made famous by their t-shirts.

Walking back down Duval to the first street corner, we hung a right and found the H-D store.

Walking back, we took a pic of this famous Key West watering hole.

Further down is the Methodist Church.

Inside looks almost like the Catholic churches except this church has only one alter.

Poultry have the run of the town.

At the Methodist church we turned left and walked down to the Catholic church complex consisting of school, cathedral, adoration chapel, and nuns' convent.

Side of church with convent and chapel out of sight in right.

Inside the church.

Duane thought this hilarious.  It advertises one of the b&bs.

Front of church.

One of several signs welcoming Jimmy Buffett fans to the annual Meeting Of The Minds starting the day we left (Thurs.)  Sometimes he shows up unexpectedly, most often not.

One of the historical signs scattered around town on a walking tour.

All decked out for Halloween.  Two things we didn't miss here:  semi's (weight limits on the bridges, but adds to the costs of evrything) and Christmas decorations.  One upscale had two Christmas trees, but everyone else was waiting for Halloween.

Another attention getter.  Desserts here were almost as expensive as dinner!

I loved this cake!

After our tour, we walked home for a rest.  At 5pm we once again walked down to Duval St. and went west.  Before we got to the Hog's Breath Saloon we turned left and walked down to Mallory Square for the sunset party.  Every evening people collect here to peruse the wares of the local artists and to enjoy the street performers before watching the sun go down.

Our first street performer.  He had a very funny running patter, and also balanced on a high unicycle while juggling fire batons.  Duane didn't take any pics of me pitching him the pins.  I don't know why.

Directly behind him and after his show, we watched this guy .

After each performance, they pass the hat and try to get people to drop in fives which usually happens if the people are well entertained.  Each of these shows lasts about 20-30 min.

 

Usually there are clouds at sunset so the view ranges from pretty to dramatic.

 

In addition to the jugglers, there were musicians, a tightrope ace, and an escape artist.  The square is crowded with a jovial group, the performers entertaining, the artists have interesting wares, and the sunsets are worth the walk.

We walked back home thoroughly satisfied with our first day on this interesting and eclectic island.  Tomorrow we tour the east end of town.

Louise and Duane