We are currently at the Elks on Tavinier Key just below the first key in the chain (Key Largo).
With a nice view...tiki and patio
This is one of the locals hanging around the lodge...
And a sunset every day...
We often talk about not going all the way to mile marker (0) in Key West but quickly discarded that as a silly idea...after traveling this far we would regret not going to end...if not for a couple days.
So we were in Key West area this year for a little over two weeks...traveling by jeep a little more than usual from a couple RV parks down to our favorite places like Duval Street and the Mallory Square Nightly Sunset Celebration.
Chickens are protected here...and they are all over the place
....originating from Cuba
Another rum tasting room
Never a shortage of off the wall things to see in Key West
The second week in February the entertainers from Put-In-Bay
...(that's on Middle Bass Island off the North Shore of Lake Eire)
come down to Key West to catch up with a few of there fans.
There was over 400 on hand when Pat Dailey took the stage and
if it wasn't for a nice guy from Cleveland we would have been
watching from the doorway or street like so many others {THANKS}
The Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea is the Catholic Church
we went to even when we were up the keys 20 miles.
Beautiful church inside and out with large doors on both sides
to allow a nice breeze to flow through...which many days was needed.
One of our favorite restaurants to go to when in Key West is Latitudes
on Sunset Key Island...A short boat ride away but a welcome change
from the hustle and bustle of the famous Duval Street.
This year we had the pleasure of sharing this experience and a great meal
with our friends from Toledo (top) Bob and Barb...and Steve and Vicky.
...Yes this place is nice with a great view.
We always found it easy to get around...just take the jeep into town
...find a (free) parking spot and take the bikes around to everything
we wanted to see and do.
One of those points of interest was the Botanical Garden but these
Banyan Trees were all over the Southern Florida.
It's to bad this guy was on a lunch break
...that would have been one heck of a ride!!!
Mile Markers are a big deal down here...well because...the road
and of course the land ends.
The pic below was from our last trip to Key West as we were leaving
town...by the tire marks left on the street someone was in much more of
a hurry than us...it's so laid back here...which makes it perfect.
With only one road...and water on both sides this sign says it all
A first for us this year was a two and a half hour boat ride (67 mile) west of Key West to Fort Jefferson on the 143 acre island group called the Dry Tortugas National Park. Our friends from Toledo Steve and Vicky have made the trip before and with the weather near perfect we had a great time...we even went snorkeling.
Sandy's trying to hide in this pic
This Crocodile ended up on this island after a large storm
came through last year...there isn't much for him to eat out
there except for fish and an occasional bird not paying attention.
It's always very interesting to see all the engineering that went into
building such a structure using 16 million bricks. This all happened in
1825 and through 1826 but was never completed. The large flat stone
that was put down as a floor also was used as a foundation on the shifting
sand with very few cracks after all these years.
This boat came from Cuba with people looking to reach
the United States...The wet foot dry foot policy that
Cubans used to enter the US is no lounger allowed.
The mote that surrounds the whole fort was designed to
dispose of waste water with the ever changing of the tide
but unfortunately the father south you go the tide has little change
so there sewer system didn't work very well.
Yes this is us getting ready to snorkel but it actually
worked out great after we got into deeper water.
But its time to say goodbye to the keys for now
{but we will be back}
LIVE
LAUGH
LOVE
SanTony
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