Henry Flagler lived the kind of fascinating and far-ranging life one expects from a 19th century American tycoonapreneurist. Among his achievements was enabling access to the Florida Keys by railroad in 1912 as a final triumph in his campaign to fully develop Florida. Although his amazing railroad was thoroughly trashed in the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the remaining infrastructure was utilised to create the Overseas Highway that today funnels people down a pocky two-lane road to the the "paradise" that inspired Margaritaville. Cruisin [View Full Entry]

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“ALL KNOW THE WAY. FEW ACTUALLY WALK IT”. bodhidharma January 25, Monday. Our first stop was a bike shop to get Bob’s tire repaired and then on to an internet cafe to update the Travelblog. We traveled down Highway #1 to Bahia Honda State Park. This is a coveted campground on the beach. In 1992 it was voted one of the best beaches in the USA visit Dr Beach to see the list and how he rates beaches. But about five [View Full Entry]

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” The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysteries. It is the source of all true art and science“ A. Einstein … Web Places; if you run your mouse over these and click on the name you can learn more about the place we visit. Key West Dry Tortugas Fort Jefferson National Park January 28, Friday We were up early enough to watch the sunrise. On this little island we didn’t have to move very far. After breakfa [View Full Entry]

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” The voyage of discovery is not seeking new landscapes but having new eyes. Marcel Proust “ January 26, Wednesday Fishing Day meant an early “get-up”. I made the lunches and Bob went to purchase the bait, squid and shrimp, and Rob was already cleaning up the boat. All aboard and off we went on a beautiful calm sunny morning. Floyd was my fishing tutor and Bob worked with Rob. The rods were big and at first a little awkward. The first stop was to “catch more bait” and that we did. Every time the line went into the water [View Full Entry]

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" The purpose of life is not to be happy ~ but to matter, to be productive, to be Useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all." ~ Leo Rosten” Web sites You can move your mouse over the name and click on the name and it will send you to a web site that will tell you about that place. Dry Tortugas Since it was necessary to be at the dock with our gear to be stored by 6:30AM, so we were up and moving by 5AM. The ferryboat is the Yankee Freed [View Full Entry]

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” Everything is connected to everything else” Aldo Leopold January 23, Sunday. After breakfast, and Mass, we found a lovely motel/suite to “veg-out” and watch the Super Bowl play-offs. The Continental Inn is located in Marathon, at the Key Colony on the West Oceanside, just beautiful. Key Colony is a small island and very walkable with magnificent mansions, hotels, and condos. Bob was “bummed-out” with the performance of the Steelers. [View Full Entry]

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“If I wait for perfect conditions I'll never begin Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.” Sun Tzu January 21, 2005, Friday. Before leaving the Everglades, we stopped at the Anhinga Trail, a photo heaven. It was bursting with birds and ‘gators, as well as bird watchers and photographers. Our next stop is the Keys, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We hoped to stay here, but it seems people make reservations a year in advance. So we took a trip into the mangroves by kayak and fo [View Full Entry]

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A couple of months before I met Jeremy, I was selected to go on a 2-week TDY to Key West, Florida. I didn't want to go. My suprevisor wanted to put my name in for it since I had never been on a TDY, but I'm not a water girl so the thought of spending 2 weeks on an island was not an enticing idea to me. In my career feild, there would be TDY's quite often, but there were bad TDY's (like Vegas) and good TDY's (like Canada). Key West was one that everyone wanted. My supervisor put my name [View Full Entry]

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Our ship put in at Key West on Day 4. In the harbor was a private yacht owned by an NFL quarterback (we never figured out which one). We rented a street-legal golf cart to tour the town. As you might expect, it then rained heavily. Our cart stalled in the middle of a flooded intersection and we had to be rescued. We skipped the Hemingway house (how many 5-toed cats do you need to see?) and went instead to Sloppy Joe's. Matthew and Michael had fun spotting the many Ernest Hemingway look-alikes. After we ate, the women led us on [View Full Entry]

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If you're a Cuban, hit the shore and swim 90 miles north. If you're a tourist, get out of Miami and drive 3.5 hours south. We belong to the latter category; the tourists who have heard of this "must" when in southern Florida, this legendary trip to Key West. Surprisingly, the road isn't all that exciting. Movies display this romantic voyage on the highway on the water. In fact, it is merely a regular highway between and through the 40 or so islands - keys - before the final destination. Key West, the southernmost point on continental USA. This key makes [View Full Entry]

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