Blogs from Keys, Florida, United States, North America - page 3

Duval Street and Mallory Square, Key West, Florida There's a guy on one end with a sort-of show involving sort-of acrobatic cats. He laughs at his own jokes with an exaggerated cackle that is more ridiculous than funny. We move on to the black dude with dreadlocks and sunglasses playing a pretty good steel drum. And all around you are several thousand people, all packed shoulder to shoulder, jostling for space, laughing, taking selfies, many drinking alcoholic beverages out of plastic cups. New Year's Eve at Times Square? Nope. This is every single night at Mallory Square in Key West. The party starts building an hour or so before sunset as there is a notable swell of folks heading North on Duval Street until they get to the Northern End or maybe Greene Street where they ... read more

Garden Key, Florida Dry Tortugas is one of the gems of the National Park System and is a highlight of our trip so far. For those who think Key West is the westernmost end of the keys, you have to rethink your geography. The park originally encompassed eleven small keys, although only seven of them are now above water. They are at the westernmost end of the coral reef that starts just south of Miami and runs south and west from there almost 200 miles - the third largest coral reef in the world. Known as one of the most difficult parks to get to, there are no roads here and your only means of transportation is by boat or seaplane. The park is a full 70 miles west of Key West. There are charter seaplanes ... read more

After a week in one place, we are finally on the move again. It has been a busy week! One may think cruising around is easy, breezy (ok, it is breezy some days!), there is actually a lot of work to continually be done. Especially if you try to keep things well maintained to avoid bigger problems later. I thought we might have become lazy bums after a year, but this week has kept us hopping…well, ok, no hopping, but lots of walking, swimming, diving and scrubbing! Arriving in Marathon in the middle of the Florida Keys last Thursday, we did indulge in a couple lazy days. Other than a short visit to Sombrero beach one morning for a swim, we hung out on the boat until Saturday, by which time I was going a little ... read more

Day 10 - Key West Since we got in so late last night and because everyone agreed we needed a non-driving day we decided to stay an extra day in the Keys. We started out by sleeping in and then taking a swim at the beach. Michelle spent some time trying to catch fish in a cup while Tony and Anne relaxed on the beach. After a shower and some lunch we all headed back to Key West. Anne and Michelle wanted to go to the Hemmingway House (mostly to see the cats) and Tony was interested in seeing Fort Zachary Taylor. While looking for parking we also spotted the Key West Lighthouse. Tony explored the lighthouse while Anne and Michle made friends with the cats. Afterwards Anne and Michelle joined Tony at the lighthouse. The ... read more

Geo: 24.5541, -81.801 At Sue and Elrose's beautiful house we slept very well Sunday night, after our more than two days traveling from central Maine to Key Largo. Looking out the window in our bedroom we could see the ocean, such a gorgeous, calming sight. We even slept with the window open--such extravagance for us in February! Monday dawned a bit cloudy, and not so warm as could be expected, but we put on shorts anyway; temps in the low 70s are something Mainers can't expect to see until April at best, and even then we'd feel lucky. Elrose and Sue fed us sumptuously; every day we dined on fresh, ripe fruits, all totally delicious. The mangos reminded me of Thailand, where I ate exquisite juice-dripping-down-your-arms goodness every day; here there are enormous Florida avocados, another ... read more