Key West

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Leaving Sanibel we down through the Everglades down to Key West. What a Longgggg drive. I am amazed at all of the things I remember. The 7 mile bridge is still there, but so much better. It is a long drive down the Keys. We were at a great little B&B across the street from the Hemingway House and next the Lighthouse, plus one block off Duval, Lighthouse Court. Once there, we met up with my niece Stephanie. She has lived there for the last 10 years. The perfect tour guide. We headed over to Mallory Square for Tapas at at great little Cuban restaurant. Then we hung out for the Sunset Festival. Stephanie had to work that night, so we were on our own. Oh, oh! We started the bar crawl on Duval Street at the Hogsbreath Saloon. Key West is unique. It reminds us of New Orleans and Mexico combined and the bars are open until 4 am! On to Sloppy Joes, Wild Bills, The Lazy Gecko, The Green parrot and Bababaloo's for cigars, beer, gin and tonics, and rum punch, then back to beer. Well we lasted until 2 am and walked home.

Up the next morning and out by 10. We met up with Stephanie again. She took us over to the garden show at a wonderful old fort. Lunch at Carolines, great cream of jalapeno soup and more sight seeing. Ed loves history, so we took him over to Fort Zachary Taylor while we waited for him at the park. When he was done we headed back over to the harbor for a sunset cruise. I love being on the water and we really enjoyed it. Once we docked we headed back to the bar and restaurant and had fresh oysters, seafood and of course more beer..... What a perfect day!

Up early again and on the boat by 7:30. We took a high speed catamaran over to Fort Jefferson and Dry Tortuga s National Park. It is 70 miles west of Key West. Fort Jefferson is the largest of the 19th century forts. It is unique for it's location and it is on an island. It ironically has a moat, ironic because it is surrounded by water. It has over 16 million bricks. During the civil war both Fort Jefferson and Fort Zachary Taylor were held by the Union Army. However, the Fort is most known for 4 prisoners. After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Dr Mudd and 3 of the other conspirators were held and eventually hung at Fort Jefferson. We also snorkeled in the ruins around the Fort. However, the water very choppy, so visibility was not very good. But, I love snorkeling.

Next day, back to Miami. On the plane, back to L.A. and back home. It's good to be home. But it was sure nice to visit my Hometown. You can't go home again, but if you are lucky you meet someone to share your life with that you can show it all to again. Thanks Ed!

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Photos

Girls dancing on the bar
Lazy Gecko Bar