Tuesday, February 12, 2008
DAY 3 in Key West
11:21 AM | 
Posted by
Gabby Faye |
Here we are, still tooling around Key West in this little golf cart. This photo is outside a little boutique I loved called Beseme Mucho.
We seem to find a lighthouse wherever we go. This is the 1847 Lighthouse. "One of the oldest Florida lights, dating to 1847, and displaying the original Fresnel lens. Walk up 88 steep steps to the top of the conical brick lighthouse for a grand view of Old Town. The Key West Art and Histrical Society impeccably restored both the Keepers Cottage and Lighthouse in the 1990s."
One of the garden paths at the Hemingway House.
Southernmost House - "Perhaps Key West's most elegant tribute to grandeur, circa 1905, is a treasure" Now it is an historical museum.
This interesting garden gate caught my eye. Simple, but creative!
Two Friends Patio Restaurant...we just had to have one last fantastic meal. The patio is just dripping with this and that. Lots to see while we ate breakfast.
I was so taken with this house that I took about 8 photos. Then I saw a photo very like one I took in the Biking and Walking guide. Too bad I didn't learn the history while we were there.
This huge sculpture "God Bless America" is by Seward Johnson, Jr. and is outside the Old Customs House Museum. The web cam by www.kwahs.org is pointed right at passers-by.
The huge Kapok tree at the Monroe County Courthouse. The wood from this kind of tree was used to make life jackets for our sailors during WWII.
EVENING OF DAY 2 in Key West
Last dinner in Key West: Conch Republic Seaport: in the Afterdeck Bar.
I can't say enough about our meal! Just imagine! APPETIZER: Conch in a tempura batter, deep fried with a marmalade-ginger-horseradish sauce. DINNER: Shrimp and Red Snapper in a Wellington crust with Hollandaise sauce.
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You just HAVE to put in an appearance at the Hog's Breath Saloon. We have both been to the one in Carmel, California so now we can say we have been to both. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just one more night shot.KEY WEST ROAD TRIP - DAY 2
This is how we got around Key West...electric golf cart for 4. It was more than a LITTLE cramped in the back seat, but we managed and it got around the streets far easier than cars or trucks. Traffic, not to mention gas, make this the preferred method of transportation. When the power is low, you take it back to the rental place and get another one. I think we had 3 or 4 for the 3 days.
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We just HAD to do the tourist-y photo at the marker. This was early morning so just one other couple was there ahead of us. Later in the day they are lined up out to the street!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast: BLUE HEAVEN: Thank goodness the other couple was so familiar with Key West and love good food. This place was terrific! I could have eaten all of our meals there, easily. The coffee was the best I have had and my blueberry pancakes were made with FRESH blueberries. 
There is a very colorful history to the structure...house and courtyard. The stairs lead up to a floor of tiny bedrooms...what was once a bordello. 
This is the door to the inside eatery, but I guess everyone likes the patio. There is a bar, tables, and a stage with 20 or so chairs. Breakfast didn't have any entertainment except the roosters. The Jimmy Buffett song, Blue Heaven Rendezvous was inspired by this place. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After breakfast we went back to the Southernmost Point for some photos and a visit to "Louis' Backyard".
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We stopped at one of the beaches and I was fascinated by this pier they are rebuilding. The piers extend way outside of the left edge of this photo. It will be AWESOME when it is done. I assume one of the hurricanes destroyed the original.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pepe's! Our friend wanted to shop so the guys waited here with a couple of Margaritas. I wish we could have fit in a meal...it was a very relaxing courtyard with an amazing Bougainvillea.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being Jimmy Buffett fans, we just HAD to visit the store and restaurant. Of course we had a CHEESBURGER for lunch!
Longer Road Trip-Key West
DAY ONE:
For all my friends and family, here is a little pictorial overview of our long-awaited trip to Key West...our Christmas Present to each other.
The Rain Barrel - a store and artists colony on Islamorada. We would have missed this if our companion couple weren't SO familiar with the out-of-the-way spots.
This is looking back into the shops and studios behind the store.
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The Wreck and Galley Grill on Grassy Key:
Best Key Lime Pie around. One slice is more than enough for two people.
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Sundown is an EVENT in Key West. The Mallory Square by the cruise ship docks is a magnet for street performers, vendors, strangeness, and tourists.
All are waiting for the magic moment that the sun disappears and everyone cheers. That also starts the nightlife as the crowd heads out for dinner and the bars. This evening the cruise ship Enchantment of the Sea was just leaving. Our first cruise in 1994 was on this ship.
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Honest! We only intended to stop for ONE drink...just to say we had been to Sloppy Joe's. But when we got there they were preparing for the headliner for the night...PAT DAILEY. He winters in Key West, but summers at...Put-In-Bay...a huge party spot in Lake Erie between Ohio and Michigan. The crowd was almost all Ohio and Michigan people, like we are. We HAD to stay and enjoy the show. I plan on tuning in this weekend, too, as it is on live Web Cam all weekend. What a party, though!!! All those drunks chanting "OOOOOO-HI-oooooooo!"
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For all my friends and family, here is a little pictorial overview of our long-awaited trip to Key West...our Christmas Present to each other.
The Rain Barrel - a store and artists colony on Islamorada. We would have missed this if our companion couple weren't SO familiar with the out-of-the-way spots.
This is looking back into the shops and studios behind the store.
__________________________________________________The Wreck and Galley Grill on Grassy Key:
Best Key Lime Pie around. One slice is more than enough for two people.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sundown is an EVENT in Key West. The Mallory Square by the cruise ship docks is a magnet for street performers, vendors, strangeness, and tourists.
All are waiting for the magic moment that the sun disappears and everyone cheers. That also starts the nightlife as the crowd heads out for dinner and the bars. This evening the cruise ship Enchantment of the Sea was just leaving. Our first cruise in 1994 was on this ship.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honest! We only intended to stop for ONE drink...just to say we had been to Sloppy Joe's. But when we got there they were preparing for the headliner for the night...PAT DAILEY. He winters in Key West, but summers at...Put-In-Bay...a huge party spot in Lake Erie between Ohio and Michigan. The crowd was almost all Ohio and Michigan people, like we are. We HAD to stay and enjoy the show. I plan on tuning in this weekend, too, as it is on live Web Cam all weekend. What a party, though!!! All those drunks chanting "OOOOOO-HI-oooooooo!"-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Small Road Trip
If there is an excuse to do business in another town, especially one an hour or so away, we turn it into a road trip. Monday we headed out by expressway and turnpike to do a bit of business South of home. On the way back we avoided the "fast way" stopping at one of our favorite haunts...a Tiki bar on the water at a city marina.
I hve never really taken a photo of a pelican I liked. Although the distance to The Indian River Lagoon is less than a half-a-mile, it is rare for a Pelican to come to our little inland lake. Last year one decided it liked the neighbor's porch, a work-in-progress, in spite of the music he played as he worked. Silly old bird.
Here are some pelicans at the marina we visited.
Here is what we REALLY went for...Sweet Potato Fries!!! I never had them until a couple of years ago when we first visited this place. Now I can't wait for them to make their way North in popularity. I have had bad ones elsewhere, though, so be careful.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
On a scrapbooking site where I am on the Creative Team, I put out a challenge called, "12 on the 12th". I heard about this challenge on Scrapbook Memories, a TV show from Brigham Young University TV. The challenge is to take your camera everywhere with you on the 12th of each month, take 12 photos to scrap. They should be photos of your everyday activities on that day. Maybe you will be lucky enough to be going to a wedding and dressing all up, or maybe you will have to take your camera to work, or with you as you scrub floors...whatever. Here is my embarrassing day on January 12. I can hardly wait to see what February 12 brings.
There I was talking to the stork today when he decided I had moved close enough and he took off. I was fast enough this time to get the above shot. Oh, he was back in an hour or so. There is a stack of cans of sardines in the cupboard so I opened one of those and put them out in the grass for him. He kept eating one, then snapping that big beak...as if smacking his lips. I am not about to feed him by hand with that beak!
A POSTSCRIPT: I sent this photo in to the Scripps newspaper for our area and it was published in the Photos by our Readers column.
A POSTSCRIPT: I sent this photo in to the Scripps newspaper for our area and it was published in the Photos by our Readers column.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
My "Friend" the Stork
I really think this is the same fellow we have seen in other years. In fact, my first photo with the Canon Digital Rebel, last February, was of him. He has a route all around our lake begging from the soft-hearted ladies. He comes right up to the screening of our pool and peeks into the doorwall. If it weren't for the screenhouse, I am sure he would peck on the door. When I go out the screen door at the side he prances right around to greet me.
He eats about anything, but prefers canned tuna. When I am finished he will follow me until he is SURE there won't be any more treats. He knows a "mark" when he finds one.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Camera Back in Action
I couldn't resist taking a photo of this pair of Osprey this noon. The island where they roost is to the west of us and evening is usually when they roost. By their roosting at noon, today, the sun gave me a better view of their white markings, instead of just an evening silhouette.
We saw an alligator this noon. It was right in front of the house and moved around very slowly. Finally I got the camera on a tripod and went out to the seawall with it. At one point I could see his whole body through the water and I estimated it at 4 feet nose to tip of the tail. About then he turned toward me and looked right at me. This is not the first time an alligator in the lake has met me eye-to-eye and it is quite an experience. There is no fear and you can't really read curiosity in the eyes...just cold measuring of the prey, or no prey.
We have seen no sign of the 14 footer from last year. The den and beach across the bay where he spent the winter is well under water. We figure the water level in the lake is up about 6 inches over last year and covers the little "beaches" that developed along the shore lines. The long-legged water birds still wander in the shallows, but other birds that congregated on the sand, now are on the lawns in the evenings.
The bench where we would sit almost every evening succumbed to the heat of last summer and the metal broke into several pieces. The guys bought another bench and put it in place, so we are back by the water's edge each evening with binoculars and camera (and a couple of beers).
We saw an alligator this noon. It was right in front of the house and moved around very slowly. Finally I got the camera on a tripod and went out to the seawall with it. At one point I could see his whole body through the water and I estimated it at 4 feet nose to tip of the tail. About then he turned toward me and looked right at me. This is not the first time an alligator in the lake has met me eye-to-eye and it is quite an experience. There is no fear and you can't really read curiosity in the eyes...just cold measuring of the prey, or no prey.We have seen no sign of the 14 footer from last year. The den and beach across the bay where he spent the winter is well under water. We figure the water level in the lake is up about 6 inches over last year and covers the little "beaches" that developed along the shore lines. The long-legged water birds still wander in the shallows, but other birds that congregated on the sand, now are on the lawns in the evenings.
The bench where we would sit almost every evening succumbed to the heat of last summer and the metal broke into several pieces. The guys bought another bench and put it in place, so we are back by the water's edge each evening with binoculars and camera (and a couple of beers).
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