Our Last Day in Key West

Tomorrow we leave for Tarpon Belly Key where we'll anchor.  It's been fun in Key West - the epicenter of amusing and obscene T-shirts, rum punch, and yummy Key Lime Pie. We're definitely coming back next year!  

Today we went to the Waterfront Festival. We got some great info about snorkeling spots and saw this dancing Manatee!

White egrets (white heron?) think they own the marina.

I can't resist a full moon.

Fort Taylor State Park. This was built in 1845.

The cruise ships come and go every day.

Kelly's is our favorite happy hour place in an old home with a gorgeous "back yard"

Sometimes people place orchids in the crevices of Banyan Trees. It's beautiful, no?



Yesterday we went to Taylor State Park beach. It was a great beach day.

Another windy day

 Still too windy to take the boat out.  This morning, I carefully hand-stitched a seam on the bimini that had come apart. When we zipped it back together, the stitches all broke!  So we went to lunch at Caroline's on Duval. Tonight we're going to Trivia Night at Finnegan's Wake Pub.  I think we'll make a good team.  John knows facts that are actually worth knowing, and I know truly trivial junk. 

This is the beginning of US 1. The end of US 1 is on the other side of the street.

 

Yay! Key West library!

There is a kitty on the left side eating out of a dish.

Key West Day

 Winds are gusting at 25-30 mph today and temps are in the 60s, so we had a marina day. John fixed the lights on the electrical panel, and I did laundry and went to CVS. In the afternoon we went to Eaton's Fish Market to get fresh snapper for dinner and crab/artichoke dip. The couple on the boat next to us (Kathy and Pierre from Newport, RI) have invited us over for drinks this evening.

Look at John being handy.

The homes in Old Town are incredibly beautiful.

Can you believe this house?

We love this place. You can get all kinds of fresh fish and they make great lobster rolls. The building looks like it used to be a gas station.

There are 2 other kitties like this one that live at the marina. They have a great life!

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Southern-most point

We went to the southern most point in the continental US yesterday, and there was a line of people waiting to have their pictures taken! We did not wait in line. In the evening we wandered back to BO's fish wagon and had some conch fritters.

Southern most beach.

We both kept our tops on.

BO's Fish Wagon

There was a really good band playing.

This morning, there were 2 manatees near the boat. One swam under the swim step as I was stepping off.  This is the back end of the manatee.

Front end of a manatee.

A baby and its mama or papa.

They use their small flippers to help them eat the sea grass that floats in the water.

It's kind of sad that they hang around the marina because the water here isn't very clean :-( 

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Snorkeling day

We had our first snorkeling experience in the keys. Water was flat, not much wind, so we went to a nearby reef for the day. It was beautiful.  Saw a huge sea turtle and 9 or so dolphins.  They didn't play in our wake this time - guess they had appointments.

Saint Patrick's Day in Key West

This turned out to be kind of anti-climactic. The celebration happened on Saturday night when everyone collectively decided to let their freak flag fly. Comparatively speaking, John and I looked like Mitt and Ann Romney. It was still fun. We went to Sloppy Joe's Bar and saw an excellent salsa band. Just like they do in Ireland.

Bo's Fish 

Sunset from Mallory Square 

 The view from the Whistle Bar 

Bo's Fish. There are no walls to this restaurant. 

Craziness at Mallory Square 

More Mallory Square Mayhem

The Whistle Bar

People gave the dog cash & the dog put it in the bucket. 

The day before St. Patrick's Day

What will happen today?

Cute Cottage

Marina kitty

Coyote Ugly Bar

Rooster on a fence. I don't know why, but roosters wander around.