Key West - our southernmost stop

We arrived in Key West on March 29th, driving south on Highway 1 through a number of keys.  We had no idea there were so many little islands (keys - duh).  The distance is about 130 miles from Homestead, but traveling on the highway was slow, due in part to one to two lanes for travel and slower speeds required as we drove through the keys and towns.  It was quite pretty, although the temperature has been hot (80's +) and the humidity has been high since we arrived.  

Our RV park is located on Stock Island, about 4.5 miles north of the old town of Key West, and we've used the local bus to get into town and back 'home', usually spending about 4 hours away.  The dogs are managing OK as we've had our air conditioner on non-stop since we arrived.  Fergus has enjoyed this park:  There's a lagoon with mangroves outside our door, along with lots of lizards/chameleons and iguanas that he loves to bark at.  There's a small fenced dog run in which he can play ball several times during the day/early evening.  

We've been enjoying lunches in the old town, trying out the local cuisine and there's a fish shop only 5 minutes from our RV park, making our choice for at-home dining easy.  We ended up staying a couple of extra days here, not so much because we're so enamored, but because we couldn't get an appointment to get our satellite TV dish repaired in south Miami until this coming Tuesday.  Key West seemed the best place to wait it out, especially since access to town is relatively easy, without driving the RV.   

The community is quite lovely.  There are lots of lovely houses - big and small, and interesting architecture, too.  The tropical vegetation - trees, shrubs, flowers are beautiful.  We enjoyed the wild chickens that roamed the streets.  We didn't go swimming or snorkeling due primarily to logistical issues, but happily meandered around the Old Town.  We enjoyed a tour of the Hemingway house  and were reminded that he had four wives, an affinity for cats - especially polydactyls and did some of his best writing while living in Key West.  We visited Truman's Little White House and walked to the beach and fort of Fort Zachary Taylor.  While there, we  watched the arrival and set-up of the Budweiser team of Clydesdale horses and their famous wagon down by the park.  We also meandered through some of the old city cemetery and walked through less congested parts of the town, enjoying its charms.  Overall, it was a very nice stay in Key West and we we're happy to have made the trek to this southernmost and quirky point in the Continental USA.  

Hemingway's Studio - Key West

Painting of Hemingway's Key West home (in his home)

 Tree flower - at Hemingway's home

 Cat prints in cement at Hemingway's home

 Hemingway's home  (side view) - Key West

Jim & Lynne at Hemingway's house

 Jim and President Truman

 Truman's Little White House

 Huge Banyon Tree in Key West

 Audubon House - Key West

 chicken & chicks painting

 Blue Angels - over Key West

 Big iguana - at Leo's RV Park - Stock Island

 Budweiser wagon reflected on horse's semi

 A Bud Clydesdale being a Budweiser

 Getting the horses ready for their show

 Fort Zachary Taylor Beach - Key West

 Lovely Key West homes

 End of Hwy 1 - Mile 0 - Key West

 Beginning of Hwy 1 - Mile 0

 Marilyn Monroe at the Tropic Cinema - Key West

 Episcopal church - downtown Key West

 Wild chickens & roosters of Key West

 Key West cemetery angel

 Grave marker of the Secretary General of the Conch Republic

 Key West Cemetery

Another huge banyon tree - Key West

 Flora of Key West

 Marker for Southernmost Point in Continental USA

 Quirky vehicle of Key West

Key West Art & History Museum (in old Custom House)

 Waiting for the green bus 

 Wilhelmina Crossing the Seven-Mile Bridge 

Florida - the west coast and Everglades

Beginning on March 18, we zipped through the northwest of Florida, stopping here and there for a night, doing our best to avoid spending time in the bigger cities.  We spent two nights in Homosassa in an effort to see some manatees and after paddling 2 hours in a rented canoe, we did manage to see one.  We stayed in the lovely Oscar Scheier state park, outside of Sarasota and stopped at Casperson Beach on our way through Venice.  Since the dogs were not allowed on the beach, it was a short visit.  We spent two nights on the outskirts of Fort Myers in order to accommodate an oil change on the RV - so essentially all we saw of that city was strip malls (i.e. "anywhere USA).  While there, we tried to visit Sanibel Island, but the traffic was terrible, so we turned around and headed back to the RV park.  

We drove through Naples before heading east where I was able to get my first hair cut in 5 months, giving up on my plan to let my hair grow long. We then headed east on Highway 41, Florida's southernmost highway across the state.  We stayed 2 nights at a federal campground in the Big Cypress National Preserve.  We got to see lots of 'gators, turtles, osprey, and a variety of fish. There was at least one alligator that lived in the pond in the middle of our campground, so we kept the dogs on short leashes and away from the pond.  The weather was hot and humid and we were  grateful for the RV's air-conditioning.  The mosquitoes were a challenge, too.  

We spent one night in Homestead before venturing into the Everglades National Park where stayed at the Flamingo campground in the southernmost part of the park.  We stopped at three visitor centers and enjoyed learning about the flora and fauna and history of the area and park.  We enjoyed our two full days in the Everglades and learned that the smell of DEET (insect repellent) is considered "Florida's perfume".  It was a necessity, and despite our frequent use of it, we both still managed to get multiple mosquito bites.  

We took a boat cruise through the mangroves, which was informative and saw several American crocodiles of varying sizes. We even learned about the manchinilla tree - one of the deadliest trees on earth.  The campground was quite nice and it provided us a distant view of Florida Bay.  On our way out of the park, we stopped at another pond and were rewarded with a sighting of two roseate spoonbill birds.  Granted, they were at a long distance, but because of their pink color, easy to spot. 

And from the Everglades, we drove down Highway 1 to Key West - the next post.  

Paddling on Halls River - Homosassa, FL

 Gaspersion Beach, FL

 No Poop Fairy 

 The gator at our campground - Big Cypress

 Our Big Cypress campground

 Big 'gator at Big Cypress

 Ochopee, Fl postoffice - smallest in USA

 Osprey at our Big Cypress campground

 Haircut - woo hoo!

 Nesting anhinga birds - Everglades National Park 

 Views of the Everglades

 American crocodiles - Everglades National Park

 Roseate spoonbills (the pink birds) - Everglades