Mother's Day!!

It was a blue sky day,  hot with a cooling breeze off the water.  A beautiful day for hopping on the scooter and doing a little touring of our Key....Sugarloaf and the next one north...Cudjoe Key.  We did not have to go far to see some very impressive homes and gardens.

          Not your typical tattooed, long haired, hardened biker.........but still cute on his SCOOTER!!!

Cudjoe Gardens was an area of lovely homes with canals that ran behind the homes like alley ways........but moored in each "back yard canal" were very impressive boats of all types and sizes.

                               The road side view of the fronts of these gorgeous homes........

 

                Now the back yard views.  All docks and patios.  And every house has a boat too..

                                                 This is the life........what a Paradise!!

Some homes backed right onto the Gulf or in some cases the Atlantic Ocean.

 Could not resist taking more photos of the local  unique mail boxes!!

 Love the Manatee ones! This one with a baby.."o))

Really different!

We passed by this gated home and I was curious to see what the house was like.  So I got off the scooter and peeked over the fence only to get caught by the owner taking a photo of his unusual driveway.  I hurried back to Alistair when the owner drove through his gate and stopped beside us.  Sure I was in for a lecture, I was pleasantly surprised to hear him offer to show us around his property.  He had done a lot of work himself on his little piece of "Tropical Paradise".  And it was impressive.

 He had  very decoratively hung Spanish Moss, (which is neither Spanish or Moss but is a living plant) from all the trees.  Then he had potted all varieties of tropical plants and flowers and hug them from tree branches and on other surfaces.

 This is Scott, the owner, who showed us "tourists" some southern hospitality by sharing his landscaping creation with us.   Really nice, friendly fellow.

                                                                           
A beautiful 8 foot high 3D underwater ocean scene, in a park right close to where we stayed.

 Ready for my Mothers Day Brunch at a restaurant near by.  I just did not feel comfortable riding on our scooter in a dress and heels.

 Mangrove Mamas, a local Restaurant was only minutes away by scooter.

 Not fancy......but the food was soooooooo good!!

A different type of mile marker......this one inside the restaurant.  

 Mary enjoying her Margarita.  And the crab cakes were EXCELLENT!  Loved the home made potato salad also. 

 Alistair's Bloody Mary had a pepper, pickle and olive as garnishes.  But the pepper proved to be a bit too "FIERY" for the tough guy.

"AHhhhhhh", that's better ..................

I had to try their Key Lime Pie.  It was good but very rich and heavy.  Not what I expected and certainly NOT low fat.......but....


 after seeing this sign, I felt the pie was very good for me after all!  :o)

I had a wonderful Mothers Day and my trip to the "Tortugas" was my gift.  To top it off, both of my kids phoned me.....that was the best part.

KEY WEST.....CONCH TRAIN TOUR

The best way to see the city and hear about all the history and special events, is by riding one of the trolleys or taking the "CONCH TRAIN" on a 1 and a half hour tour.  At any point in the tour you can get off and on at will, until dark.

We spent the better part of the day touring Key West and listening to it's history.  Alistair was eager to go so he boarded the train early.

 We had a great driver named BJ who joked around and told funny stories.  He made the tour even better.

More old stately houses with trees and beautiful gardens.

 Just one of the many scenic parks.

 Love this place.

 Mile marker "0".......the beginning of Highway # 1.....NORTH !!!

 Our driver ......BJ.  Holding a Flag for the "Conch Republic"!!!!  His puns were priceless and right up Alistair's alley!

 One of the many ocean murals painted on sides of buildings.

 Lots of sailboats and schooners in the harbour.

 Conch shells and other sea shell venders lined the docks.

 We saw several mile markers pointing the way and mileage to various cities around the world.
Just above Kerr lake NC is one that reads, Pelee Point, Canada.  The most southern point of Canada.

 More tall ships.

A Memorial to a famous Cuban writer and statesman.  Jose Marte.  He visited Key West often and is remembered by most people as the poet who wrote "Guantanamera".  Some one else put the words to music. 

Key West Continued

Author Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West for part of his life.  You can tour his house but we did not view it,

One of the many boardwalks to the beaches on the gulf.

There are no natural "white sand beaches" on Key West, so the sand has to be brought in to make the beaches.........something to do with there being no breaking surf.

We were surprised to find out that many people used scooters as their means of transportation in the Keys...  So we felt right at home riding around on "Hardly Dangerous"!!

 

 Just loved all the beautiful sail boats at the marina!!!!!!

 We really enjoyed our time in Key West and in all the Keys.  We will return one day, and I am sure there is a lot we did not see!

KEY WEST

We stayed at an RV park on Sugarloaf  Key, but spent a lot of time on the next island which was Key West.  A fascinating place to explore, shop, eat, and enjoy water sports of all kinds.  One could find and  do almost anything you want.

Old stately houses lined the narrow streets and the smell of tropical flowers filled the air.

 All kinds of shopping from unique little souvenir shops to fabulous clothing boutiques.  Any thing you want...they have.

"YOURS AND MAYAN"  Had very interesting inventory for sale.

The entire coast line is lined with boats, all sizes and types.  There are fishing excursions,  diving trips, manatee and sea turtle sightings, along with para-sailing, and cruises.  Many cruse ships
leave for the Caribbean from Key West.



 This is as close as I got to a "MANATEE" !!


The Harbor Walk is loaded with restaurants and little shops.  Tourists everywhere!!

Tourists or Local??

Alistair's favourite!!    "SUPERMAN" 

A fisherman cleaning his catch of the day was tossing chunks of fish into the water and it was a battle for the pieces between Pelicans and "BIG BIG FISH".

The tip of Key West is the most southern point of the continental United States.  Not far from this spot.  I could not get near the EXACT spot due to the volume of tourists around it.  So lets pretend this is the place...........:o)))