2014-12-8  Key West:


The next morning we woke up in Key West.  I had been there for about an hour or 2 a few years ago with my sister when we drove there from Pompono for a day trip.  I looked forward to checking it out a little more thoroughly.
As we were walking along the pier.

 walking around by the port

 One of the many statues around Key West.

 

another statue

 

 I had found a Groupon for a hop-on hop-off bus tour and bought it for Angie and myself.  Carolyn and Jane decided to do it too.  The operators of the tour even let them get it for the Groupon rate of something like $12@.
I liked the big grouper above the door here.

 We were told this was a famous bar.

Apparently the tour normally goes down Duval Street, but had to detour because of the road work.

Decorative trims were a big thing here in Key West.

a view inside our bus.

The Coast Guard ship the Icarus which had sunk a U-boat in WW II.

 The end of Highway 1

 Cool looking old style cinema.

 donut shop that Angie said had great donuts.  She and Josh have stayed in Key West a few times.

 Statue in front of the old theatre.

 a famous hotel.

More interesting decorative touches.

 a neat Art Deco looking Denny's.

 another street in Key West.

 area where a lot of Bahamians settled.

 More decorative carvings.

 an interesting sounding restaurant

Loved the carved accents with the modern design below the numbers.

 another modern touch amongst all the old

 Christmas decorations around Key West.

 Back near the port. 

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We were also told how in 1982 road blocks were put up in Key West, so the residents decided to call themselves the Conch Republic since most of the residents were referred to as conchs.

 another statue

A free range chicken?

Big old oak tree.

 Beginning of Highway 1.

Some of the decorative shingles on the houses.  We were also told that all the roofs were made of metal to help protect them from hurricanes.

beach on the far side of Key West.  

The Butterfly House.  

 Southernmost point.  We thought of getting off, but the bus was full and we were afraid we'd get stuck on the other side of the island and not be able to get a bus back, so we just rode it twice---2 different drivers---and learned different interesting stuff from both drivers.

art for sale on the sidewalk by Hemmingway's house

 Hemmingway's house.

metal roof and more decorative house accents.

 Looks like a German good luck sign like we saw all over Tillimook, Oregon.

 We were told that if a house wasn't painted, it wasn't considered finished so the taxes were less.  This was one of the few unpainted buildings we saw.

Real gingerbread trim!

We even saw the old Flagler Train station.  The road to Key West was originally a train route built by Flagler.  Unfortunately, the weather was too bad for train travel and after 4 years train service was done.

After riding the full route twice, it was time to walk a bit.  So we went in search of cigars and Key Lime Pie.  Ended up here at The Key Lime Pie Company.  I forget how much a piece of pie was, but 4 pieces was about the equivalent of a whole pie---so we bought a whole pie.  Ate half of it then and took half back to the ship for another day.  It held up well in our little cooler/fridge in our room.

Back at the port, Jane kissing a carving for good luck.

 Another interesting looking tour.

Angie taking a selfie with a statue

 a sculpture of a painter painting another sculpture.

 Back to our home for the week.

We made it back in time to check out the Fish and Chips restaurant above the Lido buffet.  

 Looking down at the Lido desserts.

 getting our fish and chips---which turned out to be extremely greasy and inedible. 

Looking out over one of the islands by Key West.

The Icarus as we were leaving.

a neat little beach area near the Coast Guard ship.  Will have to remember this if I ever get back there!

 So long to Key West and the Disney ship that followed us.

Another evening, another sunset.

Our little towel buddy this evening.

 Such a neat beach town!  It was another great day!