The Road to Key West!

Water, water water in ALL directions! 

And something like 42 bridges connecting one key to another key to another until you finally (FINALLY!) end up in Key West, our destination location for yesterday’s plan of attack.

As we crossed each span of bridge on the Overseas Highway my mind was trying to absorb the sheer feat of BUILDING this highway…over the water…for miles and miles and miles.

The Overseas Highway is a 113-mile (181.9 km) highway carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) through the Florida Keys. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. 

Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections, so the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the state of Florida for $640,000.
 
Since the 1950s the Overseas Highway has been refurbished into a main coastal highway between the cities of Miami and Key West, offering travelers an exotic roadway through a tropical savanna environment and access to the largest area of coral reefs on the U.S. mainland. Many exotic animals such as the American Crocodile and Key Deer inhabit the tropical islands of the Florida Keys. [source]

This was my third trip to Key West, once by car in the 1990s after vending at a show in Orlando, and then by cruise ship several years ago.
 

 

Miles of turquoise water!

 

We broke up the trip by stopping when and where we wanted – this time at Bass Pro shops –”Heck, it has to be different than the one at home, it couldn’t be the same could it??” Seems to me I’ve used a similar rationalization when having to stop at quilt shops along the way, because surely – they HAD to be different!

 

 

the parking lines are different! HA!

 

 

I stocked up!

 

Key lime season salt?  Yummy.  I like to bring “consumables” home because we CAN consume them and have them gone.  This will be great for the grill.

 

We wandered the piers behind!

 

 

Here fishy, fishy!

A video posted by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie) on Nov 26, 2016 at 8:29am PST

And the road went on and on!  Sorry for the wind sound, I had the windows down trying to minimize reflection.  What a gorgeous day!

First stop!

Seam Shoppe!

And they were closed for the long Thanksgiving holiday – and I should have called ahead, but it didn’t matter, this was just ONE thing I wanted to do in Key West.

Key west is VERY busy.  And parking is a nightmare.  Truly.  But the best deal by far is to park in the Old Town Garage, because with your garage parking stub your whole party gets to ride the hop on/off trolley all day.

Another fun thing is the 90 minute tour on the Conch Train, and your pass is good for TWO DAYS of hop on/off at certain designated areas.

At the pier!

A giant statue depicting Renoir's Dancing in the City adorns the entrance to the Key West Art and History Museum, commonly known as the Old Post Office and Customs House.

The old Coast Guard building

Of everything to love about Key West from the beautiful ocean to the food and anything else that could capture your imagination, I would have to say that I love the old houses the best.  I try to imagine what it would have been like to live here in the late 1800s to early 1900s, when the more gingerbread you could display on the outside of your house, the better!

Getting photos from the confines of the Conch Train was not easy, but these are just a few of the ones I fell in love with:

Harry S Truman’s  Little White House!

Say yes to purple shutters and palms!

Gorgeous gingerbread!

Could you stitch on this veranda?

Or this one?

Love the bike against the fence.

White picket fences and purple/magenta blooms!

The southernmost point marker

The LINE was huge.  I’m not a big fan of long lines just to get my photo taken….so as we drove by – I waited, I waited, and when the opportunity was right, I snapped!

And I cropped!

GOOD ENOUGH!  HA!

This little pink “eye brow” bungalo!

Front porches meant for rocking!

I just loved the houses so much, from small shotgun cottages to rambling victorians –it is all so KEY WEST.

Our one excursion stop!

Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

I tried to choose something that would be of interest to The Hubster, and as a scuba diver, I knew he’d like to see recovered ship-wreck bounty, and I found it interesting too.  Found artifacts are like clues into people’s lives from a much earlier time. 

NEXT TIME I'll see the Hemminway House.  Sometimes you just gotta compromise!

Scissors and sewing supplies!

Did I care about the jewelry, gold or silver bars and coins?  No.  Just sewing stuff!

Recovered thimbles.

Back to the depot as the sun gets lower in the sky.

No key lime pie happened in Key West, but let me tell you that Key Lime sherbet is every bit just as good!

And the sun sets on Key West

I took this photo from the top level of the parking garage, likely the highest point in  all of Key West!

Was there time enough to do everything?  NO.  There never is.  And I’ve learned to be happy with whatever we get to do, whatever there is time for – there will always be something left undone for the NEXT time we come back to this magical place.

Dinner at Mrs. Mac’s!

Back in Key Largo, we stopped at Mrs Mac’s for a delicious meal – I loved the shadow box tables and all of the artifacts under glass.  FUN!

This morning in our cove.

This morning is a “take it easy” start, with plans for a glass bottom boat tour this afternoon.

Another sunny day in paradise!

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Today is the LAST SUNDAY of November, 2016. Phone a friend today. Not an email, not a text.

Nothing can compare to the sound of their voice and your laughter together. Make real contact!

54-40 or fight quilt shared by Kevin H.

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