Florida: Key West

Mile "0" - Key West,
Conch (pronounced "Konk") Republic

Day 234
Tuesday 3/1/2016

Nothing noteworthy happened on Sunday or Monday this week. A lot of boats have left in the past day or two and more plan to leave shortly given the arrival of the end of the month. Much of our time has been spent talking with our newly acquired friends who will be continuing on their adventures and leaving us behind. Clark spent hours working with Mel on Morning Star to work through the VHF / AIS items that came up. Most of today as I worked on this blog entry, he worked with Jim on Namaste to help resolve some battery issues on Jim's boat.

At the flea market on Saturday I got a phone call from the Mastercard fraud division that our card number had been stolen and our account closed. That meant I had to spend a good part of Monday going through all the places I have auto-pay via my Mastercard and changing the account number to a new card. We have had that credit card number for more years than I can remember. I had the number memorized! I expect to get new cards within the next two weeks, but until then, I am without my primary credit card. Never fun!

At the end of last week we made plans to go to Key West for the day on Tuesday with Jo and Ken from Friar Tuck. Jo and Ken bowed out of the trip at the last minute, however, when they learned on Monday that their new transmission for their boat would be delivered and installed on Tuesday. We could not fault them for placing their priorities on boat repair, but it left us without travel companions for our Key West visit. We decided we would go anyway - just the two of us.

Clark and I do not usually travel by bus, so finding our way to Key West via the Key West Transit system seemed a bit daunting. We knew that Tom and Julie from Sum Escape have used the bus multiple times, so we went to them for expert coaching before venturing out. They gave us a copy of the bus schedule and instructed us on how to use the Key West Transit website.  Although we are not normally early risers, we decided to target the 8:00-something bus to make the most of the day. The bus trip to Key West from Marathon takes almost two hours.

The bus ride was uneventful. We used the website to track the bus's arrival and once aboard enjoyed the scenery as we made our way down Route 1 towards our objective - Key West! Although Tom and Julie told us to expect some "colorful people" with us on the trip, I did not notice any behavior or person who was too outlandish. Essentially it was a pleasant way to make the journey without worrying about parking at the other end.

We arrived in Key West near Duval Street at 9:45 or so leaving us a full day to explore and explore we did. Clark took way too many pictures and we covered way too much territory to include it all in my blog update. My Fitbit at the end of the day showed that I had covered over 20,000 steps and almost 9 miles of territory. I had the blisters on my pinky toes to attest to the abuse my feet received.

Our first and critical agenda item happened to entail a long walk to the CVS pharmacy in Key West. There are no CVS stores in Marathon. Because of our travel plans I needed a 90-day supply of my medication and could only get that at a CVS. Given the urgency of getting this done, we made our way there as our first priority. We got distracted along the way, however, and had to keep reminding ourselves that we had a mission to complete before "play time" could begin.

The bus dropped us off near Duval Street where a lot of the action takes place in Key West. Needless to say everywhere we looked we found something interesting to look at!  Clark suggested we walk the "wrong way" down Duval Street first before heading to CVS, so that is what we did.

Sunset Pier
"0" Duval Street, Key West, Florida

Beautiful day for sailing

Carnival Cruise Ship in Key West port for the morning

As we walked around in Key West, one of the first things we noticed was the noise of roosters crowing periodically. I am definitely not used to roosters crowing on busy city streets. It seems that whenever we are near Cuban homes or businesses we find roosters running around. The same is also true in Marathon.

Common to see and hear Roosters in Key West

Throughout the day we saw quite an interesting assortment of birds.

Pelican (of course)

Suicidal Hen with her Baby Chick in the street with traffic

 As we watched, someone on a bicycle chased the hen and chick out of the road to keep them safe. It did not occur to me to run into the street to chase chickens! I am glad they were chased to safety however.

Parrots Grooming Themselves

As we made our way towards CVS, we came across a garden of carved busts in the Memorial Sculpture Garden quite by accident. Clark walked by without noticing it; I called him back to explore. The artwork was done by James Mastin - a Master Sculpture.

Memorial Sculpture Garden

"The Wreckers"
Sculpture by James Mastin - September 1997

Women Memorialized as well as Men

Harry Truman
(note the glasses)

We also passed by the Shipwreck Museum. They had a really nice tower that Clark would have loved to climb for a good aerial view of the area. Too bad it took time and money to get to that tower!

Shipwreck Treasures Museum

Certainly Qualifies as a Wreck - Mary

Statue of Man Working at the Docks

On our way to the CVS we also passed Hemingway's Home. Again the entrance fee dampened our interest in going inside for a real tour. Clark took pictures through the fence!

Sign on the Way to Earnest Hemingway's Home
(How Very Rude!)

"Earnest Hemingway Home!" 

Peaking through the Fence and Jungle at Hemingway's Home

Main Entrance to Hemingway's Home

Regarding the prescription, we finally managed to get to the CVS where I thought everything was under control. The prescription was called in on Monday, and the pharmacy confirmed the prescription was filled. When I went to pick it up, however, the prescription was for 30 days with a refill. Sorry but that was not going to work where we are going. I needed 90 days period! I called the doctor's office "all in a dither" and got them to understand that 30 days was not going to help me much.

We had to wait for the nurse to talk to the doctor and the doctor to talk to the pharmacy, so Clark convinced me that we should go for an early lunch, or if not that then at least go by the restaurant where we planned to eat to make a reservation. Clearly, we had gotten distracted as we walked from the bus stop to CVS. I neglected to mention that as we passed through Duval Street we checked out an ice cream store for later sampling where I bought a $6 mammoth peanut butter cookie! Then, with all the other things we saw and did along the way plus the delay due to the mix up on the prescription, we actually got to the restaurant about 11:20. We had both eaten a light breakfast earlier than usual, so we decided we could eat an early lunch. The restaurant we picked for lunch is called Camille's.

Camille's Restaurant in Key West, Florida

As it turned out it took a while to get our food - not because the restaurant was too busy or slow but because Clark went to high school with the owner. After we sat at our table Clark told our waiter that he would like to meet Mike, the owner. When Mike came over, Clark introduced himself and they proceeded to talk for quite some time before we ever got to order our food.

Clark with Mike Chekelis -
Owner of Camille's Restaurant in Key West

Since brunch is available every day until 3:00, I had a very hard time deciding on my meal. First I wanted pancakes, then I decided that was too much starch, so I decided on an omelet. Because so much time passed between us sitting down and our ordering, I had a chance to change my mind yet again and finally decided on a sandwich. I asked Mike if he recommended the tuna salad over the chicken salad or vice versa. He grimaced and said I'll let you make that decision and brought me a sample of each. They were both great but very different. I went with the tuna. Clark would have gone with the chicken salad. Both were excellent choices.

We thoroughly enjoyed Camille's and not just because Clark knew Mike. We loved the food choices. The price was right, taste was great, and the quantity was plentiful. I would go back in a heartbeat!

While we ate, I got a phone call from the doctor's office to tell me they had called in the 90-day order. Thank you! After finishing our delicious and filling meal, we went back to CVS. With that finally out of the way, we could officially start our Key West exploration. First stop - the southernmost point in the continental USA!

Before hitting the official Southernmost Point, we found a few other unofficial "southernmost" spots along the way.

Southernmost Beach in the Continental USA

Public Beach in Key West

Southernmost House in Key West

 Although not pictured, we also found the southernmost southernmost house in Key West. I guess it is a competition! The southernmost house is historic whereas the southernmost southernmost house is much newer. Cheaters!

Closest Gift Shop to Cuba
(90 Miles Away)

Finally we got to the official Southernmost Point in the Continental USA where we stood in line to get our official picture! Tour trains came by regularly crowded with tourists who preferred to see Key West without earning blisters on their feet. One train came through and told all of us in line that we were standing in the wrong spot - we needed to be three blocks further over. Another came by and told his passengers to climb out and cut in line because he wanted to see the fight that ensued. I think from what I heard throughout the day that the tour guides are really comedians in disguise!

As Clark said in his Facebook post,
"The picture says it all"

Southernmost Point Selfie!

Mike from Camille's gave us several recommendations for things to see and not to do in Key West. For example, he recommended we go to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, and he said we should not buy any t-shirts in Key West as they are all a rip off! We decided to follow his advice on both counts.

We headed back to Duval Street next where we saw lots of interesting things to look at.

Walgreens in a Preserved Old Theater
making use of the Marquis as well as the ticket booth

Pretty Store Sign in Key West

Margaritaville Cafe

 As we walked along the street, Clark spied a picture begging to be taken. I thought he was looking at the street vendor with a bulldog wearing sunglasses. He was looking beyond that to the magnificent church in the background. Good thing he did not take the dog's picture. The owner had a sign saying pictures of the dog cost $2.00!

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Dirty Harry's and Rick's Bar on Duval Street

As we wandered the streets looking for the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, we came across the town's oldest house. Since the admission was free, we decided to take the tour.

Captain's Office had carved, model ships

Parlor

Bedroom

Sitting Area in Parlor

Many "wreckers" lived in old Key West. One story captured at the oldest house related to the Red Shawl on display. As the story goes one of the goods brought back from a shipwreck was a bolt of red Merino wool cloth. The women in town went crazy making red shawls for themselves as shawls were a fashion statement at that time in the late 1860s. When women gathered to gossip on the street corners, it was referred to as "Red Shawling".

"The Red Shawl Story"

Oldest House Cook House with Original Fireplace

Cookhouse (a separate building from the main home)

As we normally do when we visit free museums, we left a donation as we exited and continued on our way looking for the Mel Fisher museum. We actually managed to find our way there eventually and arrived around 3:30. The curator told us it would take about one hour to tour. We presented our $1.00 off coupon and paid the admission fee. (We do visit things that cost money on occasion.)

Mel Fisher Maritime Museum
Key West, Florida

Mel Fisher heard about sunken Spanish ships off the Florida coast and decided to make it his life's work to find some of the treasure sitting at the bottom of the sea. It took him 16 years from 1969 to 1985, but he succeeded! Every day when he went out he would say, "Today is the day!"

Eventually it happened! He found the Nuestra Senora de Atocha - a Spanish galleon loaded with millions of dollars worth of treasure - silver, gold, jewelery, etc. The total value of the treasure was approximately half a billion dollars!

Spanish Silver Coins - Pieces of Eight

Gold Serving Tray

Several Feet of God Chain

Jewelry was taxed at a lower rate than gold bullion
A gold necklace was used as a cheaper form of currency
with each easily-opened link worth a set value.

Map showing Marquesas Keys where the Atocha was found

The Atocha sank in 1622. The Spanish were devastated when she went down. Some survivors were found hanging onto planks after the ship was wrecked by a hurricane and the location of the ship noted. The intact ship sat 55 feet below the surface of the water. Before a crew could return to take the treasure off the sunken ship, however, a second hurricane ripped through the area tearing the ship apart and eliminating their ability to find the remains. The Spanish searched with antiquated dive teams for over 50 years before finally giving up hope of ever finding it. According to the written statements in the museum, the loss of such a vast amount of much-needed wealth had devastating, permanent effects on Spain's economy.

While searching for the Atocha Mel Fisher found another sunken ship which he referred to as the "English Wreck". The Henrietta Maria was found in 1972 but ignored until 1983 when another adventurer decided to dive on the boat for its history - not its treasure.

The Henrietta Maria carried slaves as its cargo. Hundreds of black slaves were crowded into unsanitary quarters. The slaves were laid head-to-toe and side-by-side in the hold. A male slave was allowed a space 6 feet by 16 inches, a female occupied 5'8" by 16", and children were permitted 5' by 14". Women, men and boys were all contained in chambers separated from each other. I find it hard to even try to imagine what they suffered.

In addition to the history and artifacts from the Atocha and the Henrietta Maria the museum had a lot of material and displays on pirates including a write-up explaining the differences between a pirate, a privateer, and a buccaneer. They even had a display on famous female pirates.

By the time we exited the museum we had spent an extra half hour more than the anticipated hour we were told the tour would take. A quick look at my watch showed me we had reached 5:00 already. We strolled past the Museum of Art and History that we had passed in the morning on our way to CVS. Since it was already 5:00, the art museum was closed. We did get a few pictures of their outdoor exhibits however.

Museum of Art & History, Key West, FL

Giant Statue at entrance to Art Museum

Closeup of Giant Statue
(Note person standing in front for height comparison)

What are the two in this statue looking at through binoculars???

A shocking orgy of naked dancing women!
(Note - only the man lying down under the dancers is part of the exhibit.)

The live man in with the nudes on display had his wife take some pictures of him appearing to perform some lewd acts with the naked women. In one photo he had his hand positioned over one breast with a wicked grin on his face and his eyebrows going up and down. In another he stood directly behind one of the naked women with his hands placed firmly on her hips making it quite apparent what thought was on his mind. Surprisingly, although Clark noted the man's provocative positions,  he made no attempt to capture the poses for my blog. Sigh! He's no fun sometimes!

Given the lateness of the day, we decided to head for Mallory Square next. Mallory Square is the happening place to be in Key West with shops and street performers galore.

Street Performer - Steel Drum & Parrot Band

Mallory Square

Key West Aquarium

Humorous Tight-rope Walker

Shopping

Shells Store

 Someone "threatened" to show us sword swallowing. We quickly walked away from that "entertainment" and found some jugglers instead.

Flame-throwing Acrobats

As we stood watching the flame throwers, the bugs started coming in and eventually drove us away. We noticed that some places and some stores had an abundance of flying insects while others had none. We wondered what attracted them to some places and not to others but found no answer to that question.

A major objective of our Key West trip was to see a Key West sunset. We realized as the time kept creeping along that if we weren't careful we would miss one of the main attractions to the area. We decided to get a quick, light dinner since we had a rather large lunch plus an ice cream stop somewhere along the way in the afternoon. Clark ran into one of the stores selling local art and asked where we might find food to meet our specs. Both people recommended Caroline's as the place to go, so we went there. It met our needs perfectly. Clark got a sandwich and I got a Caesar Salad with Shrimp.

My Shrimp Caesar Salad - Yum!

Our restaurant selection and our timing turned out to be perfect. We got back to Mallory Square just in time to see a perfect, progressive sunset!

(Washed-out) Sunset Selfie at Mallory Square!

Out timing was perfect to arrive just in time to see the sunset. The timing also worked out to be perfect for us to leisurely find our way back to our bus stop for the two-hour ride back to Marathon. The driver stopped at the bus stop near the Marathon Coast Guard Station where we exited practically in front of our marina. It almost could not be more convenient!

What a wonderful day we had full of excellent memories! Even CVS worked out successfully in the end! I do not think the day could have been more perfect if we had tried!

For those who use the correct device and browser, here is a clip of the flame throwers.