July 11, 2012 Key West, no travel

A chance today to really dive into Key West.   After breakfast, we walked a couple of blocks to the Key West Butterfly Gardens and Conservatory.  There we immersed ourselves in a fairyland of butterflies and charming little birds. We had the rare treat of seeing three caterpillars split off their skin and turn into chrysalises before our eyes.  Staff said this so rarely is seen, and we saw three of the within a ten minute period.  Then we took a couple hundred photos of these terrific butterflies in a lovely greenhouse setting.  We found them delightful and really photogenic.  Dick had one that landed on his backpack and rode around with him for early 45 minutes.  Patti had several land on her and Dick had one land on his wrist.  They were all so gorgeous.

Next we got in to Ernest Hemmingway’s house.  We were glad that we didn't wait in a long line.  It was okay.  The cats were very entertaining, total free roam of the house.  The most interesting part was his writing studio, pretty much as he left it and where he wrote most of his famous works.

Then we went to Fort Taylor, the most southern of the Forts involved in the Civil War.    It was one of three Florida forts that the Union kept control of once Florida succeeded.  They were set to watch ships trying to run the Union blockade, as well as to be part of the big defense. There was not much interpretation done there, but it was still nice to see.  

We also had a picnic right next to the beach there at the park.  The water looked really inviting, but we were getting hot and tired and decided, after a brief stop at the Eco-Discovery Center, science museum, to head back to the hotel for a nap which we both appreciated.

Evening took us out to the old seaport harbor for a seafood dinner and then watching the sunset in Mallory Square.

Every evening people gather to watch the sun go down and watch the street performers.  We saw unicyclists, and The Cat Man who had trained cats to jump through flaming hoops and over several children, a flaming baton twirler (it was getting dark, flames were good), a tightrope walker, a 8 year old violin player.  The crowd was festive and fun.

The sunset pretty with the sailboats heading out to see the sun go down.  Kind of an ancient ritual seeing people gather.

As we walked back, we had an obligatory piece of Key Lime Pie (yes they do make it and eat it here). We later saw a sign that said "Stop scurvy, eat Key Lime Pie." 

Then we walked back to our hotel, checking our pedometer to affirm that we walked over 25,00 steps which is around 10 miles today.  This whole island is just 2 miles by 4 miles, but you can put a lot of miles on your body walking around.  The parking is expensive and rare.  A lot of people also rent bikes or scooters, but we ended up walking.  Yah for being in shape.  All of those long walks and working at at the YMCA are paying off.

We are tired, but wanted to spend a little more time trying to get the blog moving forward.  We had to choose sometimes between doing the activities and writing about them, so hope you understand when the writing has to wait.

We enjoyed our stay in Key West.  Hope to return again someday.