The Keys::an iPhone view

Simple Abundance. My passage for today. It was a very long day driving. Just settled in a hotel in Key Largo for a much needed night of sleep. Then up tomorrow to go on to Key West.

The Keys::Day 4::The Last Stretch

Eventually we ran out of Keys to travel through. These are my last images from that fabulous trip.

The Keys::Day 4::Homeward Bound::Tarpon Springs

We stopped at Robbie's Marina on the way. It was huge fun! If you aren't a fan of fish, move on. There are lots of fish pictures in this post. And those suckers are huge!!!!

How to Feed the Tarpon at Robbie's Marina in the Florida Keys. The following is from ehow:

One of the classic Florida Keys experiences is feeding the tarpon at Robbie's Marina. Follow these steps you can spend a little time experiencing some of the best kitsch the islands have to offer.

1. Travel to Mile Marker 77.5 on Lower Matecumbe Key.
2. Enter the marina' s parking lot and park behind the Hungry Tarpon restaurant.
3. Enter the wooden building behind the Hungry Tarpon and pay the cashier $3 for a small, blue plastic bucket of dead fish.
4. Walk out to the dock and marvel at the size of the tarpon. There a times when over a hundred of the fish can be seen hanging out under the docks.
5. Pick up a fish and drop it in the water. Better yet, take a fish, kneel down and let a tarpon suck the fish right out of your hand!

The Keys::Day 4::Homeward Bound

I know that my last post said The End. Well, obviously I am not to be trusted. It was not THE end...it was only the end of Day 3.

Off to day 4. We got up fairly early, as I recall, and started the long trip. The day was sunny, and I snapped pictures from the car going up the Keys.

The Keys::Day 3::The end

Finally. The sun had set. The festivities were enchanting. But I was ready for the walk back to the hotel.

The Keys::Day 3:: Sunset at Mallory Square

The weather was cloudy and rainy for most of our time there. It would rain...stop...rain again. So I didn't hold much hope to catch a great sunset because the sun didn't come out much.

As it turns out, our sunset was muted. With clouds. But had a very beautiful air about it anyway.

"...smell the sea, and feel the sky let your soul & spirit fly..."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Van Morrison

The Keys::Day 3::Going into the evening

Just walking towards Mallory Square for the sunset and dinner after.

The Keys::Day 3::Driving back to the Hotel

Getting back to the hotel was much easier...I rode with D. And he stopped and let me take a couple of photos. He is sweet that way.

The first ones are mostly just Key West homes.

The Keys::Day 3::At the beach

Ahhhh. I had arrived. On a beautiful beach on Key West. Can I let you in on a little secret? As much as I loved Key West, it's beach doesn't hold a candle to Pensacola Beach. I'm just sayin'. But, it was beautiful.

"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Kurt Vonnegut

The Keys::Day 3::Walking to the beach

My walk continued...up and down the streets. Until I found myself midway to the beach that D and our friends were. Should I walk on to it? Or head back to the cool pool? I trudged on to the beach. And it was hot. And it was humid. And I was sweaty.

"He got into the red door, I got into the white one."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Jim Butcher (Grave Peril)

The Keys::Day 3::Lighthouse

After the great trolley ride, D went off with his friends to attempt snorkeling again, and I started off on foot. I love walking a new area on foot. You can see so much.

"...set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend..."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Thich Nhat Hanh (Being Peace)

Across the street from the lighthouse was this painter. He had his easel set up on the sidewalk in the shade of the trees and the stone wall.

"If you hear a voice within you say, 'You are not a painter,' then by all means paint...and that voice will be silenced."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Vincent van Gogh

This was the little walk that led me to the base of the lighthouse.

"I had grown up in a house with a fence around it, and in this fence was a white smooth wooden gate..."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Richard Bach (The Bridge Across Forever: A True Love Story)

When I looked up, this is what I saw through the trees...

Inside, hanging in one of the windows I saw this starry mobile.

"Garlands from window to window; Golden chains from star to star ... And I dance."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Arthur Rimbaud (Arthur Rimbaud: Complete Works)

As I left, and walked down the street, I took one parting shot. And, no...I didn't go up. It was so hot I would of passed out somewhere along the 400 step mark.

"Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all others were making ships."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Charles Simic, Poet

And I walked on. Around the corner. Up the street.

"I lay there, stretched out, looking at the one star visible through the tiny window of the room."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Jeanette Winterson

The Keys::Day 3::More Trolley Shots

These images were taken, also, from the trolley. The tour was towards the middle of town at this point, on Duval Street, then it circled around the eastern edge of the island.

"Take me down to the bar! We'll drink breakfast together!"
¸.•*´¨`♥ W.C. Fields

The Keys::Day 3::The Trolley Tour Continues

The trolley ride continues...

"I am not in the least forbidden. You may sample me all you choose."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Lora Leigh (Wicked Pleasure)

The Keys::Day 3::Morning Trolley Tour

Waiting around for the trolley to leave, we went to the pool and hot tub. The hot tub has a lot of tropical foliage surrounding it.

The Keys::Day 2::Turtle Kraal

We really enjoyed our tour of the Hemingway House. After I had my fill of soaking up the atmosphere there, we met up with our friends and started a walk that eventually ended up at Turtle Kraal, a little cafe/bar on the water somewhere in Key West. I just know we walked a long time in very hot humid weather. And I loved every minute of it.

"It is hard to forget, I said, when there is such an empty space when you are gone."
¸.•*´¨`♥ StoryPeople

The Keys::Day 2::More of Hemingway's House

Here are more photos from the Hemingway house. From inside and out. The next one is from inside looking out. His bathroom. Lovely view.

"...ever since she could remember, that she was very, very near to a world of wonderful beauty. Between it and herself hung only a thin curtain..."
¸.•*´¨`♥ L.M. Montgomery (Emily of New Moon)

The Keys::Day 2::Time to be a tourist

After a pretty rough night, I was surprised to even wake up the next morning. Let alone feel like going out. So, in true Key West style, I walked to the little Cuban cafe next to our hotel in my jammies, and got the most heavenly beverage known to man...Cafe con Leche. I know it is coffee with milk, but they make it entirely different. So it is NOT just coffee with milk. I do have a picture of this little cafe which I'll post later.

After the coffee did it's magic, we were off. High on our list was to visit Ernest Hemingway's house. The outside was fascinating. White with green trim. Tall arched windows with beautiful creamy yellow shutters.

"The sun came through the shuttered balcony and the coral of life opened its branches... "
¸.•*´¨`♥ Federico García Lorca

The Keys::Day 1::The End of day 1

This could possibly be the longest day in my life. It started in Key Largo and ended in a little tavern on Duval Street in Key West.

"Loneliness adds beauty to life. It ...makes night air smell better."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Henry Rollins

The Keys::Day 1::Night Life

After the walk to Mallory Square, we went back to Hog's Breath Saloon and had a bite to eat.

The Keys::Day 1::At Mallory Square

Evening was upon us. We walked out to Mallory Square. It just seemed like the right thing to do. The following pictures are of Matt, Stephanie and Zack.

"Everything changed the day they figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in their lives."
¸.•*´¨`♥ StoryPeople

The Keys::Day 1::the evening

The night was balmy. A bit of a breeze, but very sultry. And rain now and then. This is Mallory Square. We did make it back for a semi-sunset later in our stay.

"I have walked out in rain - and back in rain. I have out walked the furthest city light. "
¸.•*´¨`♥ Robert Frost

The Keys::Day 1::Walking the Street

Well, it has been established that happy hour started, and I got a good jump on it. D and I then started walking up Duval Street. We were going to meet some friends. This is the beginning of the evening.

"My sources say the road is clear, and street signs guide my way."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Incubus

The Keys::Day 1::Arrived in Key West

The Arrival. It happened. A bit rainy. But that seemed to be the theme the entire time we were there. A bit rainy...then the sun would come out and steam us. In spite of the rain thing, we had a fantastic time.

Anyway. On to the arrival. Here we are in Key West. Too early to check in our hotel and we were, once again, starved. So we drove in circle a few times and then settled on this little place called Ana's Cuban Cafe. Delightful! We shared a Cuban Pork Sandwich. YUM.

"It is almost as if happiness is an acquired taste, like coconut cordial ..."
¸.•*´¨`♥ Lemony Snicket (The End)