Friday 22 February 2013


February 17, 2013

Our first week here at Coral Lagoon has gone quickly, with a few minor projects completed along with our usual routine jobs of groceries, laundry etc.  The temperatures have been very warm and our afternoons have been spent cooling off at their pool.  

We decided to rent a car on Tuesday and drive down to Key West and see what it was like.  We were glad that we decided to drive, rather than sail the boat down.  There did not appear to be any facilities nearby such as grocery stores, that would be convenient for boaters.  The Fleming Key anchorage, that had been recommended to us, had been turned into a mooring field and the docks in Key West were very expensive.  There wasn’t many of either, docks or mooring balls available.  

The trip down, U.S. #1, the Overseas Highway was long, flat, straight and runs parallel to the remnants of the old railway line, that originally joined the Keys.  Large stretches of this highway are made up of  causeways, one of the longest being Seven Mile Bridge.  

We drove just to the edge of the new part of Key West, parked the car and boarded a Trolley Tour.  The tour guides were great for giving you some of the local history and trivia of the area and letting you know things to see and do.  One of the facts they shared was when the original railroad was built in the early 1900’s, Mr. Flagler spent $69 million of his own money to build it, this would be the equivalent to somebody privately financing the Alaska Pipeline today!  The Trolley Tours allow you to get off and on at all their stops around the Key, as often as you want.  Our first stop was the obligatory picture at the southern most point in the U.S.  Ernest Hemingway’s house was only a few blocks away so we decided to walk, rather than get back on the trolley.  We toured his home and saw descendants of the 6 toed cats that lived there prior to Ernest Hemingway.  The sea captain that originally built the home, believed 6 toed cats would bring good luck.  The grounds and swimming pool were beautifully landscaped.   We got back on the trolley and went to Mallory Square.  Mallory Square is an area of gift shops and eateries where we hoped to take care of two more obligatory things we had to do in Key West.  Conch fritters for lunch and Key lime pie for dessert, both were delicious and now ticked off the list!  We found out here why there were so many line ups everywhere, there was a large cruise ship tied up here for the day.  After touring some of the shops, we hopped back on the trolley and finished the tour and headed back to Marathon.  

The rest of our week ended the same as it started, more routine jobs and the afternoons spent at the pool.  Not much stress happening here this week.

Obligatory picture at the southern most point in the U.S.A.

Six toed cat in Hemingway's living room.
The room over Hemingway's garage where he would go to write.
Statues in front of theater in Mallory Square.

The reason for the large line ups in Key West.

Our afternoon delight!



      

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