Key West

Today, Wednesday, dawned beautifully clear and warm. The humidity was a little high, about 65%, and the temp was the same. With such a lovely day to use, we headed south some fifty-six miles to Key West. Off we went across the seven mile bridge.

At milemarker 4, on the eastern edge of Key West, the road separates into N Roosevelt Blvd and S Roosevelt Blvd.

We chose to turn south, because we had a specific goal: The southernmost point in the continental USA.

Notice that Donna walked around the back of the monument, thereby becoming one of only a few people to have been documented to be south of the southernmost point!

Key West is home to a large number of exquisite homes. Built in the last century, most of these homes have been refurbished and are now offices or retail shops.

Duval Street is where it's happening in Key West, so we found a parking place ($20) near mile marker zero, and hoofed it to the dock area. We passed the cruise ship dock, a huge facility that was empty today, walked past Harry Truman's Little Whitehouse where presidents since have spent relaxing hours, and stopped in to the Mel Fisher Museum. This is the legacy of Mel Fisher, who spent his entire life searching for shipwrecks. His signature find was the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a Spanish treasure ship that sank off the coast of Florida in 1622, taking 450 million dollars of gold, silver and jewels and 265 people to the bottom of the sea.

Gold and silver bullion as well as silver doubloons are on display, under guard and behind security devices.

The doubloons were packed in hundreds of wooden crates made of rosewood, which survived the almost four hundreds years under the sea.

Our choice for lunch was Sunset Pier. We chose it because of the view.

Sunset Key is visible from the pier, and accessible only by boat. Those white houses are very expensive!

The channel is dotted with high-dollar yachts. this one had a water slide attached to the side.

Both motorized and sailing vessels cruised by as we sat out on the pier. What a great place to have lunch!

Had to take a selfie to prove that we were there!

After a quick stop back at mile marker zero, we began the trek home.

The speed limits along US 1 are strictly enforced, and for long stretches are as low at 35 mph. A small species of deer called Key Deer live along the keys and are protected. The 50-odd mile trip home took about 1.5 hours at this leisurely pace.

We planned to watch the sunset tonite from the dock along one side of our park, but the weather proved to be problematic.

However, a break in the clouds gave us a quick peek at the famous Florida sunsets.

Another perfect end to a perfect day!