We spent most of Friday enjoying the island life of Key West visiting the docks and the beach.
This particular marina had about 15+ floating houses - like the ones you see in Seattle. Rather than a house boat, your house is literally tied up in it's spot at the marina and there you live...and float. What a fun and unique lifestyle! I have always been intrigued by the floating houses in Seattle, but never knew they were popular in Key West as well.
We had breakfast at Turtle Kraals which was fantastic! Our table was right on the dock and we watched the boats going in and out while we waited for our food. It was such a beautiful morning. This photo was taken while sitting at our table - such a great spot!
Just before our meals arrived, Todd said "Look behind you at the paratroopers". Before I turned around I said "you mean parasailers?". Key West has a naval air station based on the island and when I turned around there was an enormous navy cargo plane with 15 to 20 paratroopers gliding below it who had just jumped out of the plane!!
Here is a close up of the above photo. How cool! This happened twice during our breakfast. There were so many wonderful things to see right from our little table!
Todd ordered the Biscuits and Gravy, and I had the Banana's Foster French Toast. Both were DELICIOUS! We highly recommend this spot for breakfast. Wonderful view, nice atmosphere, and excellent food.
This is the front yard of one of the beautiful island homes - incredible!
I just loved the colors of this house. I could have taken a picture of every house on every street. Each one was unique and beautiful.
We hopped in the car and headed towards the actual southern most point in the US. There is a big marked buoy where you can pose for a picture. There was a long line of people waiting to snap their shots and there was no place to park nearby - so I snapped this photo of a nice family enjoying their southern most picture while we drove by.
and here is the drive by snap of the neighbouring southern most house.
A few blocks over, we parked the car and headed for the beach.
We walked out on a long pier to enjoy the sea breeze and the gorgeous water. It's the most beautiful mix of dark and light turquoise.
I always like to collect a shell or two when we go to the beach, so I kicked off my sandals and started my search.
SIDENOTE STORY: When I was younger I travelled to Treasure Island, FL with my family for vacation. On our last morning there my dad, brother, and I were collecting some seashells in our little plastic buckets. I hit the jackpot!! A starfish! I was beyond excited that I found it myself and it was all in one piece. I tossed it in my bucket and kept searching for more. Little me went on my way happy as a clam and to my horror the starfish that was in my bucket was still alive and moving! I threw my bucket high into the air and lost all of the shells I had spent the morning collecting. I still love collecting shells, but now wiser me knows that if I see a shell that's all in one piece with no broken parts it usually spells trouble!
Right by me feet in the tide was a big shell. My first thought was SCORE! But then a red flag was thrown. I bent down carefully and picked it up already expecting a creature to jump out at me - and there he was!! Inside the shell was a squirmy conch
We snapped a few pictures, and then I tossed him farther out into the water where he could live happily undisturbed.
That evening we wandered the streets of old town where we shared some fresh cut french fries. They were really tasty! They came from an outside stand just a few steps down from "The smallest bar" on Duval St. Which is literally - the smallest bar. About 10 people were cramped into a space no bigger than a telephone booth sized crook between two buildings.
The busy streets look so pretty at dusk.
We really enjoyed our time in Key West and I'll be posting more photos of the wedding soon. I hope these Diary posts were some fun eye candy as well as ideas for where to visit there from what we enjoyed most!
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