Key West, Day 4, Still lots of tourists

We foolishly thought there might be less tourists in town today.  And this morning as we walked Duval, there were less.  I think the weekend visitors to include the 6,000 bicyclists are gone.  But there are two giant cruise ship sitting at the dock.  I think that every passenger must have disembarked to wander around Key West.  As we slowly walked down Duval from the gulf side of the island to the Atlantic side of the island, the crowds thinned out.

This morning we stopped once again at Banana Cafe for breakfast.  It is just a nice little spot.  Unfortunately, the tables on the porch were full.  But once again we were able to be seated immediately.  After a large fruit salad which we shared, James once again had bacon, eggs, and toast.  I had a bagel with salmon and capers.  As you will see from the photo, there was enough for 3 of me.  Couldn't even eat all of it.  I felt bad about that.

After breakfast, we then just started walking.  Not sure where we were going to go.  Decided to walk into Bahama Village for a bit.  I learned on our trolley tour the reason this is called Bahama Village is because there was no lumber on the Key West island, so the Bahamians took apart their homes and moved them when the came to Florida.  We didn't stay long. 

Thought you shoud see a rooster.  We saw this one on our way into Bahama Village.

 This mural was on a building in the Bahama Village.

Then a quick swing thru part of the Truman Annex (there are some lovely homes in this area) towards Fort Fort Zachary Taylor Park but soon headed back to Whitehead and down towards the aquarium which we toured.  

Baby shark at the acquarium.

Then headed over to the Mel Fisher Marine Heritage Museum.  Very interesting and reminded me of the Steamboat Arabia Museum in the KC City Market.  I believe the Arabia exhibit was much better.  Definitely different kinds of treasures were found with each ship wreck.  

We were fortunate that we discovered it had been raining while we were in this museum.  This is the only rain we had today.  Key West was predicted to have 60 percent chance of rain today.  That is the only time it rained all day although it had rained during the night.  Our balcony was wet when we sat out for our morning expresso.  There's an expresso machine in our room.  One of the features that we really like about this place. 

After those two items, we found a place for lunch.  James picked the place.  Fogarty's.  I was excited as I could get peel and eat shrimp with cocktail sauce.  To my surprise, James ordered the same thing so we just got one order of a 1/2 pound of shrimp.  It was the perfect amount for lunch.

Don't think I can eat shrimp too many times while I am in Key West.

We then headed down Duval towards the gulf and our hotel.  I had been seeing some shirts made in Nepal at many of the stores.  I love them because they are so colorful.  Broke down and bought myself one.  I needed a souvenir.  We also stopped at Kermit's Key Lime shop for a couple of pieces of pie.  Brought those back and put them in the refrigerator for our bedtime snack.  Then we headed back to the butterfly conservatory.  I am so glad we went in here.  Not terribly expensive and the butterflies, birds, and plants were just awesome.  

 We learned that flamingoes have been around 500 million years.  These two were brought in from the Everglades.  They were injured and are no longer able to fly.  They were gorgeous.

Back for happy hour at the hotel and then off to supper at Salute.  Second time we have eaten here but it is close and the food is great.  It is right on the beach.  As we ate, we were entertained with a parasailer on the water and a sand volleyball match going next to the restaurant.  A perfect place to eat in Key West.  Once again another great day.

Key West, Day 3, Beautiful day

We finally felt like we could find our way around without going nuts.  We tend to do that when we don't know what we are doing.  Once again, started the day slowly.  After cleaning up, decided to head out with our first stop at the most southern point in the United States.

I don't think I have mentioned that the Ragnar Relay between Miami and Key West was happening.  6,000 runners with many vans started pulling into Key West Saturday morning.  If you want specifics, here is a link for you to check out what was going on.

https://www.ragnarrelay.com/ragnar

I mention as there was a team in front of us and a team behind us at the southern most point.  It was interesting to hear them talk about the run.  One of the team members behind us kindly took our photo.

Every tourist must get their photo take here.  Then we headed down Duval Street looking for the Banana Cafe for breakfast.  They had regular bacon, eggs, and toast breakfasts as well as crepes filled with all sorts of good things.  The interesting thing about this was that we were entertained by a hen and her chicks while waiting for our food.  Key West is a bird sanctuary and all birds are allowed to run free.  This next photo I took from our table on the porch.  The locals are not fond of the chickens.  I am sure there are more hens than roosters but one sees many more roosters.  They seem to make noise all day long.

When done we headed on down Duval Street going in and out of quite a few shops deciding to indulge in our first piece of Key Lime pie.  We shared.  It was then onto the Hemingway House.  Very interesting and James was very impressed with the writing studio he had.  Hemingway could access it with a cat walk between his bedroom and the studio until it was blown down in one of the hurricanes.  It was never repaired.  

James as we were entering the grounds.

James on the bedroom balcony looking towards the building with Hemingway's writing studio.

 Hemingway's writing studio.

 This one intrigues me.  It was in the gardens and that plant was held on by an old stocking.  Hmmm?

We then ventured on over to the Truman Little White House.  The Truman facilities are just well done.  We sure enjoyed his library in Independence, Missouri.  This was just as well done.  If you look closely among the leaves you will see the red, white, and blue flags decorating this house.

We lunched at Kelley's Caribbean Bar and Grill for lunch.  We then headed back down Duval Street and the Casa Marina.  It was four o'clock and our legs were getting tired.  Not sure what we are going to do for supper but know what we are having for dessert.

Key West, Day 2, Island time

We definitely had a great day.  We have learned about Island time and are adjusting quite nicely.  It started by getting out of bed late, lazily sitting on our balcony watching the waves and people.  We eventually decided we were hungry.  Cleaned up and decide to walk to our breakfast destination.  Might have been a small mistake as James seems to have some blisters from all our moving yesterday.  Anyway, we arrived in Old Town at the Sippin' Coffee House.  Had a delicious breakfast sammy while eating on the porch.  Nice.  We then decided to take the Cityview Trolley.  This cost both of us $42 for all day on and off the trolley at any scheduled stop plus we get the second day free.  We will use this again tomorrow.  We got on and off a couple of times.  Did some shopping but not on Duval Street.  Did pick up the cherished shot glass as well as a refrigerator magnet on Mallory Square.  We also ate a mid-afternoon snack at the Boat House on the wharf.  James had a beer while I drank lemonade.  We also enjoyed our first pink shrimp since arriving.  I intend to have pink shrimp several more times before we leave Key West.

After our mid-afternoon snack, we decided to walk over to the Eco-Discovery center.  It was interesting but maybe not as interesting as our trolley driver suggested.  I am glad that we visited, though.  On our way we walked thru the Truman Annex.  Looks like a very interesting location.  Tomorrow we hope to visit again as well as going thru the Little Truman White House.  We then caught another trolley back to stop 4 near Higgs Beach where we got off.  This is located very close to our hotel.  I am including a few more snaps from today.  May add a bit more after we eat at the Sun Sun Beach Bar and Grill.  This is one of the Casa Marina's restaurants.

Interesting sidewalk art that we saw as we walked to the Sippin Coffe House.

Close to The Boat House where we ate our afternoon snack.

Banyon tree we saw on our walk to the Eco-Discovery Center.

 Schfflera plant like the one I grown in our home.  Although this one is much larger.

Supper was okay but not outstanding.  I had pan seared scallops and James had Conch Fritters.  These were both appetizers and we seemed to have plenty to eat.  Had to leave room for the delicious chocolate brownies we discovered in the lobby gift shop.  First night just brownies.  Last night we had chocolate ice to our brownies.  Yummy good.

Key West, Day 1, Travel Day

Our day started very early.  We stayed at the Hampton Inn close to the KC airport.  The idea was we could leave our car parked there and just ride their shuttle over.  We needed the 6:30 shuttle to be at the airport by 7 am.  Plane was scheduled to depart at 8:10.  Which it did.  But the 6:30 shuttle was full so we had to take the 6 am shuttle.  Needed to get up at 5 am to be ready.  We could have done the same thing from Lawrence and made our flight very easily.  If we ever do that again, we shall call ahead to make sure we are on the shuttle we want.  Landed in Atlanta on time.  The gate for our next departure was close by.  We were lazily eating a sandwich that we had picked up at the TGIF To Go store close to the gate.  Pretty good.  Glanced at my phone.  Guess what, they had moved our departure gate from B10 to F3.  The only way it could have been further is if we had been assigned to F1.  We scurred along and discovered a train. What an experience.  Sudden stops and starts.  We got off at the end of that line.  Wish we had waited to eat.  This was in the international section of the airport and could have had sandwich from a French bakery.  Too bad although the sandwich we had was good.

On the plane from KC to Atlanta

Arrived in Key west right on time.  Couldn't believe.  We had to get off the plane via a stairway. After leaving the plane, we actually had to stop and wait on a plane to depart.  First half of the passengers got off in time.  I hope never to see anything like this.  Well, I guess if I come to Key West again, it would be okay.

Passengers departing from our plane.

 Tail of departing plane we had to wait on.

Took a bit for the luggage to get to the terminal then off to catch a cab to our hotel, Casa Marina.  We had a cabbie that was full of information.  Not sure how accurate everything was that he told us but it was fun to hear what he had to say.  We paid $9/person plus a tip.  Probably a 10 minute trip.  This hotel is delightful.  Our room is very large.  We have an ocean view room which is wonderful.  A small balcony which overlooks the beach.  I am sure the beach is man-made but still wonderful.  I can actually see Hemingway staying in this place.  For as old as this hotel is, the amenities are great.  

Once we were settled we were off to find a few necessities.  Forgot toothpaste and body lotion.  We also needed some wine and bourbon.  Found two small stores about a half mile away.  Walked by the Salute Restaurante On the Beach to and from.  Decided it would be a great place for supper.  Dropped our things off in the room, quick happy hour on the balcony, then back to eat.  Did call and make reservations which would probably be a good thing to do most of the time.  The restaurant was full.  I had delicious blackened grouper with a creamy mustard sauce, wonderful salad, and a potato pancake.  James had a pasta dish which had both chicken and shrimp.  

Back to the hotel to watch a Netflix movie (thanks to the staff member who showed us how to manipulate the inputs on the TV) and off to sleep.  Our first day was a definite success.

Key West, February 2015, Getting ready

We are off to Key West.  I am quite excited to get out of town for a bit.  At the same time, we are both nervous.  We have not flown for quite some time and thing have really changed since our last flight.  We are hoping to have very good weather and it is currently looking that way.  This is true of both of the days we fly as well as while we are in Key West.   Now if the weather man doesn't change his mind, we should have a wonderful trip.

This morning when we got up it was -2 degrees in Lawrence.   Brrr.  Although I must admit it has turned into a sunny day with hardly any wind.  This morning in Key West it was 69 degrees but raining.  It was supposed to rain all day long but the chances of rain lowers to 20 percent tomorrow.  I am guessing by the time our plane arrives that will be gone.  Very little rain chances the rest of the time we are there.  Yay!  Enjoy the photo of the scenery at the Dog Park this morning.

Because Key West is such a small area, we plan to mostly do our sightseeing by foot.  If we get brave, might rent some bicycles.  I have invested in a swimsuit so plan to lay on the beach and stick a toe in the water.  We'll see.  It would be a shame if I don't get that suit on me.  James refused to buy a suit and will be using his Nike sports shorts.  I think he should be okay.

Mackinac Island, August 2014 - FInal Thoughts

We just really enjoyed this trip.  Last year we traveled to Door County, Wisconsin, but the weather wasn't as nice for that trip.  Door County is also a very good place for a vacation.  We watched the weather forecast closely for at least a week before our scheduled departure.  It wasn't looking too good.  The two full days we were to spend on the island started out with 80 to 100 percent chance of rain.  We even took the time to find waterproof jackets at Cabelas. Fortunately, the chances of rain went down.  I wore my jacket on the ferry and one other morning. James only wore his on the way back to Mackinaw City.

It rained during the night Tuesday into Wednesday morning.  By the time we left the Inn, the rain had basically stopped.  My jacket felt good, though.  We started most mornings in the 60s and the highs were in the 60s and lower 70s.  About as perfect as it can get.

We had never been in Michigan before.  It is a gorgeous state.  The highways, both two-lane and freeways, are lined by trees.

We also traveled through Charlevoix as we traveled from Traverse City to Mackinaw City.  The curbs on the streets were lined with petunias.  It was so colorful.  I had never seen anything like it.

I like to watch for quilt squares on barns.  I was disappointed that I didn't see more of these.  I saw the first one on highway 131 in Michigan and only one other after that.  I do think they just add to the side of a barn.

The brush along the side of the roads were turning to their fall colors.  There were trees that were beginning to turn as well.  It will be another month before that occurs in our part of the country.

James had trouble using the gas pumps.  He had to put in our zip code before he could get the pumps to work.  I shouldn't laugh because it could have been me.  The out-of-state pumps just work differently than they do in Kansas.  

We drove through Brookston, Indiana, on our way to Grand Rapids.  I taught school at Frontier High the year before Seth was born.  The gymnasium was still there but the rest of the high school was gone. They had built a large elementary near this gym.  The high school had been moved north to Chalmers.  

We loved the Harbour View Inn.  They served a very nice breakfast and the room was very clean. Our only disappointment was there was basically no internet access.  We do like to surf around first thing in the morning and also after supper some.  Because of the lack of wifi, I had to wait for all of my posts until we stopped in Crawfordsville, IN, on our way home.  Yes, we survived without wifi. It is the one thing I would have changed about the trip.

I am going to add a few more photos with some comments.  Hopefully you have enjoyed traveling with us to Mackinac Island.

Taken from the ferry as we crossed the Mackinac Straits.

The bridge goes from the lower to upper Michigan peninsulas.

Gorgeous hollyhocks all over the island.

Just one type of the many flowers to be found on the island.

They use the horse manure on the flower beds.  One of our horse carriage tour guides told us that manure was their biggest export.

These two photos were taken along the boardwalk.

Grand Hotel.

Mackinac Island, August 2014 - Day 6

We were up early today.  Time to start the long trek back to Lawrence.  We were on Shepler Ferry's first trip of the day to Mackinaw City.  8 am.  You can tell they have been doing this for a long time.  The Inns are very coordinated with the ferry companies.  The porter picked up the luggage from our room at 7:30.  He arrived at the dock about 10 minutes before we were to board. We had already given our car ticket to the agent who had scanned and sent that on to the dock across the Straits of Mackinac.  The luggage was put on the ferry shortly after we boarded.  Off we went.  As we were getting close to land, we received a text telling us where the car was parked.  We disembarked, quickly picked up our luggage, loaded in the car, and off to Crawfordsville, IN, for our last night of our trip.

There were a few problems along the way.  There had been a very bad accident along the freeway in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  All lanes were closed.  Took us a bit to find an alternate route as well as being able to reach and exit.  That took us about an extra 45 minutes.  We then hit Lafayette, Indiana, during the rush hour.  In total we probably had delays of an hour to reach Crawfordsville. We were glad to see the Hampton Inn and get checked in.

Tomorrow will be the final day of travel.  We will be glad to see our own beds and pick up Boz from the hotel.  (Oops, the kennel.) I will have some final thoughts in the next couple of days.