After spending a few days in Sanibel, my stay-cation continued with an impromptu trip to Key West. While I have been to Key West before, this time I got to do a little more exploring than in my previous visits.
First off, if you've never been to the Keys, GO. There's SO much to do. Really, there's something for everyone. You can go there every weekend of the year and find a different activity. If your concerned about family friendly activities, there's tons. I really wish we had more time there and/or a little more time to prepare. There are some wonderful tours that I would LOVE the opportunity to go on, but since this was a last minute trip and some of these tours are so popular, several were sold out. So you've been warned, plan accordingly.
Considering the short notice, though, there were still plenty of things available that we could do. Whether your time is as limited as ours or not, I strongly recommend getting tickets for one of the 'Hop On Hop Off' Tours. Their are several of them and it's exactly like it sounds. As the tour bus or trolly travels through Key West, you have the opportunity to 'hop off' at any stop to explore at your leisure. Once you're done, you just wait for the next bus and continue on. It's the quickest way to see a good portion of Key West in a short time whilst learning tons of fun facts about the place from funny and well versed guides.
Though it was just a two day stay, a lot was packed in.
One of our stops was at the Hemingway house. You can join a tour and learn the about the history of the house or you can roam around at your leisure. Yes, the property really is covered in six-toed cats. While not all of them are six-toed, most of them are and most are descendants of Hemingway's original six-toed cat Snowball. The cats are everywhere and are clearly well looked after by the people that maintain the house.
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| One of the famous, Hemingway six-toed cats. |
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| Hemingway cats live large. |
No Key West tour is complete without stopping by 0 Mile, (supposedly the most stolen street sign in the country), the Southernmost Point (as one guide wittingly quipped "We're now at the Southernmost Point of the United States and that right there there is the Southernmost tourist and we're the Southernmost Tour Bus!" Har har. :-) ), Duval Street, Mallory Squar, and the Lighthouse.
We couldn't pass up going on a 'Haunted Tour' one evening. It was great fun with some interesting characters for guides who encouraged us to take as many photos as possible to look for 'paranormal activity.' Sadly I managed to capture no unusual or paranormal images in any of my pictures, but supposedly one of the tour goers did. Upon reviewing the picture, one of the tour guide confirmed that a particular ball of light was indeed an orb. I, however, remain skeptical. Anywho, after passing by several reportedly haunted houses and learning the stories of each, we were granted exclusive night-time access to one of Key Wests Civil War Forts which is now the Fort East Martello Museum. Housed in the Fort is Robert the Doll, a one hundred year old haunted doll who is said to be quite mischievous. It is said that he moves on his own, blinks, and even occasionally giggles. Visitors are allowed to take pictures of him, but out of respect to Robert, you're to ask his permission first before you take each photo.
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| "Robert, may I take your picture please?" |
Some day I'll find myself in Key West again. When I do, I really hope to visit the Dry Tortugas National Park (which can only be accessed by boat or seaplane), the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Key West Tropical Forrest and Botanical Gardens, go on the Shipwreck Snorkel and Dolphin Encounter Tour.
*sigh* So much to see.
I leave you with a couple more pictures. No matter how many times you go, or how much time you spend there, seeing wild, protected chickens all over the place never stops being odd and unusual.
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| "Beautiful plumage!" |
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| This little guy got separated from his family and had to be rescued. Little cutie, I was tempted to take him home! |
Until next time!
"And then I realized adventures are the best way to learn."
~M
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