Key West Quiz

Here are some Key West photos.

 This Key West landmark has been reduced to a novelty shop. What was it before it closed? It was the Strand Theater.

 This bartender is singing show tunes. What bar are we patronizing? It's the Aqua Lounge on Duval Street and she is a he.

 This monkey is on the door of what Key West bar? The owner loves monkeys. It's Bobby's Monkey Bar.

Who is this singer? Mandy's favorite. It's Raven Cooper performing at Schooner Wharf.

 This mausoleum is the most famous in Key West. What does the inscription say? (I erased it in the photo). It says "TOLD YOU I WAS SICK"

 This couple is dancing in front of what Key West landmark? It's formerly the customs house, nowadays it's the Arts and Historical Society.

This is a mural of a postcard. On what business is it painted? (full credit) Or what part of town could you see it? (half credit) It's the Cuban Coffee Queen in the Seaport District.

Did Don incorrectly punctuate the spelling of his name or not and why? Two guys, both named Don, started this bar and by the convention of proper punctuation the name of the place is Dons'.

This sponge monster guards which Key West establishment? It's Mac's Sea Garden, otherwise known as, The Woolworth of the South.

This building is part of what Key West landmark? This is the Truman White House

This roof is part of what Key West landmark and why are metal tracks built into the stone? These are the gun tracks on which the cannons used to pivot on the roof of Fort Zachary Taylor.

What's the name of this funky outdoor restaurant at Caroline and William street? It's Bo's Fish Wagon.

 Mandy is standing at this famous intersection. Name the cross streets? US 1 ends at the corner of Whitehead and Fleming Streets.

This bar is famous for the sign somewhere in this photo. Name the bar. The "NO SNIVELING" sign is the slogan for the Green Parrot Bar.

I'll begin posting the next time we take a trip. We're planning to drive FB (which doesn't really stand for Fun Bus) through new England to the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

Sunsets and Super Moons

We gather almost every night to watch the sun drop into Florida Bay. Here are some photos.

 We watch for the "green flash" just as the sun dips below the horizon. If you enlarge the above photo, you might be able to see a touch of green where the tip of the sun is setting.

 I took this photo and the photo below from Mallery Square in Key West

 Here is our boat neighbor, Patty, holding the super moon.

Here, the heat of the moon is burning her skin as she balances it on her thumb.

Tiki Bars and Dives of the Keys

The Keys have more drinking establishments than boats, or so it seems. Here are some of our favorites. Above is a dive called the Brass Monkey, a smokey joint with $1.95 drinks at happy hour and entertainment at night. Actually, the entertainment gathers around the bar. I wish that I had pictures to show the pirates and wenches that gather here. In nautical lingo, a brass monkey is a brass platform hollowed out in several spots where the crew could stack cannon balls so they couldn't roll away.

The Doghouse, sometimes called the Puppy Lounge is also a smokey favorite. We don't smoke so after stopping into one of these smelly places we have to shower and dump our clothes into the laundry basket. Dogs, as well as bikers, are welcome at the Puppy Lounge. There is always a lazy bones K9 sleeping in the afternoon sun next to the front door. Pet him then step over him.

The Safari, also known as the Dead Animal Bar, is next to the Caloosa Cove marina at MM73. Watch for the concrete rhino out front. The owner, now in safari heaven, was a big game hunter and adorned the interior of his lounge with heads of all kinds from his African adventures. It's on the ocean and has a great view of the Florida Straits. Watch the video at the bottom.

This three level tiki bar is next to the seven mile bridge. The view from the top is great.

The Seven Mile Grill, also near the bridge, has garage doors, closed in this photo, that open the bar's patrons to noisy US 1. It's a piece of old Florida, having been here since 1953.

The Keys Drinkery offers a fabulous view of Florida Bay.

I found this little fellow hanging out in the parking lot. The Drinkery doesn't open until 1:30 pm and he's getting impatient. Check out the intensity in his little eyes. Click to enlarge.

The Dockside on Boot Key Harbor has been a sailor's staple since the 50s. Before it was sold to some big-money-bozos, it was where sailors who anchored nearby could receive their mail, get a hot shower, and drink themselves stupid. Mandy and I have tied up here in the past. The Bozos screwed the place up by trying to remodel it into something more Keys-ee. What could be more Keys-ee than drunken sailors? The place closed for a while because of new management mistakes.

Mandy is flirting with Humphrey Bogart inside the Caribbean Club, a dive on Key Largo. A portion of the 1948 movie "Key Largo" with Bogie and Bacall was filmed in this bar. Note that Bogie keeps a cooler of refreshment next to him, probably scotch.

The front of the Caribbean used to be lined with bikes. Now we have one bike and a row of golf carts.

XXX A walk inside of the Dead Animal Bar. XXX

Nudity (in photos)

The Houses of Key West

Key West architecture is based on the "conch house". Early settlers used a mixture of lime, sand, and water to build the foundations for their homes. They burned conch shells to render the lime and thus the houses were called conch houses.

 Roofs were covered with bright metal to reflect the heat of the sun as shown here. Dormers and cupolas such as the one shown above gave settlers a place to catch some of the breeze that blows over the island.

 Mandy takes a break on a wall that was probably originally constructed of "tabby", the cement made from lime. sand, and water.

 Here's a fixer-uper. Cedar was a common siding material because it doesn't rot
 Houses rest on piers for air circulation, which cools the house and prevents rotting .





 Many cedar sided houses are left unpainted.



 Palm trees and other plants help shade the house from the bright sun.

 Note the blue ceiling.

 Shipwrights from around the world came here and constructed their homes with architectural features of their homeland which gives Key West homes their variety. The builders used tongue and groove construction as they did on their ships to add strength to their houses to help them stand up against the power of summer hurricanes.

 Exterior walls have no fire stops, horizontal blocks between studs in the wall. This allows air to circulate from the crawl space to the attic. Heat in the walls and attic dissipates by convection.





 As we walk the residential streets we see many porches and verandas where residents can relax on cool afternoons. Often the ceilings of these verandas are painted a light blue to give the area a feeling of coolness.

Louvered shutters block out the tropical afternoon heat while allowing circulation of sea breezes. Shutters also provide hurricane protection.

A Manatee Visits Banana Bay

Occasionally a manatee wanders into our marina to eat vegetation from the bottoms of the boats and beg for fresh water. Manatees love fresh water. We're not supposed to give them water because they learn to swim near the docks and that puts them at risk of being hit by a propeller.

Manatees live about 60 years but extreme cold Florida weather such as the 2010 cold snap that caused the death of 244 in January then 35 more in December can shorten their lives and keep them on the endangered list. They have no enemies except boat props.

They are mammals and therefore need to surface every 20 minutes or less to breathe.

They move quite slowly but are able to swim at 20 mph for short bursts.

Mandy the Tarpon Killer

We drove to Robbie's Marina on Lower Matecumbe Key to feed the tarpon. Mandy got nipped by an aggressive one and warned the tarpon that she is "The Tarpon Killer".

The second video shows me feeding the tarpon. Watch for the pelican that shoves its beak through the lattice to steal my fish.

A Visit to the Everglades

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I was nearing my 5gb limit and had to wait until a new billing period cleared the counter.

We drove up to the Everglades this week to see the wildlife there.

 This is the black vulture. They like to eat the rubber off of the windshield wipers and peck the tires of your car. You're advised to tie plastic bags to  the wipers to scare them away.

 This black vulture is deep in thought. They have a great sense of smell which is rare to birds.

 This is probably a tricolored heron.

 Another heron

 This an anhinga, also known as a "Snakebird" beacause it looks like a snake when swimming. Like the comorant, which we have on Hidden Lake, the anhinga dives for fish then dries its wings in the sun. They both grunt instead of sing or quack.

This is a woodstork. Storks bring babies but swallows bring jewelry.

 We think this is an anhinga with seasonal plumage.  He might be Big Bird's illegitimate offspring.

Nap time for Mr. Gator.

We saw this barred owl resting in a tree. He had his partner with him but shortly before I took this photo she silently flew away.

The everglades looks like the African plains. The white trees ahead are cedar trees. They look dead in the winter.

Close encounter with a comorant.