Terry's Travel: Key West Florida

#Key_West_Florida

I am making my way to Key West on US Highway1 (past Miami 266kms / 165miles) which is an archipelago of the Florida Keys with 1700 islands but only 43 are accessible by bridges or causeways

Because of hurricanes, the area was very isolated until 1912 when it was connected by rail but then in 1935 another tropical storm destroyed much of the Overseas Railway
Finally the US Government rebuilt (1938) the rail route plus added an automobile highway as an extension of route number 1

KeyTip; Hotels / Activities can be expensive here because of the small size of the island with limited accommodations, plus its a popular destination for special events like weddings, festivals & cruise ships

But here are some ways to save money;

A) Avoid Peak Season & visit say between October to December plus look online for budget hotels, AirBnB, VRBO etc
B) You really do not need a vehicle rental here, instead rent a pedal bike or walk plus bonus; some hotels or vacation rentals offer free bikes or shuttle service
C) Visit at no cost the Hemingway House, the Little White House or Audubon House plus walk Duval Street or Mallory Square that has lots of free Street Performers
D) Sunset Celebration 😎 everyday at Mallory Square for this event
E) Key West Historic Marker Tour is a self-guided walkabout that takes in 50 locations that provides information of its history & culture
F) Butterfly & Nature Conservatory ($15 US) with hundreds of different species of butterflies & birds plus tropical plants

The Overseas Highway is made up of 42 bridges of 180 kms/113 miles of pavement that connects mainland Florida to Key West which runs over the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay, through the Keys & the Gulf of Mexico
Now next time you watch any of these flicks try & notice this engineering marvel that was featured
A) True Lies
B) License To Kill
C) 2 Fast 2 Furious
D) Mission Impossible 111
E) The Haunted Mansion

The Seven Mile Bridge newest version was completed in 1982 with the original being built in 1912 & called the Eighth Wonder of the World
It was at first a private railroad then in 1935 it was sold to the government which turned it into a roadway
The project was finished in 1938 & the Highway of Mirrors finally opened
(because of the narrow road forced passing cars to get so close, side mirrors were knocked off )

Moving forward; the new Overseas Highway was opened that runs parallel with the original, which still has 23 bridges standing that some have been converted into fishing station areas

This monument is called The Wreckers
Why you ask to erect this structure; it was for a historical importance, as it was the first industry of this boisterous, bustling sea town of Key West
Because of the salvage operations of the vessels that would ground on the reefs many individuals got rich; from the wrecking captains & crews, lawyers, clerks, dock hands, insurance agents & other businessmen (The Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail has approximately 1000 sunken boats from Key Largo to Key West)

So lucrative the business was that Key West became the richest city (per capita) in the United States during the 1800s

During my walk of Old Town you find the simpler times of shopping without the on-line clicking 😉

Pan American Airways got it start in Key West & was doing regular flights to Havana Cuba before it became the first Airline to offer world wide service, pioneered the computerized reservation systems, cabin pressurization & jumbo jets
Fun Fact; Kelly McGinnis (Top Gun actress fame) owns the house where the Pan Am plane tickets were sold, which she now turned into a bar called First Flight

With another Cuban connection to Key West;
It happened in the early 1800s when the revolution on that island caused thousand to escape to here which brought the cigar making culture that was started in 1831
American businessman William H. Wall took advantage of this fact & opened the first cigar factory by importing raw ingredients from Cuba & employed 50 rollers from this area

Key West was originally called Bone Island
Spanish Explorer Ponce de Leon discovered the area in 1521 during his quest for the Fountain of Youth His settlers called the area Cayo Hueso with their grim discovery of all the bones from the deceased Calusa Indians who had previously lived in the Florida Keys area

The Key West artistic scene comes to life with many diverse art forms & many galleries to view here;

A) Alan S. Maltz Gallery; he has been recognized as the Official Wildlife & Fine Art Photographer for the State of Florida
B) Gallery On Greene; it has exhibit works by 37 prominent artists such as Jeff MacNelly, Annie Dillard, Mario Sanchez & Tennessee Williams
C) Gingerbread Square Gallery; the oldest private gallery since 1974 with original paintings, sculptures & art glass
D) Guild Hall Gallery; featuring local talent in the mediums of sculptures, ceramics, photography & printmaking
E) Art @ 830; it has locally sourced masterpieces, glass sculptures, watercolors & handcrafted jewelry

Found this rad bike during my walk, & no i did not wait for the owner to return 😂

Key West is famous for its Key Lime Pie as its a Southern Classic
But since the hurricane of 1926 that wiped out the Florida Keys lime crops, the citrus fruits are imported from either Mexico or the Caribbean

Much history has happened in this wooden duplex that was designed in 1889;

A) First use was for the Naval Station Headquarters in 1890
B) The first President to stay at the site was William Taft in 1912, then continued his journey to Panama to inspect the canal construction project
C) Then during World War Two, Thomas Edison lived here for six months to help with the war effort
which he perfected 41 underwater weapons during his stay
D) The house remained a command headquarters through to the end of War
E) Harry S Truman started visiting in 1946 on doctors orders from the physical exhaustion from the job which turned into an annual visit every year
F) Dwight D. Eisenhower used the building in 1949 to form the Department of Defense
G) John F. Kennedy & British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan had a one day meeting here in 1961 H) In 1974 the submarine base closed as the Navy converted from diesel to nuclear & in 1987 it was deeded to Florida as a public museum

Because of its military importance Key West (even though it was Americas southern most city) it remained part of the Union during the entire Civil War

There are four Naval Forts in the Key West area
A) Fort Zachary Taylor
B) Fort East Martello
C)West Martello Tower
D) Fort Jefferson on nearby Dry Tortugas which is the starting point for the 350 mile Florida Keys Reef Tract ( third largest coral reef system in the world)
Read about Fort Jefferson in one of my other travel posts

The Ernest Hemingway Spanish Colonial house in Key West & in 1958 it was designated a National Historical Landmark
He lived here for 10 years & now is a museum with some of his memorabilia (typewriter, books & photos)
Some of his most significant work was penned in this home;
A) For Whom the Bell Tolls
B) The Snow of Kilimanjaro
C) A Farewell to Arms
D) The Green Hills of Africa

In 1982 Key West declared secession from the United States calling itself the Conch Republic
It was just a symbolic protest about a Border Patrol roadblock at the entrance to the US Route1
but it wanted to prove its point about being treated like a foreign country

Now its become a proud part of the history here in so much the locals call themselves conchs & for those who reside here but were born elsewhere are called fresh-water conchs 😄

But each April everyone is welcome ( friends, fans & tourists) to the ten day bash for the fictitious Conch Republic Independence Celebration