Final Day In Key West

Remember the Key West cats? One must have came for a visit last night.

Today we visited the Flagler Railroad Museum. Henry Flagler built the railroad starting in 1906 and service began January 23, 1912.

Here is one of the train's old schedules.

Several hurricane setbacks in 1906, 1909 and 1910 delayed the building of the railroad. The railroad ran for over 20 years until a final hurricane in 1935 shut it down for good.

In 1938, the state built the Overseas Highway using the viaducts from the railroad. The Overseas Highway, US 1, was rebuilt in the 1980s. The old viaducts are now used a fishing piers.

We went back to Pan American's birthplace, now a bar. Check out the ceiling fans.

Doug stands next to one of the many statues around Mallory Square.

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Key West Trolley Tour

Today we set out to do a trolley tour of the town.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church was restored in 1994.

This was the birthplace of Pan American World Airways.

The Banyan is one of the many resorts and guesthouses.

The kapok tree can grow 130 feet.  Read more about this tree below.

Chickens are welcome almost as pets around town.  In the 1860's Cubans, disheartened with the situation in their own country following the Ten Year's War, began moving to Key West.  Their love for cockfighting brought many chickens with them. Today you will see chickens roosting in trees and around town in many areas.

One can't visit Key West without visiting the Hemingway House.

Tours of the home are given daily.

Hemingway did a lot of his writing in the upstairs of a garage in the back of the house.

A luxury for a 1930's home was this pool costing $20,000 dollars in 1930's money to build.

Home to Polydactyl cats (six- toed cat), there are currently 40-50 cats at the Hemingway home. Ernest named his cats after famous people.

On this hot day, a smart cat found a cool spot to hang out.

With the sun going down and the tourists headed for Mallory Square, it was a good time to get pictures at the Southernmost Point.

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Sunset in Key West

We started the day walking around town exploring all the sites. Key West has a lot of historic buildings to see.

The Strand Theater opened in the 1920's and became Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum in 1993. It has since became a Walgreens.

In 1969, the Coast Guard decommissioned this lighthouse and it was later turned into a museum.

The cemetery is 19 acres and it is estimated that 100,000 people are buried there. This is a lot considering the population is only around 30,000. You will notice that, in many case, tombs are stacked on top of each other.

The Southernmost Point Marker is a popular area for photographs and only 90 miles from cuba.

Completed in 1866, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park played a major role in the Civil War and Spanish-American War. Today, this area offers some of the most popular beaches in Key West.

Want to know how far away you are?

At Sunset in Key West, you will find tourists gathering around Mallory Square to watch the many street perfomers.

Some visitors catching the final sunset.

One of the many street performers.

A party boat coming in from a day out.

Dominique's Circus Cats are always great fun

The Cat Man poses with Doug

Key West is where Highway 1 begin.

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Heading For Key West

There are 42 bridges from Miami to Key West.

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The longest bridge is 7 miles long and was built after the railroad bridge had considerable damage from the Labor Day Hurricane in 1937. The current bridge was built from 1978 to 1982.

Setting up camp at  Geiger Key Marina RV Park near Key West, Florida

View behind our RV

If we had a boat, we could pull it up right behind the RV.

 

 

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Everglades Outpost A Wildlife Rescue

Today we visited the Everglades Outpost Wildlife Rescue Center here in Homestead, Florida.

Founded in 1994, the center provides a place to live for more than 200 animals.

Welcome to my world!

Do you have any lettuce or melons?

Rocky the tiger belonged to an exotic dancer.

This grizzly bear was being kept as a pet in a backyard on Miami Beach.

Fill my food dish...please.

Robert Is Here was established in 1959 when six year old Robert was sitting on a corner selling cucumbers and no one saw him. The next day his dad put two large signs that said Robert Is Here and he sold all of his cucumbers . Robert Is Here was born.

Gotta try one of Robert's mango shakes.

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