Friday, February 17, 2012

A little diversion from Winter...


Hubby whisked me away for a few days to a warmer climate. :)


We headed south to Florida.


We were greeted by some lovely flowers just outside the airport.


and palm trees...


A bit of clouds and some rain showers made for some fantastic cloud formations.


At the visitors center for the Florida Keys.




fishes!



Through intermittent rain showers, our journey begins to the end of the Keys.


The first Key along the way.


and another...


a long ride on a two lane highway...


Little Keys along the way.



Here we are at our destination.
Our second story porch in Key West, we stayed at the Douglas House.


The view across the street.


around on the side porch...


Next door and below, the Sweet Teas Restaurant, we ended both of our evenings here, late.


Lots of bicycles and storm shutters.


Cute bungalows


The Southernmost Hotel on the continental US.

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The southernmost home.






Further down is a close up of these gates.


Beach behind the southernmost hotel.



The Atlantic Ocean.

Dock



A look back at the southernmost house.








This wild looking cactus was right behind the flowering shrub in the last pic.






Scooters, bicycles, and motorcycles, the preferred methods of travel on the island.




We ate at the Old Mexican Cafe the first night here. I had sea scallops in a spicy hot sauce and rice and grilled vegetables. Even though it was spicy, I ate all of it, it was so good, but, my head was hot. ;)



Selling cigars across the street. Key West has a rich Cuban history.


We return to the front porch...


and side, to the left behind the palms are the steps up to the second floor.


Looking up the street.



out for lunch...


at La Te Da Restaurant.


I had a raspberry cosmopolitan. :) Just my color.



The old cigar factory.







Wild Roosters and hens inhabit the island. You can hear them crow day and night.

I never did find any of Hemingway's five toed cats, though.


Cool tree...


and someone's pet parrot right behind it.


The entrance to Bahama Village.



Check out Father Neptune. Can you see the Rooster, too?



Hotel Pegasus


Strand, now... Walgreens.








Rooster and a chicken!






The bay side or the Gulf of Mexico.


The water was a little choppy with white caps, it was windy here.
I love this color of the water.


The famous Duval Street.


"Mr. Chapman" few have copied his style, but he is the original with boom box blasting disco songs.

I hope you enjoyed a bit of vacation from winter... I actually have more to post, but for next time. The best is yet to come. :)

24 comments:

  1. ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP!~!

    (waits for more pics)

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  2. Thank you so much! We had -25 Celsius (-5 Fahrenheit) for the last three weeks here in Germany and this was like a little vacation for me. ;-)
    Hubby and me married in Sanibel, Florida and we do love this place.
    Christine

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  3. What a great trip it must have been! Great views! Thank you for sharing, Dale!
    Hugs

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  4. Me alegro que hayas disfrutado de esas pequeñas vacaciones y muchas gracias por esas fantasticas fotos que hacen que la primavera parezca mas cercana.
    besitos ascension

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  5. Now I am SO homesick I can hardly stand it!!!!! I miss FLORIDA!!!!
    Great photos! Great memories for me too!!!
    Sigh.... wish I was there...

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  6. Wow fantastic pictures Thank you for sharing. It looks like an amazing place.
    Hugs Maria

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  7. I needed a whole pack of tissues, but that was worth it... what a feast for my white-winter-tired eyes. You have a really nice husband to take you on such a gorgeous trip... Thank you for all those beautiful and interesting pictures.

    Greetings
    Birgit

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  8. What a beautiful break! You stayed in a lovely place and had a lot to see.
    Geneviève

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  9. Wow, Dale! Thanks for the Trip! I have never been to the Keys.... it looks fun... and remote... and Tropical! AAHH the warm breezes...!

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  10. Fantastico reportaje!!! me ha encantado!!!
    Besos de las Malu´s.

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  11. Beautiful.
    Happy Mardi Gras with a lot of fun and joy!
    hugs.

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  12. It was a fun road trip, Cindy! More is coming soon. :)

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  13. I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Christine and that it brought back pleasant memories. :)

    I had to look up Sanibel. It looks fabulous, I would love to go there just for the shell collecting and nature preserves.

    Thanks for sharing that with me. :)

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  14. It was Ewa! Such a treat to get away in the middle of winter and alone with my hubby. :) Thank you!

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  15. Thank you, Teresa! :) It was a lot of fun. :)

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  16. Ascensión se hizo sentir como llegaba la primavera más rápido cuando regresamos a casa. Pero, yo no me puedo quejar mucho de invierno de este año, la nuestra ha sido bastante leve. Gracias, Dios mío! :)

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  17. Oh, (((Kathi))) I'm so sorry you miss Florida, but, I can see completely why you do.

    I have more pics to post, I'm afraid to tell you! lol ;)

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  18. Thank you, Maria, we got to visit several different places and really enjoyed our taste of it all. :)

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  19. *hands Birgit another pack of tissues*

    Hubby and I were just reflecting on our trip today. He apologised for having taken over twenty years to whisk me away during winter. That is okay, I am a patient girl. :) We've only been away together a handful of times and never to a place so exotic. Now that we are facing empty nesting, we are looking forward to more trips like this in the future.

    Thank you! :)

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  20. Geneviève, it really was. Thank you! :)

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  21. Thanks Daydreamer! It was definitely warmer there than it was here. :)

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  22. Malu, muchas gracias! Me alegro que te haya gustado. :)

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I love to hear what you have to say! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. :)