We headed West on Whitehead towards the Gulf side of Key West. It is only about 1 1/2 miles down the street. When we got to the end and were at the entrance to Mallory Square, I spotted the Key West Memorial Sculpture Garden. At the entrance was a large 18' long by 25' high sculpture entitled "The Wreckers" by Artist James Mastin. The sculpture takes you back to the days when brave men would yell "Wreck Ashore" and risked their lives saving vessels and passengers in distress.
Beside the large sculpture were 36 bronze busts depicting the men and women who made Key West such a vibrant and important outpost of American culture and forlklore. The bricks on the walkway were sold to finance the project.
Joey is standing by one of the bronze busts.
This is one of the plaques detailing the lives of one of the busts.
After we toured the garden display we went to Sunset Celebration on Mallory Square to see our favorite Performer.
Here Oscar is performing with the Cat Man. The cats do amazing tricks such as catching treats tossed to them, walking a tightrope, jumping through a small metal ring and jumping through a fire ring. The Cat Man is crazy nuts, ....like a fox. He puts on a great show for a $1!! He works 2 hours a day and lives in Paradise!
Later we hit Happy Hour at Alonzo's Oyster Bar and Marina. All the appetizers are half off the listed price. We order Buffalo Shrimp for $12.50 ($6.25), a bowl of White Clam Chili or Conch Chowder for $4.50 ($2.25), and crispy french fries for $2.00 ($1.00). Margaritas are 1/2 off also!
Then we rode down Thomas Street to see the Little White House that Harry Truman used as his home away from Washington. Several presidents have also use this house and it was the site for a Internation Peace Conference.
Click on the picture to enlarge it. William Talf, Truman, JFK, Carter and Clinton used this little white house.
The next day we went back to Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park beach and paid our $2.50@ entrance fee.
You can see we brought our snorkel gear. It is a nice place to relax, read, swim, snorkel, fish, watch the boats and people watch. Joey is always watching for the European sun bathers. They change right on the beach.
Here you can see the rock piles we snorkel around and the sailboats.
We met a lady from Ocean Grove, NJ who had this portable hammock that Molly liked.
It folded up into that 5" x 9" bag for traveling. It is from Eagles Nest Outfitters and I found a few on E-bay for about $50. This would be much easier than carrying two reclining chairs on the bike!
You don't hear the large cruise ships heading out of port and it always startles me to look up and see one!
Here Molly and I are enjoying Molly's last day at the beach. Notice the new sand they dumped today! Gotta have it looking nice for the Holiday Traffic!
It is so nice to swim in the ocean. It is so buoyant! The water is warm but the rocks at the end of the beach and in the first 4 feet of water are a little rough. You carefully step into the water.
When we got back we covered the seats because it is suppose to rain on Friday. Molly said Vice-President Williams from Slippery Rock University and family were coming in for a vacation in Key West starting Saturday. I saw them last year, maybe I'll see them this year.
It rained hard on Friday. It was thunderstorms! Lots of water in the streets. I only went out for a walk and one ride and stayed in after the kids left for home on Friday.
Saturday morning I did my loop around the island on my bike. It was chilly and windy but I wore my shorts and t-shirt. It warmed up and I rode across the island to the Key West Girl's Soccer game.
It was a close game.
The Conchs won 3-2!
I rode on the back streets on my way home and enjoyed looking at the houses.
Here is where I am going to curl up with my book for the afternoon. At 7:00 pm I am going to the Key West Girl's Basketball game. That's all for now!
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