Key West - Florida

 After tripping around the islands of the Caribbean, today we are back onto American shores at Key West in Florida.

We are at the southern most point of America on a series of small rocky outcrops (keys) joined by bridges, totalling some 140 miles which links this area back to the mainland. 

Key West is only 4 miles long and 2 miles wide.

 As one would expect it was beautifully clean where the mega rich park their mega rich yachts in front of their mega rich waterfront condos.

So when you can’t afford a mega rich yacht or a mega rich condo, what do you do in Key West?.

For us, it’s off to the aquarium … another one of Sandy‘s happy places. Maybe Sandy was a mermaid in her past life as we always seem to end up in aquariums.

What a cool and dark space which was a relief from the hot and humid weather outside.

When we arrived they were feeding the stingrays and turtles so that was pretty wonderful to see and to also find out some information about these beautiful jewels of the sea.

This aquarium is like a halfway house for injured sea life and once it is cared for and brought back to being able to fend for itself it is then released.

For the others, some are now long-term residences as they have been injured and would die if they went back into the wild. 

This fellow was hit by a motorboat so has a cracked shell and lost part of his front limb. Every day the carers come in and pop on a prosthetic flipper so that he can swim around.

Sandy loves these rock fish, she drew one for her 

year 12 art assignment.

There was so much to see and do at the aquarium, many indoor tanks with beautifully colourful fish and coral from the oceans around the Caribbean islands and great spots to sit outside and see the larger fish in the big ponds.

The aquarium has been going since 1934 as a research and rehabilitation Centre.

It’s time for a spot of shopping and what sort of shopping does Pete love to do apart from shirt shopping … well that would be feeding his face!

Let’s find a coffee shop and grab a slice of famous Key-lime pie.

Seriously good, very limey and tart … 

but seriously what’s with all the plastic? Doesn’t anybody serve a piece of pie on a plate any more? 

I will just have to suffer it for my taste buds!

Oh, and by the way, I did buy that palm tree printed shirt …

100% pure … beautiful polyester … 

White with black prints 

So that sucker won’t be worn on a warm humid day!