Text Box: Month Three In Florida Key West! Key West! Key West!  

Text Box: Smith Family Newsletter February 2009

Text Box: Well, the four of us finally got on the road to Key West on February 1st.  It was Russ who found our overnight stay at the Miccosukee Casino outside Miami.  Boy was that place busy!  The parking lot was full and there must have been 40 RV’s in the back where we were.  The reason was Super Bowl!  Moving South, our next stop was Key West itself. We are talking about the Southern most point in the Continental US, as well as the home of Conch Chowder, Key Lime Pie, a free roaming resident chicken population, and the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen!  We knew we would be dry camping at Trumbo Point Annex, on the Key West Naval Air Station. This Island Key is probably about 4 miles long and a couple of miles wide.  The ride South on US 1 was outstanding, as usual.   When we registered we went onto a three week waiting list for a full hook up site at Sigsbee RV Campground.  We really didn’t mind the dry camping and actually did much better conserving resources than we thought.  We were able to walk downtown to Mallory Square from Trumbo, which was great.  Having a car on Key West is more of a nuisance than a benefit.  Parking is expensive, and negotiating the bikes, scooters, little electric cars, pedestrians, trolleys and other traffic on narrow streets can be exhausting.    It’s easy to fall in love with Key West.  We have heard so many locals talk about how they came down here on a vacation and decided to stay.  Life down here is so laid back. We had mail sent twice while here and both times, the local routing got messed up.  They figure it will get to it’s destination eventually, not to worry.  It seems every little square inch is spoken for.  Duval St. has the smallest bar probably in the world.  It is set up in an alley and can hold maybe 5 people including the bar tender.  Tons of little shops selling T-shirts and all the tourist stuff.  Restaurants are all over the place, most with some sort or open air room or patio.  You can wear your shorts, and flip flops in the most expensive dinner places, so I have heard.  Boats, boats everywhere, privately owned and for hire and every size imaginable.  We went out on a Glass Bottom Boat to see the coral and marine life.  Very enjoyable even though the water was still a bit cloudy from windy weather and rough waters.  A brand new Eco Center opened in January next to Fort Zachary Taylor which was very educational, teaching about the coral reefs  and marine life. Civil War days are celebrated each February, which includes an enactment at the Fort and a period dress parade down to Duval St and back. Back at Trumbo, I kept watch on a pair of Osprey with young, up on a utility pole in the campground.  The baby would poke it’s head up periodically.  Everyone watches for the cruise ships to dock.  Most have to be gone before sunset, though!! Every evening, Malory Square sets up for the daily Sunset Party, with performers, vendors, and visitors walking around with their favorite drinks in hand waiting for the Sun to say good night!  As it sinks below the horizon, the crowd  claps and cheers. See pictures to right.    

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