Key West: Day One

Eric and I are touring Key West for a couple of days.  Here's a quick overview of Day One, the day we rode our bikes onto Florida's southernmost island.

Welcome to Key West
Paradise, USA

Eric surveys the Atlantic waters

 just off  Florida State Road

 A1A South.

Fort Martello East is one of
three 19th century forts
on Key West.






***Fun Fact: Even though Florida seceded from the Union during the Civil War, Key West remained a Union stronghold.

The waters to the east of Key West don't have daily tides because ocean waves break along the  221 mile long coral reef that protects the Keys.  Without wave action and the erosion caused by the tides, there are no naturally occurring beaches on this island.

Smathers Beach was

 constructed in 1950.

Sand was brought in from Caribbean islands.  The City has sand shipped in periodically to maintain its beaches.




Eric & I get our photo taken
at the Southernmost Point
in the Continental US...

A hundred yards or so further
south is the Key West 
Naval Station & its towers.




Eric and I locked up our bikes at one of the many bike racks on Duval Street and went in search of a drink.

Willie T's Restaurant & Bar

looks like a fun spot.

Built in 1890, this is the
third San Carlos Institute
structure in Key West.











The center of Cuban education and culture for more than 80 years, the San Carlos Institute closed after Cuba became a Communist country in 1959.  The deteriorating building was saved from demolition, restored and is now a museum, library, gallery and theater and school,

The Martin Hellings House/

Key West Women's Club

was built in 1892.

Eric & I stop at

Jimmy Buffett's

Margaritaville.

Passersby look up to see the

school bell on the second floor

 porch of Key West's Oldest

Schoolhouse, built

 around 1847.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
has served Key West since
1832.






This is the fourth church, built in 1919, is the fourth church.  The first three were destroyed by hurricanes, fire.

Eric & I admire this unique

van.

It's complex designs were

drawn with Sharpee Markers.

We walked to 

Sunset Pier.

Eric & I ride past Key West's

Cemetery on our way back

to Boyd's Campground.

Key West is just a few feet above Sea Level and this fact affects the dead.  The graves have slabs covering them.  Many of the deceased are interred in mausoleums.  These precautions keep the dead in their graves during flooding.

Our bike ride into and out of Key West was easy.  The majority of the ride is on flat terrain.  There are gentle upgrades for bridges.  Bikes are everywhere on this island and drivers are alert when making turns. Traffic on the southern end of the Key moves slowly, making it easy for Eric and me to keep up with traffic.