Activities on Key West

We posted about our dolphin adventure and of course our crazy night out but we haven't mentioned the many other activities that have been keeping us so busy in Key West. I wish now that I had been better about blogging as we go...we did so much. Below is a brief description of some of the fun stuff. Pictures from these adventures are sprinkled in the pic of the day album.

We managed to...

* go on an eco-tour kayaking trip soon after we arrived with Blue Ocean Kayaking. We were able to see some very fine critters including crabs that walk in the trees like spiders, a conch, upsidedown jelly fish, starfish and of course the sea cucumber.

* ride around the island on our bikes. The island is only about 2x4 miles around so we spent one afternoon exploring on the bikes and rode around Key West and Stock Island. While on the south side of the island we were watching over the ledge into the water and saw our first shark on our trip - a 2.5 foot nurse shark, and a pretty boxfish (we think it was a spotted trunkfish).

* spend an afternoon with Brad & Deb from the Tiger's Eye visiting the Key West Tropical Forrest and Botanical Gardens.

* visit the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory and Nancee's Secret Garden. The butterfly garden was absolutely incredible. I felt like I had just stepped into a deleted scene from Willy Wonka. We managed to get a few nice pictures too. Nancee's garden is a local woman's attempt to conserve local plants and also rescue several parrots and other large birds.

* visited the Mel Fisher Museum (he found the shipwreck, the Atocha, worth about $400 million in treasure!)

* go fishing with Richard aboard Eagle VI. We didn't catch any fish and Martin got seasick but we had fun :)

* take the Trails and Tales Walking Tour of oldtown. Our guide, Tim, is a local who has lived here for many, many years and talked to us about some of the well known local tales.

* visit the Hemingway House with the all the polydactyl cats and watch the sun set from Mallory Square.

* visit the Florida Keys Eco Discover Center and watched a lovely movie about the underwater life on the reefs in the keys.

In addition, food was a central part of our visit. We ate at several great restaurants, snacked on Key Lime Pie, home made fudge and key lime ice cream. We spent several afternoons just walking around town, people watching.

There are a couple of things that we did not get too that if we return, we definitely will do. One is the Conch Train Tour (we didn't get to it Sean!) and the other is the Ghost Tour. I could also go for paragliding and a trip out to the Dry Tortugas... I've really enjoyed our stay in Key West and I'm a little sad to leave. Mostly sad to leave Richard ("Moose") and Kathy. Richard has been a lovely friend and we hope to meet up with him in May in the Bahamas. But it's time to move on and more adventures await!