A Touristy Weekend

I did do two touristy things. Not exactly what I'd been planning, but still interesting. Saturday, I went to the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center. It's always free to everyone and had been on my list for awhile. It was a very soothing place to hangout, with underwater sounds throughout. I liked feeling like I'd entered another eco-system.

I was worried that I'd have to deal with swaths of screaming kids while I was there, but I'm pleased to say that that was not the case. It was quite an oasis. There's a lot to read, which would bore most kids, but there are also several interactive videos and games (that kids couldn't get their parents to play with them). I was rather drawn to a replica of the Aquarius research lab. You really feel like you're under the sea.

Responsible Tourism Key West

There were a couple of movies to watch, one in a surprisingly large theater. Neither were moralizing (like I'm about to be), but it was still clear how close some species have come to being long gone (conch, lobster, turtles, grouper, the list goes on and on). All those people who are against regulations should research all the marine species that were almost hunted to extinction - there would be no sports fishing, no seafood restaurants, no decent snorkeling, no food for the remaining marine life, etc. if someone hadn't stepped in and stopped the short-sighted kill-off. If anyone thinks that individuals would save themselves from themselves without gov't oversight, then I direct them to all the civilizations that collapsed after necessary resources were stupidly exhausted (and still are).

The eco-center was a nice place to escape the heat, and I think I might have liked it better than the Aquarium, which is almost an unfair comparison since the Aquarium was built 80 years ago. I do think that if you've got young kids, the Aquarium with its marine-life feedings is probably going to be more interesting. Of course, if you've got time for both - go for it.

The 1st of Sunday of the month meant local freebies day. We've taken advantage of just about everything offered on these days, including the train (read post), but I hadn't realized the trolley was free too. I thought choosing something that could whip up its own breeze when the feel-like temp is 96 degrees would be a good idea, so jumped onboard.

I have to give the driver credit. Not only does he have to drive these huge trolleys down narrow double-parked streets, but he has to tell us the island's history while dodging clueless tourists in said streets, all the while trying to engage the people on the trolley with corny jokes and goofy question & answer sessions. That's a lot of work! I'd say the majority of the time the driver would ask a question (Who's from out of town?! Who drove down?) only to get blank stares and silence. Wow, rough crowd. Writing for a blog is rather lonely when you don't get any feedback, but it's a lot more awkward when you're physically surrounded by people that refuse to participate. Insert cricket sounds here. Seriously, tip those conductors!

The tour is for 90 minutes, but you can get off and on at various stops along the way. It wasn't the same as the conch train tour, so if you've done one, don't hesitate to do the other. Yes, the trolley is a bit more like a shuttle, taking you to a few rather untouristy places, but if you aren't familiar with Key West, it gives you a real feel for the whole island.

At one point Kermit from Kermit's Key Lime Pie Shoppe came out and threatened us. All I could think was that at least one trolley leaves every 1/2 hour...all day (so do the trains). Does this poor man have to pretend to throw a pie all day long? Give that man a tip!

I was rather surprised to see a line at the southernmost tip where people absolutely must take a photo.

And even though we've been here almost a year already (seriously, where does the time go?), there were still a few things I hadn't known:

• In 1918 Thomas Edison spent 6 months here and invented 41 "weapons" to assist in WWI efforts. Later I took a look at the list and noted that Edison said, “I am proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill," so they might want to clarify that statement. 
• It takes 6 days for drinking water to reach here via the pipeline from Miami (when we flush, Miami residents get cold showers - ha, ha, ha!). 
• Jimmy Buffet isn't just an obscure obsession in Key West. He really did have quite an influence in generating interest in this city thanks to his songs about the island, and he has a windowless recording studio here (that other popular musicians use too). I've passed it many times and had no clue.



Explore Key West History

• Although a 1/3 of the city was destroyed in a fire, there are some buildings still standing from the 1800s (like the oldest bar in town, The Green Parrot from 1890). My eyes really popped when the driver put it into perspective that these places were hopping back when Abraham Lincoln was in his teens. 
• This town was basically one big barracks with lots of very salty saloons until submarines became too big to dock here. There were 20,000 people here, and 18,000 of them left. Just like that. Key West has come back from the dead after the loss of (some of) the Navy, the collapse of the sponge industry, the "theft" of the cigar industry, and several devastating hurricanes, one of which wiped out the newly built railroad to the mainland. Tourism and just about every other industry disappeared from the mid 1930s all the way to the mid-1980s. It's hard to imagine today.
• Hemingway built the wall around his house (himself) using bricks from Duval St. The actual street. The thing is, he didn't ask first. Yes, he got in trouble.



Umcor

• The most recent hurricane to really impact Key West, despite the nuns' grotto promise, was Wilma in 2005. The winds weren't the problem - two storm surges that hit from opposite directions were. I'm really hoping we don't have anything like that this year - I have no way of getting off this island and if the roof comes off, not only will we be quite soggy, but there goes everything we own (and Cat 3s and higher require evacuation).
• Speaking of weather - oddly, Key West is the driest city in Florida. They normally get 39" all year. This year, we got all 39 inches in one week, less than 30 days ago.
• Lots of this island (like New Town) has been created by dredging. Even the mess that has become the expansion of the main Key West thoroughfare is waiting on Mother Nature to basically build a third lane. I get it, but why did we have to tear up the only lanes we had while we waited?



Reef Relief

• I was kind of surprised that Key West has the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world (why we have no winds, therefore no waves, and therefore no sand). We really might have to fit in a snorkel trip before we leave.
• Sure, the roosters are here because of old-time cockfighting, but the big benefit of keeping them around is because they eat mosquitoes. Give those roosters a tip!

There was much more, but I don't want to give it all away, plus it sounds more interesting when told with corny jokes. After my 90-minute trolley trip, guess where I went?

I know I said I was going to save my pizza fix for some good news, but Michael and I are both a little discouraged at the moment. I decided pizza is more of a placating food than a celebratory one, so I made myself a Michelob Ultra Light beer slushy and stuffed my face with a margarita pizza. There. Now I feel better.  Fat...but better.

Here's a side note: This guy, Ben Friberg, just paddleboarded from Cuba to Key West. He was able to do this 111-mile trip in 28 hours and 6 minutes. Hopefully there weren't any wanna-be refugees in Cuba watching this.

Photo: Carol Tedesco

Well, congrats Ben. You're crazy (and you need more promo), but I'm glad you made it safely.

This week, I think I'm going to visit the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. They just got a couple of flamingoes and it sounds like a rather peaceful place. I'll actually have to pay - egads! - but maybe they'll offer a local's discount.