Key West - the Rest

We spent almost a week in Key West. We saw beautiful sunsets and rode our bike everywhere. It was restful and gorgeous. I even managed to read a couple of books. That always makes me happy. 

I made it to Blue Heaven twice, once for a spectacular dinner and both times I visited I had their wonderful key lime pie. It is the best one in Key West and even though some may not agree - there are those who think it should be topped with whipped cream rather than meringue - I say it is the best. 

A highlight of our visit was our boat tour to Fort Jefferson on the Dry Tortugas. This island fort is 70 miles from Key West. It is often the stopping point for Cuban refugees, as it is US land. If they make it there they can stay. We saw some of the boats they use in the crossing. We had about 30 people on the fort tour which is how many they pack into a boat. Incredible! 

We took the moat tour around the fort, too, and learned about the marine life that makes this area their home. We even saw their resident crocodile, but I did not get a photo. He hid too quickly. Mike took one with the good camera, but it isn't downloaded yet. 

Today we are driving north again. 

Key West

We arrived in Key West a couple of days ago. We are so glad that we brought our folding tandem along. We can pretty much get anywhere on it. Especially now that we know which streets to avoid and where the best bike routes are located. 

We went to our favorite local place, Pepe's, for lunch yesterday and then returned for their happy hour $1 drafts.

We also visited the Truman Little White house. We could not take photos inside, but our guide was good and I loved Truman's poker table! He played with his staff nearly every night when he would visit. It was his second favorite place to be, right after Missouri. 

Today we stopped at the West Martello Tower, maintained by the local garden club. This one acre site is an old Civil war fort that was never finished. The Key West Garden Club took it over in the 1960s and turned it into a garden. Since it never gets to freezing in Key West, the club has planted many unique specimens from tropical locations. My favorite was the oyster plant. There was also a tree whose name I can't remember that had these interesting hanging roots. (Okay, Mike remembered its name - Strangler Fig). 

It is nice and warm here! Hopefully I get my first taste of key lime pie later today. 

St. Augustine and Jacksonville

We stayed at Mayport Naval Base - Pelican Roost rv park for a couple of days. The photo is of brown pelicans flying by. It was an almost constant event and obviously why the rv park got its name. We saw lots of other birds, too, both on the ponds nearby or on the beach where we walked. The park gave us an opportunity to slow down and relax. 

On Friday we drove to St. Augustine, the oldest continually inhabited city in the country. It was established by the Spanish in 1565. We took a walk and while we did not bother with the Fountain of Youth, we took time to tour the Castillo de San Marcos, built by the Spanish to protect their growing empire. We were lucky to witness one of their cannon fire demonstrations, the last one of the day. 

The fort changed hands many times, with the British and Spanish and then finally the United States in control of the fort. "Every transfer was negotiated through treaty and agreement, not battle." The fort was never conquered. 

Mike with one of the reenactors. 

We also stopped at the St. Photios Greek  Orthodox National Shrine, where we learned about the New Smyrna Colony. The history of this colony and its indentured settlers, their revolt and subsequent settlement in St. Augustine, and struggle to survive is fascinating. 

They created one of the first schools for their children. The school structure is still there. 

We enjoyed the city, although it seems to be one of the places where they want to sell you everything in the place. 

Charleston - Days Two and Three

We decided on day two, Tuesday, that we would go visit some plantations, as it was still rainy. We bought tickets to go to Boone Plantation, but when we got there it was closed. So we headed down to the Charleston Tea Plantation, the only working tea plantation in the US. We visited the processing plant and took a tour of the fields and greenhouses. 

Since I am not a tea drinker I did not know that green tea, oolong tea, and black tea all come from the same tea bushes. The difference in the teas is created in the processing. 

After we visited the tea plantation we stopped at Angel Oak, the oldest known live oak tree on the East Coast. It is over 400 years old, 60+ feet tall, measures 28 feet in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet. The photo at the top of the page is of this tree. It was an impressive sight, even if way off the beaten path and difficult to locate (we found its gravel road with help from the locals). 

That is Mike next to its trunk. 

Yesterday we drove back into Charleston and parked at the end of the peninsula on Murray Blvd. Our bus tour driver had told us about this little known free area to park that accommodates rvs easily. Since it was another cold day, it never really went above 40 degrees, we left the tandem in the sprinter and walked. The homes SoB - south of Broad - are some of the most impressive in the city! Later, when we visited the Charleston Museum, we learned that the most wealthy rice and cotton plantation owners had their homes here. The gardens beside these homes were gorgeous. 

We also walked by Rainbow Row, featured in every gift shop in some form - platter, painting, magnet, etc.  

We ate dinner at the restaurant suggested by my sister, Poogan's Porch. It is next to Husk and down from 82 Queen. It wasn't as expensive and the food was excellent! But the best place we ate was Five Loaves, located in Summerville. All in all, a good visit if NOT warm. 

On the Road Again. Charleston, SC

We are heading to Florida and stopped in South Carolina so I could finally visit Charleston. All the church steeples seem to be really tall! 

It was raining all day so we took a history based bus trip. Our guide said the tall steeples were good targets during the Civil War. After the bus tour we decided to get our umbrellas out and walk to the Market. 

We had a late lunch, early dinner at Hyman's Seafood, recommended in Road Food and reiterated by some locals. 

One of the 4th generation owners, Eli, stopped by to be sure everything was as it should be. He posed with Mike. 

We will visit plantations today and go back downtown tomorrow. Hopefully the rain will stop so we can get the tandem out and ride. 

I also talked Mike into a quilt shop stop at People, Places & Quilts in Summerville. It was a lovely shop!