Planes, Trains, Boats, and Automobiles!

March 8, 2017 Today was our first truly warm day with temperatures in the 80s!  There wasn't as much of a breeze, which made it feel really warm most of the day.  Peter got up early to go for a run, and Jeff decided that he needed to take a walk.  Eventually they ran into each other and ended up being gone for a couple of hours!  Betty Lou and I had a quiet morning together, each doing our own things.  I read for a while and then decided to work on this blog.  Betty Lou enjoyed some laps in the pool, and when the guys came home we all had something for lunch. Our major excursion for the day was a short walk away at the Eco-Discovery Center. The center, which is sponsored by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA, and both the Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, is dedicated to educating the public about the native plants and animals of the Keys - both on land and underwater.  There is an entire room devoted to a depiction ...

March 7, 2017 Somehow I cannot think of many things more delicately beautiful than butterflies!  So today's exploration of the Butterfly Conservatory was a special treat - for me, at least.  Although, come to think of it, even though Peter and Betty Lou had been there before, they were looking forward to it as well. The brochure says it well, " F eel your stress fade away as you enter our magical world of butterflies. Relax and be amazed as you stroll through our tropical paradise."  The garden is beautifully designed with a stream running through the middle - complete with a pair of squawking flamingos (we were told that it's mating season and the male was trying to get the attention of the female).   The flowering plants were gorgeous - reds, pinks, whites, blues, purples - and the foliage was as colorful as the flowers.  There are over twenty exotic bird species and between fifty and sixty butterfly species.  The one that ...

March 6, 2017 Presidents have had "vacation retreats" for as long as I can remember (and longer, I am sure), and it has only been in these recent "angry man" times (although I'm sure that there are equal numbers of "angry women") that presidents have come under fire for taking some vacation time.  Politics aside, today we went to visit "The Little White House."  The house was built in 1890 and originally was right on the waterfront, where it served as the first officer's quarters on the submarine base naval station.  Constructed as a two-family house, it served as quarters for the base commandant as well as for the paymaster.  In 1911 it was converted to a single-family dwelling for just the commandant, and additional land was filled in front of the house blocking the waterfront view. The first President to visit the house was William Howard Taft in 1912.  He travelled by Flagler's Overseas Railroad and then sailed to Panama to i...

March 5, 2017 What does one say about Key West?  It is a funky place, filled with a cacophony of young people on spring break, bikers (both white hairs and young 'uns), young adults (with and without families in tow), older adults taking a break from their jobs, and .... well, folks like us who are old enough to know better but young enough to enjoy a bit of crowds and chaos for the joys of lots of sunshine in early March! This morning we all went to church at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, a few blocks away from the cottage.  Peter and Betty Lou have adopted (and been adopted) this church as their Key West Church home during the three weeks or so that they come each winter.  Peter sings in the choir, and they attend various functions throughout the weeks they are here.   After church we went shopping at Fausto's Food Palace to get some groceries. They have a wonderful selection, and we bought some steaks that were much less expensive than filet...