Daily Archives: May 19, 2009
Birthday Wishes and Key Largo Dreams…
First off, Jan and I want to wish our son Christopher a Happy Birthday today.
Jan and I decided to explore back up the Keys today. We went all the way up to Key Largo and then back down to Key West. There were several places that we drove by on the way down that we wanted to take a closer look at.
Strangely enough, most of them seemed to be gift shops.
Lunch was at a small but very good Chinese buffet restaurant in Marathon called Panda Cafe. Really good!
We drove in and out of several rainstorms both up and down the Keys. But it did produce some very pretty pictures. And the ‘Glades and Keys can certainly use the rain.
Storm Clouds over the Keys
One thing we got see on our trip today was ‘Fat Albert’ floating over Cudjoe Key.
'Fat Albert' floating over Cudjoe Key
‘Fat Albert’ is a 175 foot long helium-filled blimp floating at 10,000 ft. It is tethered to a pickup truck at the small blimp base on Cudjoe Key.
It is used mainly by NORAD, and the radar it carries monitors suspected drug smuggling flights, fast boats smuggling Cubans, weather, any low flying plane and other potentially harmful activity.
It is also sometimes used to broadcast ‘TV Marti’, which consists of anti-Castro TV programs beamed toward Cuba.
After we got back we headed down into Key West for another dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. Just as good as last time.
And of course, a few more gift shops had to be visited.
Tomorrow will be our last full day in the Keys before we head north to West Palm Beach on Thursday. We’ve really enjoyed all the sights we’ve seen here in Southern Florida and the Keys.
Here’s a few pics…
Flowers 1
Flowers 2
Flowers 3
Flowers 4
Traveler's Palm
Interesting Hanging Plant
We also saw this interesting lizard while we were at Coral Castle.
Red-headed Agama
This one was about a foot long and I had never seen one like it.
A quick Google told me that it is a Red-headed Agama, native to Africa. It seems that some agamas being kept as pets had escaped and there are now a number of colonies thriving here in South Florida.
When they are in courting mode, the males are even more colorful.
Red-headed Agama in mating garb
We’ve also seen a number of interesting signs.
Sign 1
Looks like this guy has his business plan mapped out.
CrocCossing
Yes there are crocodiles in the Keys. The really scary part about this sign is that there is a 6 ft fence on both sides of the highway for the entire 6 miles. I’m not sure I want to think about crocodiles that can jump 6 ft fences.
Prevent Scurvy
And finally, like I needed another reason to eat more Key Lime Pie!
Later…
