Key West

On our way down to Key West, we stopped at the WORLD FAMOUS Islamorada Fish Company in Islamorada Key.  Awesome lunch.  When we got to Key West...and checked into our B&B, we took a city tour, and saw the lighthouse that "used to be on the point of Key West, but is now in the middle of the Key because the Navy added dredged silt to the Key to make it bigger because they needed more space back in 1942.  Also the small capsul on the right is the southern most point of the United States.  We were there!

The chickens, hens and roosters are an interesting story.  A law put on the books to preserve the flamingo's, and other precious birds, apparently included the chicken family...so they are a protected species on Key West...the cat even knows it's a NO NO to attack.  The fine for killing a hen or rooster is greater than the fine for running over a pedestrian.  Go figure.  Famous author houses everywhere...and of course we've got the WORLD FAMOUS KEY LIME PIE...sorry, we're not much for desserts, so didn't try...but we did have dinner at the WORLD FAMOUS CONCH restaurant.  :-)  Awesome food, and right on the edge of the ocean.

The fun part of the evening was joining everyone for the sunset celebration.  Acts line up and do their thing starting at about 5:00 in the evening.  Singers...circus type acts...really a fun place to be down on the waterfront.


Several ships went out a ways to watch the sunset.  We chose to sit in a covered area on the wharf in front of the Westin Hotel.  There were thousands there for the sunset celebrations

The sunset was spectacular!!!!!

Our B&B was fun.  Had a garden for breakfast...a small heated swimming pool, and every room was named for an author.  Fun place.

Daytona Beach Nov 6, 2011

Lunch at the Ocean Deck on the A1A on Daytona Beach.  Supposed to be the most famous place to go on the beach...so, we did.  Great views...lots of birds...and Jean wasn't too wild about walking the beach because the seaweed smelled too fishy.  Sorry....

On to the Daytona Speedway.  Had a great tour.  There were drivers from Italy that were "practicing"...so we got a pretty full effect of the speed and the sound of the race.  Lots of "Italian" Lamborghinis.

.   We had a video, and sound track of the Italian cars racing....but can't seem to get it working on the blog.  Sorry.   It was really cool.  Maybe Ron will put it out on facebook.   We saw several famous cars.  But, the best  was #21 - the winner of the 2011 Dayton 500.  Driver: Trevor Bayne...he was only 19 years old when he qualified for this race...and 20 years old when he won it.  Pretty amazing.  The winning car is kept by the track for one year...until 3 days before the next race.  Then is returned to the owner.

Hilton Head, SC Nov 5, 2011

Our trip from Savannah back up to Hilton Head Island, SC was both one of choice and one of necessity.  We needed to "get out of town" - because there was a marathon in Savannah...and no tours available...and no way to get around town on your own.  It was a windy day, and we chose not to golf...but just drive over...walk the beaches...and have a good lunch...which we did...at the Crazy Crab.  There are two of them on the island.  Fun place, with great views.

Day two - Sullivan's island

 Our second day in Charleston, we drove out to Sullivan's island - as we were told that's where the nice walking beaches are...and the good food.  Sorry...didn't take the camera or iphone for our marvelous walk on the beach.  You'll just have to imagine how nice it was.

Based on two recommendations, we ate at Poe's.  Our table was on the outside deck...but the inside was something to behold.  Every inch of the walls was covered with Edgar Allen Poe memorabilia.

We don't usually take pictures in the bathroom...but both priveys were wallpapered with pages from his various books.  Too funny.  We did get to drive over the big bridge we saw on the Harbor tour the day before.  Cool!!

Charleston, SC Nov. 1-3, 2011Ft.

Bridge from Sullivan's Island to Charleston

Ft. Sumter

When we got to Charleston, SC, we headed downtown and decided to take two tours the first day.  The Harbor tour took us past Ft Sumpter, past the largest of the MANY bridges in Charleston.  And heard the narrations of the historical events of the area.  Our guide had a somewhat gravelly voice, so parts of his story were a bit difficult to understand...he was a retired navy man...and "at heart" a boy from the south.  Them northerners sure did cause some unpleasant uprisings during that unpleasant conflict between states.  None of the southern guides will refer to the civil war by name...because, you know, it wasn't very civil.

The homes in historic Charleston were incredibly large...with water on either side of the area, homes were built with Piazzas...second floor porches...and since the breeze usually went from west to east, the porches were on the south or north side of the house.  Long skinny houses were built sideways, called single family, and faced south or north even though the entrance to the house was on an east or west street.  Strange...but made perfect sense considering the need to stay cool in the summertime...with all of those layers of clothes worn in the 1800's.

Reminded us of New Orleans

Original Cobblestone street.

And all of the downtown tour took place on a horse-drawn carriage.  Those Belgian draft horses have to be pretty strong to be able to carry 16 tourists plus the driver for 90 minutes through the streets of Charleston.

We had our first taste of She-Crab soup.  It's pretty much a toss between that and lobster bisque.  She-Crab soup started in Charleston.  Have to taste what's native to the area.  :-)