The Florida Keys and Key West

About 150 miles south of Miami-Dade County is Key West, Home to the Southern Most Point in the United States. Key West Florida is a very "Animal Friendly" place, home to the decendants of Ernest Hemmingway's 6 toed cats and to chickens that roam the city often entering the Taverns along the way. The chickens decend from the fighting cocks of the early settlers of Key West. The chickens are now locally protected and the cats live mostly in and around the Hemmingway Museum on Whitehead Street near the Southern Most Point. The Hemmingway Museum is open to the public and you will be surprised to find the cats resting in many of the rooms on your tour.

Mallory Square is the official Daily Sunset Celebration Spot. Everyday as the sun sets, hundreds converge on Mallory Square to witness this spectacular event. There is music, food, drinks and of course, places to buy souvenirs.

Great places to eat, drink, dance and party the night away abound. Perhaps, the most famous of them is Sloppy Joe's Bar, known to have been a favorite hangout for Hemmingway. Duval Street is filled with people having a great time shopping and seeing the sights and there is plenty to see in Key West. A great way to see the city is to take a ride on the Conch Train or the Old Town Trolley. You will be given a narrated tour of the entire city.

Key West has many large well known hotels, but there are also many smaller hotels and B&B's located on or near Duval street, the main street in downtown Key West. If you can find a room in these smaller places, you be delighted by the amenities from the hot breakfast to the tropical lagoon style pools to the well appointed rooms. If you stay on or near Duval Street, you can park your car for your entire visit, you will enjoy the strolling down the streets lined with restaurants, taverns and shops.

If you want to get around the entire island, consider renting a bicycle or a scooter, you will have a great time visiting the Fort Zachary Taylor, Hemmingway's Museum, the Southern Most Point, the Key West Beaches and Mallory Square and other points of interest in beautiful historic Key West.

Actually, getting to Key West is half the fun, so on your road trip south through the Florida Keys make sure to take your time and stop along the way, there are spectacular views from almost anywhere in the Keys. You can swim with dolphins, snorkel, dive, fish, or just relax, it is up to you. As you travel US 1 south, you will be surrounded by water, the Gulf of Mexico to the West and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The fishing from the bridges is great and so are the views. Be ready for extrordinary beauty of the Florida Keys and Key West.

I arrived in Miami last night and there were so many places to spotlight, but after careful thought I decided on Vizcaya Gardens & Museum. Although this is NOT a “dog friendly” attraction, it is too beautiful to pass up on my Travels. You will see my picture at the front gate of Vizcaya and that is as far as I go, but my humans love this place.

It was built between 1914 and 1916 on 180 acres in then undeveloped Miami. An Italian Villa sitting on Biscayne Bay, it was built as a winter residence of James Deering, a Chicago agriculture industrialist who spent winter at the Vizcaya from 1916 until his death in 1925. Deering was Vice President of the International Harvester Company.

Work on the Gardens at Vizcaya continued into the 1920 as labor & materials were not readily available due to WWI. Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, as it is now called belongs Miami-Dade County, they opened it to the public in 1953 as the Dade County Art Museum. In 1994, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens was designated a Nation Historic Landmark.

Today, I have left to white, sugar sand beaches of the Emerald Coast and traveled to the East Coast, The Treasure Coast to be exact. Florida’s Treasure Coast stretches from Sebastian in Indian River County south to Hobe Sound in Martin County. It was given the name Treasure Coast because so many Spanish Galleons with their treasures are ship-wrecked off the coast. Treasures have been found by many, even amateurs.

On the beaches of the Treasure Coast, you will find the sand to be a golden color and a little coarser than the sand you normally find on the Gulf Coast beaches. The waves on the Treasure Coast are also slightly bigger than on the Gulf Coast. Many of the beaches on the Treasure Coast are Dog Friendly, but make sure to inquire locally.

The Treasure Coast is comprised of three Florida counties, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin; cities include Sebastian and Vero in Indian River County, Ft Pierce and Port St Lucie in St Lucie County and Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach and Hobe Sound in Martin County. The pace on the Treasure Coast is a little slower than on the Gold Coast of South Florida, but there is still much to do and wonderful restaurants for both casual and fine dining. Florida does allow dogs to dine with you on outside patios, but always call first to make sure your “furkid” is welcome.

So today I am in the Florida Panhandle at Seagrove Beach. This is a beautiful wide stretch of sugar sand beach, located about half way between Panama City Beach and Destin on Route 30A. At Seagrove most either walk or ride bikes, it is small, so a car is not a necessity. I am staying in a beach house rented from the owner. There are many such houses available in Seagrove Beach. Smaller homes can accomadate a family and larger ones, a family reunion! Some of the beautiful homes are directly on the sugar sand beach and others are just across the street within an easy walk to the beach. There are several public accesses to the beach and it is public, not owned by the homeowners with homes on the beach. It is an uncrowded beach where you can really relax, as you can tell from the pictures! Winters are cool in Seagrove Beach, but summers are wonderful, warm, sunny and beautiful. There are many kayak and bicycle rentals on the beach and lots of good places to eat. Some restaurants in Florida allow dogs on patios, call the restaurant first to make sure "furkids" are welcome.

Dogs in Space!

Just another day in sunny Florida! This time I am on the Atlantic Coast at the Kennedy Space Center. What a great place to see the history of our Space Travels. From the first Mercury flights to Gemini to Apollo and the moon landing and finally the Space Shuttles, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor. There were many great triumphs, along with a few disasters, but Space Travel and the wonder of the world beyond keeps us inspired to continue the exploration of space.

Many thanks to Mr_Pinkerton for bringing it to my attention about Dogs being the first astronauts and sharing the picture!

Weeki Wachee "The City of Mermaids"

Today I am in Weeki Wachee, Florida, "The City of Mermaids" at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. This park has been a Florida Roadside Attraction for many years, but was only recently added to the Florida State Park System. They offer "live mermaid shows" several times a day and also host a water park called "Buccaneer Bay". You can rent a canoe or kayak and paddle the Weeki Wachee River. The water is crystal clear and 72 degrees year-round. There are many pretty homes on the banks of the river and it flows into the Gulf of Mexico. You will see many birds, maybe even an Eagle or two and lots of fish. You will also most likely encounter a Manatee or maybe even a Manatee Family along the way. Weeki Wachee Springs State Park is a must see if you are visiting the Central Florida Area.

My Virtual Travels: Day 1 at Walt Disney World

Well, it is Day 1 of my Virtual Traveling. I am off to a great start, there is so much to do at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. You can spend many days enjoying all there is to see.