Very TRUE! As you can see, these lamps are the size of the doors on this Government building. These brass lamp icons actually light up at night and are impossible to miss as you stroll just 2-blocks northeast of Key West’s famous Duval Street.
The Key West Federal Building Courthouse is the home of these two ginormous brass lit beacons. Also at this location is one of Key West’s Post Offices and its Customs House. You can find these oversized lamps at 301 Simonton Street here in Key West.
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‘Pecker Power’ & ‘None Of Your Business’ are the humorous topics for today’s blog. So what in the heck am I talking about? I absolutely love reading nicknames given to boats along the nearly 128 miles of the Florida Keys and Key West. There are literally 1,000’s of them, and some you’ll find just as humorous as these two!
‘Pecker Power’ believe it or not it the name of this houseboat docked in Key Largo at the beginning of the Keys while ‘None Of Your Business’ was found deep inside Key West (seen below). I can only imagine conversations they’ve had and laughed at many times. Q: What’s the name of your boat? A: None of your business! 🙂 I spotted this speedboat through a mangrove swamp in Key West and ventured closer for your amusement.
Today’s thing to do is simply “Funny Boat Name Searching”, so be aware of your surroundings when walking or driving around and always have your camera ready for that one boat name that makes you giggle. Which leaves me with only one question, if boats have nicknames then how come our cars don’t? Mine would be “365 Things To Do In The Florida Keys”… OK, that’s STUPID, now I know why we don’t name our cars! 🙂
I know, I can’t believe it either! Amazing but TRUE, there’s a Secretary General of Key West and YES… he has a car!
Seen here is in fact the Secretary General’s car. It’s got to be true because it says it on his front license plate. OK, he’s the self-proclaimed Secretary General of Key West but who really cares. Remember, anything goes in Key West and I mean ANYTHING! That’s what makes this place so AWESOME!
You can find the self-proclaimed Secretary General’s car parked in front of his self-proclaimed office at 613 Simonton Street in Key West.
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Does your wall mounted fish head light up? This one does! I kid you not, I found this ginormous fish head that stands about 8 feet tall by 6 feet wide on the backside of a building. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it lights up! Look close at the photo to the left, it was approaching sundown and is backlit with red lights. The fish head sticks out about 4 feet from the wall and is impossible to miss.
You can find this odd yet humorous sight at Mile Marker 103.8 bayside. Park your car near Breezers Restaurant and walk towards the center of the complex. Go to the center hotel, walk around the back and look up! You can’t miss it! 
There are MANY other sites within walking distance so take your time walking around the facility.
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Reef Relief! When first seeing this I said to myself “Wow, not many people are going to associate the term Reef Relief with artwork”. Relief (dictionary): A form of artwork giving the appearance of depth against a background?
You have to look real close in order to see that there’s about one dozen stainless steel pieces of oceanic artwork against a coral backdrop representing a reef. The shark atop the rock above the blue letters is the most visible stainless steel creation in the featured photo. I’ve included a sample photo below of the type of artwork interwoven throughout the coral corner plot. It’s actually very neat just really hard to see even when walking by on foot.
When arriving home I went on-line to do some research and lo and behold this is actually a business! Reef Relief is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to improving and protecting our coral reef ecosystem. Now how’s that for useful information from the internet. Thank you Al Gore! 🙂
You can find this artwork that’s really a business near the corner of Greene Street & Elizabeth Street in the US’s southernmost city of Key West. While there, check out the quaint uniquely shaped antique ‘Antique Shop’ across the street!
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Where can you find a National Key Deer Refuge sign? That would be in the middle of a mud puddle of course! And what can you see while in the National Key Deer Refuge… let me think… I got it, Key Deer! 🙂
Yes, I stepped in water and mud just to get this exact shot for you showing how close the sign is to the road when you go looking for it… “Your Welcome!” 🙂
You can find this National Key Deer Refuge sign by driving on US-1 to Mile Marker 30.4 bayside and turning onto Key Deer Blvd with the sign immediately on your left. PS – Watch out for Bambi while driving through the FREE refuge… they’re EVERYWHERE!
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Old Levee
Out with the old and in with the new! Seen here are both the old wooden & metal levee with its new replacement cement levee.
Wow, this brings back memories! The last time I was here I drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry and them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye singing this’ll be the day that I die… so sorry, I got caught up in the past singing Don McLean’s 1972 #1 smash hit song ‘American Pie’. I don’t even have a Chevy! (look in the photo, you’ll see my Hyundai) 🙂
You can find this little known boat ramp and levee of a park (with no facilities) at Mile Marker 116.4 oceanside of US-1 South beneath the overpass on what is commonly called the “18-Mile Stretch”.
New Cement Levee
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There are many strange, weird, unique, odd & different traditions in many of the bars in Key West and the Keys but none have such a wide variety as Capt. Tony’s! I’ve reported on this bar a number of times in the past, let me recap our previous adventures: Home of the Infamous Death Chains, Tossing coins into the Good Luck Fish’s mouth, Cemetery Headstone located inside the bar, & Famous names painted on their bar stools to name a few! This place indeed has it all! This should rank HIGH on you list of must see attractions for Key West… I mean top 5 for sure!
Here in this installment of Crazy Key West you’ll see that along with the laundry list above their also known for a few other things to boot. Seen below there is a collection of bras… yes, female bras tacked on and hanging from the ceiling along with dozens of mens hats and 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of business cards stapled all over the walls & ceilings throughout the entire bar. Though there are some dollar bills upon the wall & ceiling, it’s not their specialty as in other bars I’ve reported on in several previous blogs.
Formerly the original Sloppy Joe’s Bar, it’s now called Capt. Tony’s Saloon and is located at 428 Greene Street just 1/2 block south of Duval Street. It’s FREE to stop by and wander in amazement of all of the different things packed into one street address as here. DON’T MISS IT, IT’S THAT GOOD!
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You’ve all heard the phrase “Truth Is Better Than Fiction”, oh so true. These guys are making it way too easy for me, I couldn’t have come up with anything as good as this! And with that said, I bring you the Big Ass Fan Company!
Yes, that’s the company’s real name, I looked it up on-line, the Big Ass Fan Company’s logo can be found on the thermostat’s bottom right corner shown below. Pictures don’t due this fan justice, you’ve got to see it for yourself. Though it was impossible to measure from the ground, I’d guess being 30′ up in the ceiling that it would be something close to 14′ wide give-or-take 2 feet. Either way, it’s one “Big Ass Fan”! 🙂
You can find this eye-popping ceiling-hogging ‘Big Ass Fan’ at Mile Marker 61.0 oceanside inside the mega resort known as Hawks Cay. Stroll right on through the lobby looking inside the poolside restaurant to your left.
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How cool! I found this on one of our bike rides around town and instantly stopped for a photo. It’s truly amazing what can be found when getting off the beaten path and traveling down the road less traveled. There are so many unexpected pleasurable treasures both astounding and just flat-out neat awaiting your arrival down Key West many side streets.
To be honest, ‘Key West At Its Best’ is a year-round attitude my heart possesses on ANY visit… but then again “I absolutely LOVE this place!” Oh yeah, this makes a GREAT picture with you our your loved ones standing beside it for that scrapbook of cherished memories.
You can find the window ‘Key West At It’s Best’ that defines my year-round attitude at the corner of Julia & Whitehead Streets west of the more famous Duval Street.
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Shoestring Weekends Blog 