Baptist Church’s Historic Marker

During the ‘Great Hurricane’ of 1935 (before they began naming hurricanes), the Matecumbe Methodist Church was destroyed. It was originally located near the beach on the Atlantic side of Upper Matecumbe Key. In 1937 the congregation built a wooden church adjacent to the Hurricane Monument north of here. That building was moved to this site in 1958 and became the home of  the local Baptist congregation which is now the Islamorada Baptist Church.

This is only one of the many stops on Islamorada’s Heritage Monument Trail. A FREE brochure is available throughout the city.

You can find  the local church icon and its historic marker at Mile Marker 81.0 oceanside on Hwy US-1 in Islamorada.

I Almost Made lt To Key West! (shipwreck)

You NEVER know what you might see in Key West, this is PROOF!

“I Almost Made It To Key West!”… not me, I made it to Key West. Those are words of the boat captain of the ill fated ‘SS Sunk Just Off Shore’! 🙂 Wow, he made within 300 feet of the shore… poor guy! 😦

Crowds gathered ALL four times I drove by the sailboat this particular weekend. Everyone was in amazement how the boat made it so close to shore and began snapping their own souvenir photos for posterity!

It’s 100% FREE to see this oceanic oddity for yourself so close offshore but don’t worry, it will probably be gone when you get there but some unfortunate sailor will soon takes its place I’m sure!

     

World Famous Glass Bottom Bar

Thanks for waiting a bit longer for today’s Florida Keys tourist destination of the day! I’m out of town in the country of Trinidad & Tobago… almost as beautiful as Key West! 🙂 Now back to the blog! 

The sign above this restaurant’s entrance reads: ‘World Famous Glass Bottom Bar’. I’ve been here twice and it’s well worth the few minutes needed to track down this uniquely floored bar & grille!

As you can see by the featured photo there are strategically positioned 3′ x 3′ clear glass panels in the wooden floor so that you can check out the marine life while sipping an adult beverage or chowing down on some fresh seafood. Though I didn’t count, there’s approximately a dozen or so glass panels installed around the ‘Zig-zag’ shaped oceanside bar & eating area.

This is the only floor like it in the Keys that I’ve seen, so put this on your list of things to see while passing through. I too will be stopping by again since promising my wife a sunset dinner from this very bar! There’s also a dance floor, band stand and great ambiance throughout the entire establishment.

This ‘Glass Bottom Bar’ is best accessible from the northbound divided highway of US-1 at Mile Marker 99.6 oceanside. Turn onto Ocean Bay Drive driving .6 miles down, turn left on Seagate Boulevard where you’ll see the Pilot House Restaurant only 1/10th of mile on the right.

         

Beatles’ Penny Lane Exists In Key West

Did you know that the Beatles ‘Penny Lane’ really exists and that there’s one in Key West? Well it’s 100% TRUE on both accounts!

Welcome to Key West’s Penny Lane! Though the Beatles did in fact visit Key West, I have no confirmation that they visited or walked on Penny Lane. Wouldn’t that be too cool if they had!

Here’s the most famous portion of the song that most recall words: Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes, There beneath the blue suburban skies I sit, and meanwhile back in Penny Lane. Here’s something that you probably didn’t know about the 1967 Beatles smash hit single from arguably Rock-N-Roll’s GREATEST band of all time! Their record label didn’t want the Beatles to release any more singles for a few months after the 45 RPM release of Strawberry Fields Forever so the Beatles turned around and put the song Penny Lane on its B-side (pictured below) and promoted it as their next single showing the record company who’s really the boss!

Oh yeah, by the way, the real Penny Lane referred to in the Beatles song actually exists in Liverpool, England! (photo below)

You can find Key West’s Penny Lane within the ritziest part of town known as Truman Annex Housing on the old U.S. Navy Base.

     

The Only Offshore Marker In The United States!

This is the ONLY ONE IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES and it’s right here in the Florida Keys! (Located just off shore) 😦

This is the first time EVER I’ve reported on something that I myself haven’t seen, and I seriously doubt if I’ll ever will see it… but, you readers with boats, fisherman or scuba divers do have a chance!

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) installed the Nation’s first underwater geodetic marker here in the Keys. The restored coral reef in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary was chosen as the United States first marker site. Seen here are scuba divers from the NOAA placing the historic underwater marker at a coral reef in the Florida Keys Sanctuary. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The marker was installed at Molasses Reef off Key Largo where a successful recovery effort following a major ship grounding that destroyed more than 5,000 meters of living corals in 1984. Together with a highly visible surface buoy, the geodetic marker will serve as a navigational aid to boaters and divers. The marker will also allow researchers to precisely monitor the recovery of the reef over time.

    

Blue Heaven’s Ping Pong & Beer

Ping Pong & Beer… go together like peanut butter & jelly! We absolutely LOVE this place! What a great relaxed atmosphere to let loose while sipping on one of the many brews from around the world.

Complete with an outside full-service 4-sided bar for your sitting and viewing pleasure without missing a single goings-on anywhere in their garden-type layout. There is so much here to see and do along with the ‘Sneak-A-Peek Shower’, live band, Chicken/Rooster souvenir store, tree swing, wrap around porch with rocking chairs, dining area and of course playing a FREE game of Ping Pong as seen below with the ball astoundingly caught in mid-air.

If you go to any outside bar in Key West, this is the one you want to go to for sure! Blue Heaven can be found at the corners of Petronia Street & Thomas Street in the fun-filled capital of the Keys! Having fun is almost automatic here at Blue Heaven, definitely put this one on your list!

    

‘Christ Of The Deep’ Church Mosaic

Though not technically a mosaic, this tiled masterpiece rivals many I’ve seen. With this being located on the side of a church, you might be wrong in assuming what it’s an image of!

At first glance it appears to be Jesus with his hands raised towards his father’s sky. Look past its obvious image of Jesus to these inconsistencies: 1) Notice that he’s standing on a square platform; 2) To the right is what appears to be a bush but upon closer inspection you’ll find that it’s indeed a coral; 3) Combining the remaining blurred background and the wavy looking clouds it slowly begins to come in focus. What you first thought was a common portrait of Jesus on a mountain is actually a real-life underwater wonder located just off the coast of Key Largo called ‘Christ Of The Deep’. This artist’s rendition of ‘Christ Of The Deep’ is as inspiring as I’ve ever seen!

Simply put, the ‘Christ Of The Deep’ is a statue of Jesus Christ submerged under water about 8 miles off shore from the John Pennekamp Park here in Key Largo.

You can find this incredible artist’s tiled masterpiece of ‘Christ Of The Deep’ on display in an outside garden at St. Justin the Martyr Catholic Church at Mile Marker 105.5 bayside in Key Largo.

Shark Mouth’s NEW Location

Finding this here was unexpected to say the least, the last time I saw this it was further down the Keys in a construction machinery parking lot.

This approximately 10′ x 10′ fiberglass display of a man-eating shark is a photo-op waiting to happen. As you can see this Jaws is currently awaiting his next meal. I admit that I too would like to stick my head through the back of it as if eaten by the JAWS-like replica for my souvenir photo! Just think, you too can have this portable man-eating shark that sits upon a trailer at your next event for kicks and giggles… ok, maybe not.

You can find this portable shark mouth for you souvenir photo-op at Mile Marker 48.7 bayside to the left of the Shady Palm pictured below.

Key West’s Autograph Tree… TRUE!

A tree collecting autographs, how cool is that! Its scientific name is ‘Clusia Rosea’… hmmm, to us laymen-type it’s simply known as an Autograph Tree native to the Bahamas and West Indies.

I was floored having never heard of such a tree and was amazed and fascinated at its properties to keep these autographs without killing the tree. It’s very neat to see and participate in etching your name into a vacant leaf… if you can find one! The four of us on the visit carved our names into it making great photos and memories.

You too can find and sign this Autograph Tree located on the grounds of the West Martello Tower at Higgs Beach on the southeastern portion of the island. Enjoy and have fun, it’s a hoot to see and do!

Indian Key’s Open Grave

Here’s an AWESOME blast from the past prior blog that’s incredible & true! Enjoy

Yes, it’s 100% TRUE, there’s an open grave on Indian Key! This is not a tale of horror for one of those ‘Ghost Tours’ nor Halloween prank… it’s REAL!

A former resident of the island Jacob Housman was in fact buried here in May of 1841 after being crushed between the hull of two ships. An inscription on the marble stone marker reads: ‘To his friends he was sincere, to his enemies he was kind’. The grave was later vandalized and the whereabouts of the body is unknown.

History Bonus: Did you know that the words ‘Vandalism’ & ‘Vandalized’ came from early European history? An East Germanic Tribe (Barbarian horde) called the ‘Vandals’ sacked and pillaged Rome in 455 AD along with hundreds of other villages, towns, & cities over their rein in Europe earning them the dubious honor of being associated with senseless destruction of property known today as ‘Vandalism’. There, and now you too know the rest of the story! 🙂

You can find a tour boat company to take you to Indian Key State Park for $20-$30 per person at Robbie’s Marina Mile Marker 77.5 on US-1 bayside. I again want to thank my friend Scott (ex-Indian Key tour guide seen here) for an awesome one-on-one tour of the island.