Key Deer Refuge

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!

Drove My Chevy To The Levee

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

Capt. Tony’s Bras, Hats & Business Cards

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!

    

True, The BIG ASS FAN COMPANY!

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.

Key West At Its Best!

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.

Butler, Bring Me A Beer!

OK, the last several blogs have been historical in nature and now it’s time to be a little less serious and have fun!

A BEER BUTLER, I believe I could handle having one of those in my life… and you married guys better NOT say that you’ve already got one of those at home wearing a skirt or you’ll be sleeping alone tonight! 🙂 Let’s see, I’ll call him James, which if I’m not mistaking is the most popular butler name in the world.

Key West is full of photo-ops including photo head-boards (the ones you stick your head through), hanging fiberglass sharks & life-sized pirates. Here’s your chance for yet another cute photo-op for sure. There’s at least two of these butlers in Key West for your photographic pleasure. This one as you can see is located at 1124 Duval Street to be exact and the other is on the other side of the street somewhere.

Don’t feel embarrassed as this guy should be posing with a manikin. I assure you, there’s plenty of others walking down Duval Street that have done the same exact pose and then rushed off pretending that they hadn’t! 🙂

Kentucky Derby Has Ties To The Florida Keys

Believe it or not, the Florida Keys does have a tie to the Kentucky Derby!

Today was the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville at the famed Churchill Downs. The time-honored event is also known as the “Greatest Two Minutes In Sports”. Even though I’ve been there, I still retain my “Man Card” by never wearing one of those big floppy hats nor sipping a mint julep!  (both seen below)

In honor of this years winner ‘Mystik Dan’ I bring you the Florida Keys road sign named after that oh so famous race track venue Churchill Downs. Though I don’t know how it got its name, the name itself and the fact of it being Kentucky Derby weekend was good enough for me! Since this blog is now done, it’s time for an ice-cold long-neck and once done with that one I’ll have another in honor of the 2012 winner named ‘I’ll Have Another’! 

You can find the street named Churchill Downs somewhere near Mile Marker 104 bayside at a tiny bridge crossing a canal in Key Largo.

         

Lower Matecumbe Key’s Pay Beach

Wow, was I taken aback upon seeing this sign… ok, I’ll explain. I’ve seen pay beaches before, those have always been up scale, pristine sand with waitresses carrying trays asking me “Would you like another Piña Colada?” 🙂 This seen here is NONE of the above in a surrounding that I personally wouldn’t consider as prime real estate, clean nor conducive to impressing a companion for a next date! 🙂 This is the only ‘Pay Beach’ that I’ve run across here in the Keys so far and I hope the next one, if there’s more is better than this one.

Though I don’t know how much it costs, I’ll let you make your own decision on paying for this tiny 60′ x  25′ beach or not… my choice has already been made! Sorry, I’ll pass and head for a more secluded place I found and blogged on earlier called ‘Secret Sunbathing Spot’… oh yeah, my place is FREE, CLEAN & PRIVATE!

You can find this ‘Pay Beach’ behind Robbie’s Marina at Mile Marker 77.5 bayside of US-1 heading south towards the town of Marathon.

    

Key West’s 4th Best Sunset Spot

You can’t go any further south for a sunset than Key West. This paradise is known for its incredible hand painted pastel portrait of the skies we call sunsets. As any town, there are normally several places around where the locals & tourists alike take guests & friends to see the Master’s handy work.

I’ve always said that just because the largest crowds are at a certain place doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best! This series of top four spots for tourists gathering points will prove the last statement true. Though anyone who’s been to Key West and seen dusk’s dazzling display will think that the #1 tourist trap is also the best… not so, just wait till you find out where the TOP place is to both beat the crowds and score some major points with your mate. For now, we’ll stick with our count down beginning at the 4th best place to see the Southernmost cities daylight disappearing act. The photo to the left shows that the Sunset Cruise Boats too know where to go for the best chances to see a cloud free show.

You can find this #4 Sunset Spot along with approximately 60 of your fellow tourists at the end of Simonton Streets western end. It’s FREE to partake in this nightly ritual and only takes minutes out of your day before returning to the nightlife on Key West’s pedestrian party central Duval Street just 2 blocks south.

Legal Disclaimer: Remember, a flawless picture perfect sunset is solely dependant upon God… NOT THE DAY OF YOUR VISIT! 🙂

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.