The
Audubon House and Gardens is located at 205
Whitehead Street. They can be reached at 305.294.2116. This house was the home of a 19th
century Key West Settler named Captain John H. Geiger. This building was restored in 1960.
The reason it is named the Audubon House is because Mr. Audubon the naturalist visited Key
West in 1832. Special exhibitions are shown in the second floor gallery. Be sure to tour
the gardens where exotic plants are growing. The Audubon house is open daily from 9:30am
until 5pm. Admission is $10.00 for adults. All admission pricing and details
can be found on their website at.
www.audubonhouse.com
Dry Tortugas National Park is located about 70 miles west of Key West. The only way to
reach this is by a scheduled ferry or a chartered seaplane. Spanish explorers discovered
these unique islands in 1513 and named them Las Tortugas, which means "The
Turtles". The islands served as turtle nesting and breeding grounds. Fort Jefferson
was built on the main island in 1846. During the Civil War it held deserters of the war.
Visit these websites:
www.nps.gov/drto and
www.dry.tortugas.national-park.com
There are several ferries
that will give rides to this fort. Two that come to mind are the
following:
Dry Tortugas National Park Ferry. They can be reached at PHONE NUMBER 877.FASTCAT x 735
or by calling PHONE NUMBER 305.294.7009 x 735. They have 2 observation sundecks, an air
conditioned lounge, and a modern galley and bar. Free breakfast and lunch included. They
give you a free guided tour of Fort Jefferson and they also provide free use of their
snorkel gear. This is a 100-foot high-speed catamaran. The trips depart at 8am and returns
at 5:30pm. All major credit cards are accepted. Their web address is:
www.yankeefleet.com
There is one seaplane that will provide excellent views of Fort Jefferson from the air.
Seaplanes of The West is located at the Key West Airport and they can be reached at PHONE
NUMBER 800.950.FLY or PHONE NUMBER 305.294.0709. Web site:
www.seaplanesofkeywest.com
Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
Ernest Hemingway purchased this Spanish style colonial
mansion in 1931 and lived in it until 1961. This house was built in 1851. While here
Ernest wrote some of his most important books including,
For Whom the Bell
Tolls and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. After he died in 1961 his wife sold the
mansion to the local residents.
After they saw the demand from inquisitive tourists they decided to
donate it so that the general public could enjoy the house and the
grounds.
This home is located at 907 Whitehead Street. The PHONE NUMBER is 305.294.1575. The house
is situated in lush tropical gardens. They make a nice background for a photo op. It costs
$7.50 to take a tour of the house.
You can see the gardens and outside of the house
through the gate from the main street in front. The highlights of the tour include his
pool, his writing studio, and a small gift (statue) from Marlene Dietrich.
From either the tour or from the gate on
the street you will probably see descendents of Hemingway's 50 six toed
cats. Today over 150 cats roam the grounds. They are well fed! Website:
www.hemingwayhome.com
Fort Zachary Taylor is located at the south west end of the island. When Dave was in Key
West a sewage spill had closed Smather's beach and all of the others except for the beach
in Fort Zachary Taylor. The beach here like most of the beaches in the keys had sprinklers
to wash off the salt as well as bathrooms. The beach was a bit rocky and covered with
shells. A museum here exhibits one of the largest collections anywhere of Civil War arms.
Many cannons are displayed. For more information call PHONE NUMBER 305.292.6713.
www.floridastateparks.org/forttaylor/default.cfm
Key West Aquarium first opened in 1934 and was on the first open air aquariums. A 45
minute guided tour takes one to the feeding locations. They are open daily from 10am to
6pm. It is located at the foot of Whitehead Street on Mallory Square.
www.keywestaquarium.com
The
Conch Tour Trains pronounced "Konk" are well worth it. They have three train
depots, at Duval and Front Streets, on North Roosevelt Blvd, and t Land's End Marina on
Caroline Street. They have an excellent narrated tour. For more information call PHONE
NUMBER 305.294.5161.
Website:
www.conchtourtrain.com
Lighthouse Military Museum is located at 938 Whitehouse Street. The museum is now in the
former lighthouse keeper's cabin. It displays exhibits about Florida's lighthouse history.
In the garden is a Japanese submarine captured in Pearl Harbor and a fighter airplane. The
lighthouse built in 1847 has a spiral staircase which the general public can walk to the
top for excellent 360 degree views of the island and ocean. For more information call
PHONE NUMBER 305.294.0012
Mel Fisher's Treasure Exhibit is well worth the money. Mel Fisher passed away in late
1998. His museum is located near the waterfront at Greene and Front Streets (200 Greene
Street). This exhibit displays gold, silver, and other artifacts recovered by Mel Fisher
from the sunken treasure ships, the Atocha and the Santa Margarita. He searched for 16
years before finding these ships on July 20, 1985. These two ships sunk off of Key West on
September 22, 1622 in a nasty hurricane. For more information call PHONE NUMBER
305.296.9936. Another store specializing in sunken treasure is the Spanish Colonial Coin
Co. They are located at 425 Green Street and you can reach them at PHONE NUMBER
800.234.1622 or at PHONE NUMBER 305.296.5366. Their FAX NUMBER is 305.293.0563.
Visit Mel Fisher's Treasure website:
www.melfisher.com
The
Memorial Sculpture Garden is FREE and is located near Mallory Square. Here you can see
busts of famous people who lived in Key West or who played a part in the history of Key
West. The newest addition to this garden is a program where you can pay a certain fee for
getting your name etched into a brick. The brick is then laid around the statues.
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
is located in the heart of Key West at 527 Duval Street. This
is one of the many Ripley museums in the US begun From the legacy of Robert Ripley. Robert
Ripley who is buried in Santa Rosa, CA traveled the world and discovered some very strange
objects. This museum contains over 1500 strange and bizarre exhibits including a shrunken
head. For more information call PHONE NUMBER 305.293.9694. They have 10,000 air
conditioned square feet. They are open daily from 9am until 11pm. All major credit cards
are accepted.
www.ripleyskeywest.com
The
Southern Most Monument in the United States is logically located at the southern most
point in the US. It is only 90 miles from Cuba. If Cuba ever becomes a Democratic State
ferry service between Key West and Cuba would begin almost immediately. The monument
located here is a small painted concrete structure. There is not much to see here except
the ocean. It is worth a trip just so you can tell friends and family that you have been
there. It is located at the junction of Whitehead and South Streets.
The
Sunset Celebration is well worth a trip to Key West. This takes place on Mallory
Square and the Hilton Resort and Marina next to the historic old town. Here the square
remains empty for the majority of the day, but in the evening the square fills up with
thousands of people. There are many vendors and artisans selling their crafts. Be sure to
find the infamous "Cookie Lady" wheeling herself around the square selling
various cookies. Besides all the crafts that are sold be sure to visit several interesting
entertainers. Two of the better ones that drew the most crowds were the dog trainer and
the magician. The dog trainer would show the crowds the tricks learned by his pet dogs.
The magician would show magic tricks. His most famous trick is when he invites four people
from the crowd to put a metal jacket and chains on himself and then he somehow escapes.
www.sunsetcelebration.org
The average sunset times for each month are shown below. These times are just average so
they may vary a bit depending on the day.
Month
Sunset
Time
January
5:50pm
February
6:12pm
March
6:29pm
April
7:43pm
May
7:56pm
June
8:12pm
July
8:20pm
August
8:11pm
September
7:46pm
October
7:14pm
November
5:47pm
December
5:38pm
Wreckers
Museum is located at 322 Duval Street. It is the oldest house in
Key West. It originally belonged to Captain Francis Watlington, a
wrecker and a Florida Senator. The house is furnished in a Victorian
style. For more information call PHONE NUMBER 305.294.9502. Web:
www.oirf.org/museums/oldesthouse.htm
About
Dave's Pick