2012•Florida

April 9, 2012 - Arrival at Key West, Florida MG 4660CFR Best Western Plus Hibiscus Motel MG 4663CFR MG 4664CFR
MG 4665CFR April 10, 2012 - boarding high-speed catamaran for day trip to Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park. MG 4668CFR MG 4669CFR MG 4670CFR
MG 4673CFR MG 4674CFR Suddenly a fort appears in the middle of the ocean. The fort occupies Garden Key. MG 4680CFR
MG 4682CFR Arrival at the fort; travel time was about 2-1/2 hours. The fort was constructed 1846-75 but never completed. For more money you can fly in. MG 4687CFR
MG 4688CFR One of two Powder Magazines. MG 4690CFR MG 4692CFR MG 4694CFR
MG 4695CFR MG 4696CFR MG 4697CFR MG 4699CFR MG 4701CFR
MG 4702CFR MG 4703CFR MG 4704CFR MG 4705CFR Low tide reveals link to Bush Key (closed to public access).
MG 4708CFR MG 4709CFR Bruce at rooftop lighthouse. MG 4713CFR MG 4716CFR
MG 4718CFR Swimming beach. You can walk all the way around the perimeter of the fort. MG 4724CFR MG 4725CFR
Looking through the surface of the water. MG 4729CFR MG 4732CFR MG 4735CFR MG 4737CFR
Birds on Bush Key. MG 4742CFR Dr. Samuel Mudd, one of the "Lincoln Conspirators," was imprisoned here, 1865-1869. MG 4745CFR The Parade Ground
MG 4751CFR MG 4752CFR MG 4753CFR Bush Key Approaching Key West.
"Carnival Magic" - length 1004 feet. "Carnival Magic" MG 4760CFR MG 4762CFR Bruce at official (but not actual) southernmost point of mainland USA.
Historic lighthouse and museum. Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park MG 4773CFR Parade ground of Ft. Taylor. MG 4777CFR
Fort Taylor cannons MG 4783CFR MG 4784CFR MG 4786CFR MG 4787CFR
MG 4788CFR Man-made public beach (part of the state park). MG 4790CFR Views from the lighthouse. MG 4792CFR
MG 4795CFR Hemmingway House MG 4798CFR Lighthouse is about 86 feet tall; observation deck at about 70 feet. Swimming pool at Ernest Hemmingway home.
This is where Ernest Hemmingway wrote "To Have and Have Not." Exterior of guest house where Hemmingway did his writing. Hemmingway main house. Hemmingway cat graveyard. The cats were named after celebreties. End of southbound U.S. Route 1.
Start of northbound U.S. Route 1. MG 4814CFR MG 4817CFR MG 4818CFR Home of the Pelican Poop Shoppe. Originally a hotel in 1845. Hemmingway wrote "Farewell to Arms" here.
This is a Caribbean arts and crafts store. Curry Masion Inn, built 1905. First Key Lime Pie made here. Custom House Museum. Statue "Time for Fun" by Seward Johnson, modeled after a painting by Renoir. Detail of Custom House gable. Majesty of the Seas
Majesty of the Seas - length 880 feet. Sunset Key 500 yards offshore, man-made by the Navy in 1965. MG 4833CFR The Little White House, used by Harry Truman, 1945-53. MG 4840CFR
Jet skis for rent. Boat harbor and restaurant boardwalk. MG 4848CFR Large fish in the boat harbor. MG 4851CFR
Weird reflection of the post. MG 4853CFR MG 4854CFR Departure for Tampa, on a Beech 1900-D. Rented a car at Tampa and drove to St. Augustine. This is Flagler College.
Medieval-looking fence. Flagler College was originally the Hotel Ponce de Leon, build in 1887 by Henry Flagler. St. Augustine from west end of Bridge of Lions. MG 4862CFR MG 4864CFR
Lightner Museum, also originally a hotel built by Henry Flagler. Malachite urn from palace of Russian Czar. Marble inlay table, French, circa 1825. French bureau, 1860; clock 1899. Grande Escritoire owned by Louis Bonaparte, 1806.
Detail of the clock in the grande escritoire. Lunch at Café Alcazar. This used to be the swimming pool of the orignal Hotel Alcazar. "Cleopatra" Austrian urns, 19th century. Museum courtyard.
Lightner Museum. Casa Monica hotel. Attended a wedding reception here. Flagler College Hampton Inn, St. Augustine Beach, view from oceanside. Atlantic Ocean
View north to St. Johns County Ocean Pier. St. Johns County Ocean Pier Tropical Shores Beach Resort, Siesta Key, FL MG 4944CFR MG 4945CFR
MG 4946CFR Siesta Key, on the beach a short walk from the resort. MG 4949CFR My rented Chevy Impala LT. MG 4954CFR
MG 4955CFR Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.
Resort lounge area. Resort pool. Turtle Beach, further south on the key; much coarser sand than Siesta. MG 4968CFR View north to Siesta Key Village.
MG 4971CFR Laughing Gull Also a Laughing Gull but about a year younger than the 1st one. Ruddy Turnstone I believe this is a Willet.
MG 4986CFR MG 4990CFR Back to the resort beach. Silky smooth sand. MG 4992CFR MG 4994CFR
MG 4997CFR MG 4998CFR Tourists parasailing over Siesta Public Beach. Siesta Public Beach, rated #1 in the USA by Dr. Beach. MG 5005CFR
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Colorful buildings in Siesta Village. MG 5015CFR MG 5016CFR Sarasota, FL, The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Ringling main entrance.
Banyan tree. MG 5021CFR Ca' d'Zan - the Ringling's home, 1926. Venetian Gothic. MG 5024CFR MG 5025CFR
MG 5026CFR MG 5027CFR MG 5028CFR MG 5029CFR Marble inlay deck overlooking Sarasota Bay.
MG 5032CFR MG 5033CFR MG 5034CFR MG 5036CFR Ca' d'Zan interior.
MG 5041CFR MG 5042CFR MG 5043CFR Tinted windows. The refrigerator.
MG 5047CFR The Rose Garden. MG 5051CFR MG 5052CFR MG 5053CFR
MG 5054CFR MG 5056CFR Museum of Art Statue on museum grounds. Painting by Rubens.
A walnut lettucio (daybed), 1500s. Inner courtyard of museum. MG 5065CFR MG 5067CFR "Venice: Piazza San Marco, seen from Campo San Basso, c.1750, by Canaletto.
"Venice: Piazza San Marco towards the Piazzetta," c.1725, by Luca Carlevaris. "Venice: Piazza San Marco towards the Basilica of San Marco," c.1725, by Luca Carlevaris. Egret on Ringling campus. Common Moorhen MG 5086CFR
Building-1 of the Circus Museum. Vintage circus poster. MG 5093CFR MG 5094CFR Miniature circus.
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View of miniature circus from 2nd floor. MG 5105CFR Circus band wagon, 1878. MG 5110CFR MG 5111CFR
Westmont Inn (formerly Ritz Resort Motel), Clearwater, FL. MG 5113CFR MG 5115CFR MG 5116CFR Hyatt Clearwater
Sunset over Clearwater Beach, April 17, 2012. Beach view from motel room. MG 5129CFR View north of motel. Public shower at the beach.
Clearwater Beach MG 5133CFR Volleyball on Clearwater Beach. MG 5136CFR Clearwater Beach looking south from near the pier.
MG 5140CFR Brown Pelican MG 5144CFR Double-crested Cormorants MG 5148CFR
Young Laughing Gull MG 5157CFR MG 5158CFR Sun rays over the gulf. Sunset over Clearwater Beach, April 18, 2012.
Vinoy Renaissance Hotel, St. Petersburg, FL. MG 5172CFR Downtown St. Petersburg, from The Pier. The Pier Aquarium, shops and restaurants. The Dali Museum
MG 5181CFR The Chihuly Collection, Morean Arts Center. This is the only sculpture you're allowed to photograph. Historic Vinoy Renaissance Hotel, 1926, St. Petersburg, FL.