Since we won t be in the position of borrowing a car, a mutual friend of yours and mine suggested fl

Boomeresque:Definition 1. Adj.: Describing a person born between 1 Jan. 1946 and 31 Dec. 1964 2. Adj.: Description of a person, place or thing possessing Baby Boomer je ne sais quoi 3. See also, Boomer, Esq.: A Baby Boomer who is also a licensed attorney (See, e.g., About).
I just walked Dino (our dog) . The wind chill is 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Three weeks ago we were in Key West, Florida , the southernmost town in the United States. Why, pray tell, aren t we there now? Oh, yeah, right
Our friends who took care of Dino while we were away were ready to return him. They are fond of him, but he s pokier on walks than their dog (Anabelle) and he eats stuff he isn t supposed to like batteries, razor blades, tooth brushes, Vivactiv calcium chews and three birthday cupcakes. (It wasn t his birthday.)
Our visit to Key West was tacked onto a work trip (for Steve) to Miami. After a lovely four days staying in South Beach , we borrowed our son s car and headed south to the Florida keys. It s kind of a straightforward trip:
Although we only drove to Key West from Miami, you could drive 2,377 miles on U.S. Route 1 from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border all the way to Key West, Florida celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada if you don t mind a whole  lot of traffic lights.
It is possible to fly to Key West from Miami, but the drive on the 127.5 mile Overseas Highway portion of Route 1 is part of the there, there .  In 2009, the highway was named an All American Road under the National Scenic celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada Byways program of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  At present, only 31 highways in the United States have this designation.
The Overseas Highway runs from the Florida mainland, south over the series of coral and limestone islands in the Gulf of Mexico known as the Florida Keys to the city of Key West, the southernmost celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada inhabited land in the United States.  All 2,900 square nautical miles of waters surrounding the Florida Keys are within the protected  Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary , including the third largest living coral barrier reef in the world. If you are a diver, in addition to exploring various underwater plant and animal ecosystems, you can dive the nine historic wrecked ships on the Shipwreck Trail. Unfortunately, I get claustrophobic just thinking about snorkeling, so all my trails have to be on terra firma .
The Overseas Highway replaced an earlier engineering marvel, the Overseas Railroad. Completed celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada in 1912, the railroad was seriously damaged celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada by a hurricane celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada in 1935. Parts of the highway still incorporate the old railroad right of way, but most of the long bridges were built new, including the famous Seven Mile Bridge just south of Marathon Key at mile marker 47. You can see portions of the old railroad bridges along the route, paralleling the Overseas Highway. These are popular with people who like to fish, ride bikes and walk on the ocean without getting wet.
With optimal traffic and weather conditions, the 162 mile drive from Miami to Key West will take a little over three hours. Parts of the highway are only one lane in each direction and there is no alternate land route, so if there is an accident, celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada or just plain high volume on a holiday weekend, expect your patience to be tested if you have not yet acquired your laid back Key West persona.
You might purposely extend the time you spend on your drive by stopping at some of the state park beaches. All the Keys have their own reasons celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada to stay a while, most involving activities on (or under) the water. Parts of the Overseas Highway degenerate into StripMall-TrailerPark-Landia, but you soon break out again and drive through lush roadside vegetation and the beautiful Gulf of Mexico on both sides of the narrow road.
On the way back from Key West, we stopped and spent the night on Key Largo, the Key closest to the mainland so that we would be able to have a short drive on the day we flew home from Miami International Airport on an early afternoon celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada flight. We stayed at the Hampton Inn which turned out to be much more resort-like than the motel I was expecting, complete with a pool and a small beach. That s where we met Mango, the parrot, enjoying some orange juice at the beach bar, and a giant (but not yet full grown) manatee who came over to check out a person in the water. (Fortunately, I was not that person in the water. Even though manatees celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada (sea cows) are known for their gentle dispositions, I would have embarrassed Steve by screaming like a deranged banshee woman.)
The Average Full Grown Manatee is 9.8 feet Long and Weighs 800 to 1,200 Pounds. This Manatee was Supposedly Not Full Grown, celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada but S/he was Bigger Than I Am and I Had No Desire to Join Him/Her for a Swim
At the recommendation of the front desk, we made a dinner reservation at the Fish House Encore. We were told it was an easy, quarter of a mile walk to the restaurant, up the road, on the other side. The walk was a quarter of a mile. Easy not so much. The road was U.S. Route 1 which is four lanes in that area with no sidewalks and iffy shoulders. The Fish House Encore seems to be the slightly celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada more upscale version of the popular more diner-esque next door Fish House. We enjoyed our meal and were sufficiently fortified to make it back across Route 1 in the dark without celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada becoming roadkill.
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Okay are the skies as impossibly blue as in several celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada of the photos? I mean startlingly blue?? The ones I m referring to are, I believe, some of the Wikimedia Commons images. If the blue is true , what a lovely sky This whole post reminds me of how varied our country is. And I like the message that sometimes just let the journey BE the destination sound advice for the New Year!
AS for diving. You might want to think it over. I am VERY claustrophobic. So much so I have a service dog for the anxiety attacks celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada that can lead to seizures. and I dive. Space in the water is absolutely infinite. Open and immense. Just letting you know that it can be an amazing experience.
I think it was the mask that made me feel claustrophobic when I tried snorkeling. That, and only being able to hear myself breathing. You are the second claustrophobic person who has urged me to give it another try. I think I ll try it in a swimming pool, so I can get comfortable with the apparatus and then move on from there.
No problem with the links to your posts about the Keys. Boomeresquers, Sonja s long haired chihuahua , Montecristo, has an entertaining, informative blog about traveling with his bipeds. This has Dino agitating for his own blog. Unfortunately, unlike Montecristo, at 25 pounds, Dino is too big to fit under the seat in front of you , so he has to stay home with Annabelle and her bipeds when we travel by air if they forgive him for eating the birthday cupcakes which they foolishly left on their kitchen table.
Thanks Suzanne! If I may make a suggestion get your own mask I have a transparent skirt. It removes the tunnel vision completely. I also have mine polarized celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada and WOW! They cost but I found the black or dark skirts and the lack of peripheral vision the number one impasse.
Starting in a pool is a very very good idea. As for hearing yourself breathe it always reminds me of when I have a cold and I have to breathe through my mouth nothing more. Learning the hand signals will go a long way with feeling like you can t communicate. The only scary part was learning to flood the mask and clear it. After a while I no longer panicked. Now if I have to clear my mask during a dive I don t even struggle.
Thanks for the advice, Sonja. One last snorkeling question. I m pretty myopic. Does the water naturally magnify things some or would one have to invest in a mask with a prescription lens? I think I m going to have to prove that I adore snorkeling before my husband allows me to invest in very pricey snorkeling gear. (Don t ask him about the sewing machine
Dino would like to know how Montecristo likes the water. Dino is not a water dog despite the fact that he s at least part poodle and they are supposed to be natural celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada water retrievers. I also believe he once consumed something on the beach that resulted in a 3 night veterinary hospital stay.
The water does magnify but it depends on how bad your site is. Stefan wears his contacts under his mask. It s not ideal in case your mask floods but salt has a way of making you close your eyes faster. SO far after over 20 years of diving he s never lost a lens. He has about 3 masks with a spare always attached to his hip in case he has one knocked off his face (it happens). So investing in expensive prescription masks has never appealed to him. So I don t know much about them since I have (don't hate me) 20/20 vision.
Monte HATES the water. He hates it. Even for a bath. But he is happy to float on it. So he will stay on board or run up and down the beach. We have a little baby blow up boat we put him in if we snorkel and attach to a wrist wrap and just pull him along. It has a little sun visor on it.
The Overseas Highway is definitely one of the road trips to take if (when) you travel in the United States. celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada Now, only 30 more All American Scenic Byways for us. One of these days, maybe Steve will indulge me in my RV fantasy. For non-U.S. readers, an RV is a recreational vehicle, like a caravan or camper van.
Since we won t be in the position of borrowing a car, a mutual friend of yours and mine suggested flying from Miami to Key West and then renting. I definitely plan to snorkel, and maybe dive, since I am certified. I never really got into practicing celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada diving much, so I d really celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada have to brush up. Our mutual friend was a great diver, so talk to him about diving.
I bet Key West is jumping for New Years. I hope you already have a place to stay. No, we re back in Philly. Mr. and Mrs. Excitement celine dion show tickets in las vegasnevada will probably ring in the New Year the same way we