Key West Photoblog » Key West Photos

Coral Is King

Caty — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:08:48 +0000

I love Key West for all sorts of reasons, but what drew me here and what keeps me on the Rock is the coral reef in our waters. The coral in Key West is what makes Key West special, unlike any other place in the United States. Where else do you find living coral reef only six miles from shore? North Carolina has rocks with a marine ecosystem living around them and perhaps there are bits of coral on the rocks. But it’s not a coral reef system like ours, and plus it’s twenty miles out with almost constant high winds. In other words, you only get to dive a few times a year.

So for me, coral is king. Our coral reef system might not hold up to that of the Abacos but it’s pretty good nevertheless.

Vandenberg Pics

Caty — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:44:58 +0000

Current on the Vandenberg was strong today, so for freediving it was a quick drift and that was it, all over in a minute. Here are a few pictures from today.

Another Key West Sunset

Caty — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:43:34 +0000

The view from Ocean Key Resort’s Hot Tin Roof restaurant is simply amazing. After all the windy weather we’ve had, and after the Bonnie storm scare that never actually happened but canceled boat trips anyway, a calm evening was serendipitous.

Sunset is one of the best times of day in Key West, and the Sunset Celebration is almost always on every visitor’s list of things they plan to do while on vacation in the Southernmost City. While planning a trip to Key West, also make sure to consider trip cancellation insurance. Our sunsets are gorgeous, but our weather is unpredictable. With trip cancellation insurance, you can buy a policy that covers trip cancellation, trip delay, trip interruption, missed connections, and more. There’s even an optional cancel for any reason add-on for some policies if you go through Seven Corners, Inc.

Basic policies will cover nonrefundable portions of your trip if it gets canceled, or if you incur additional expenses due to missed connections, delayed portions of your trip, and even lost baggage and more. Premium policies will let you cancel your tip and get your money back with no questions asked. Say you want to attend a surprise birthday party that you didn’t know about when you bought your travel tour tickets. If you bought the right level of trip cancellation insurance, you’ll be covered.

Travel insurance also covers you if your airline goes bankrupt before you get to complete your trip. Let’s say you book your trip a few months in advance, well the airline you plan to use may go bankrupt before you even get to fly! Other covered areas are emergency medical expenses, and even baggage delay. If your baggage arrives but not until two days after you’ve landed at your destination, you’ll have to buy a few things just to get through those first few days without your baggage. Trip insurance can cover this expense for up to $400. Now, everyone knows that you only need a swimsuit and flip flops in Key West, but even that costs money!

Hot Tin Roof

Caty — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:36:59 +0000

The views of the sunset are great from Hot Tin Roof. This is the restaurant at Ocean Key Resort, accessible from the second floor of the hotel, or from the dock at Sunset Pier. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating, with the outdoor seating overlooking their newly renovated outdoor pool area.

The food is very good, with steak the best meal. The fried gorgonzola is the best reason to dine here, so scrumptious.

Birds in Key West

Caty — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 23:49:43 +0000

We spend so much time in Key West looking down, underwater that is, because the marine world is so fascinating here. But when we’re stuck on land, the birds remind us that nature exists everywhere, including upwards. This guy was in the yard pecking at blossoms on this tree. I can’t identify either: all I know is that it’s a black bird on a red tree.

We live in a rental that costs way too much, but can’t seem to leave it because it’s so perfect for us. As you can see, there’s a tree or two, birds, and a little teeny yard and deck. That’s a heck of a lot for Key West. We’d love to buy it but it’s too much money. Having owned condos in the past, I just can’t get past the fact that there’s a premium for anything you buy on the island of Key West, since it is Key West after all.

My dream would be to own a few condos: one in South Beach, one in New York City, and one in Rome, Italy. There are much better deals in South Beach than in Key West, what with all the high rises that are continually going up. Key West doesn’t have high rise apartment and condo buildings. New York City condos offer a lot more to choose from as well. Not only are there high rises, there are also pre-War buildings with gorgeous condos full of great architectural details.

The View from White Street Pier

Caty — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:16:36 +0000

White Street Pier is a great walk, any day. You can stroll out the edge and gaze south over the Atlantic Ocean, or you can look back on the beaches and condos that line water’s edge. You might see shrimpers heading out from Stock Island, or sport fishers doing the same. At night during summer you might see a line of lights during a hurricane warning. That’s big boats waiting out the rough weather on the inshore waters, where it’s safer than being banged around at a dock. You can check the visibility of the water if you are a diver or snorkeler. During windy weather you can watch kiteboarders jump the wind right in front of you. If you like sunsets but not crowds, White Street Pier is your spot at sundown.

A Key West Video

Caty — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:39:08 +0000

Scenes of Key West:

Fishing for Mahi Mahi
Mallory Square Sunset Celebration
Shark Fishing
Sunset Cruise
Snorkeling
Smathers Beach
Jet Skiing
Kiteboarding

Green Sea Turtles

Caty — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:08:49 +0000

This is a Green Sea Turtle, not a Loggerhead

If you snorkel or dive in Key West waters, you might get to see a Green Sea Turtle. Most of the turtles you see around here are this type, not Loggerhead turtles. The easiest way to tell the difference is the prefrontal scales, which are between the eyes. In this picture, you can see that this turtle has one pair…so it’s a Green Sea Turtle.

The Green Sea Turtle is listed on the Federal Endangered Species list, mainly because harvesting of eggs, bycatch in shrimper boats, and disturbed nesting areas. We like them because they eat jellyfish!

Spring Break 2010

Caty — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:26:56 +0000

Spring Break 2010 – Smathers Beach is covered with bodies- from water’s edge to the cop-occupied dunes behind the sand, it’s mass people. So many bikinis- the kids not wearing bikinis or board shorts stick out like awkward guests wearing pajamas to a hip nightclub.

Boats pull up providing soundtrack and vibrating pods of bikini girls, moving and dancing as one organism.ï¿½ Almost everyone is on the sand, not in the water but some venture in, shoulders raised instinctively against the cold shock of in-shore frigid waters. These kids come from all over the country, many from colleges and universities in Florida but others from colder parts, like the upper midwest.

We get the full range of schools here, from large state universities to small private colleges, all come to enjoy the sun and water in Key West. It’s probably the highest concentration of learned minds you’ll find all year here in the Southernmost City. Key West isn’t known for its academic culture…we do have one community college here, and there’s something on the Navy base offering college courses, but otherwise it’s all about fun and sun here.

If you want to get ahead and work on a new degree, you have to search out and choose one of the accredited online schools that suits your needs. There are more and more of them these days, catering to the academic needs of people who have chosen island living or who are otherwise isolated from academic institutions.

The Rooster in Key West

Caty — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:02:28 +0000

Roosters and chickens have a reputation they don’t deserve.ï¿½ For such a beautiful bird that actually rids the island of cockroaches and other pesty bugs, the rooster is criticized way too often and harassed for no reason, as well.ï¿½ Did you know that back in the days before Orkin, they had chickens and roosters to take care of pest problems around the home?

Key West chickens forage in the dirt and eat bugs, thereby preventing them from entering your home.ï¿½ They are not “unclean” – have you ever stepped in chicken poop in Key West?ï¿½ How about dog poop?ï¿½ I’ve stepped in the latter but never even seen a hint of the former.ï¿½ Maybe I don’t know what I’m looking for…?ï¿½ What does it look like.

The chickens and roosters in Key West are part of the island’s colorful history.ï¿½ These are not farm chickens let loose.ï¿½ They are descendants of actual fighting roosters!ï¿½ Cock fighting used to be a big deal here in Key West, before laws were passed against the sport.ï¿½ Sometime perhaps in the 1970s or 1980s, the fighters had to be released and now they are a pest-eating, picture-worthy part of the streets in Key West.