1218 February 22, 2025 Fort Zachary Taylor State Park

74 degrees yesterday and 71 degrees overnight.  It is so nice to have the windows open! Long before dawn, I could here a rooster crowing from far away.

My walk today took me on a nice paved walking path from Stock Island, over the bridge onto Key West.  I walked along the seawall. 

Flowers from an exotic red silk cotton tree.

I finished 2.5 miles. 

We packed lunch in our bike bags and drove the Jeep to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. 

We walked along the shore.  We saw an older guy sitting in a chair by the water.  It was the same guy that we met a couple of years ago who back then offered to take our picture.  It is a picture of both of us with our bikes and it is one of our very favorites.  We remembered the guy because he reminded us very much of a dear friend, Tom Franklin.  We approached the man and spoke with him and shared our memories.  He offered to take our picture again today.

We ate our lunch while watching the water.

We were not allowed to leave the park on our bikes without also taking our car and so we took the Jeep and drove the very short way to Truman Park.  There was a huge Art Festival along the waterfront.  There were all kinds of artists with metal and wood sculptures and pottery and woven goods and paintings and jewelry and lots more.  It was all high end and gorgeous.  We have no need or place for things but it was fun to look.

This guy painted all of his paintings with drumsticks!

We wandered beyond the festival and found a bench.  The Celebrity Silhouette was in port.  This cruise ship is more than 1,000 feet long and can host 2,800 passengers.  It is not the way we like to travel.  In this picture, Tim is actually shaking his head no…no thank you…no cruises for us.

We have found what we consider to be the perfect way to travel…for us!

This evening, we packed a rotisserie chicken, tomato, cucumber, and mozzarella salad with kalamata olives and balsamic vinegar, and some fresh sourdough bread with some fresh blackberries. We drove into Key West to Higgs Beach. We found a picnic table and had our supper on the beach.

We walked afterward. It was mild albeit breezy.

There was live music in a pavilion on the sand outside a busy restaurant.

We walked down to the pier and from there we could see the whole scene.

Goodbye cruise ship!

We walked back up the beach to the African Cemetery.

Then, we walked to the AIDS Memorial.

We walked out onto this long pier as well.

Quintessentially Key West!

So many roosters and chickens! Today a Publix we watched a chicken lead 5 chicks across the parking lot. The chicks were very fluffy and tiny and cute…and in a dangerous place!