The forth and final port of call… Key West, Florida. It is on the very tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is a US Island city and home to a naval base. It is part of the Florida keys archipelago. It is Florida’s southernmost point, lying 90 miles north of Cuba. Famed for it’s pastel-hued conch-style houses. ( and key lime pie and roosters)
This is a new port for us, we have never been to Key West even in our childhood travels to Florida. The first thing the list of “what to do” for this port was…I’ve got to have Key Lime Pie!!!! Definitely!!
But, did you know … Hailed as “the Conch Republic,” Key West has the distinction of having one of the lowest rates of depression in the United States. -And what does that have to do with conch? Just about everything! Conch is part of the local diet attributed to this population’s overall low “non-depressive mode.” You’ll find conch in fritters and in salads, and on the local high school’s marquee…The football team is the “Fighting Conchs. BUT honestly, with sunshine and warm weather like this, how could anyone be depressed?
So…a walking tour of Key west to make sure we see the Southernmost point in the Continental USA
and enjoy some key lime pie and conch…just so we don’t get depressed. After all, today is our last day and it’s back to Miami in the morning and home. We also enjoyed a Butterfly Sanctuary and seeing all the roosters that make Key West their home…they are everywhere!!!!!
Good Morning Key West!
Meet Petar from Macedonia. He was always at breakfast each morning with a smile. We enjoyed our conversations with him.
Transportation off the pier by trolly. No walking allowed because the pier belongs to the US Navy and is a restricted area.
The Navy is celebrating their 150th Anniversary this year, so this statue was placed in front of the Customs house.
Chocolate covered frozen key lime pie!!! YUMMY!!!!
Butterfly Sanctuary
Southernmost Point in USA
Can you see Cuba? lol
“The Little White House”
About 25 years ago, Kermit Carpenter began selling smoothies from a small stand in front of Papa’s Restaurant in Key West during his tenure as Papa’s bookkeeper. When the head chef suddenly drove off into the proverbial sunset one night, Kermit was left looking for a new adventure. Having been brainstorming with his sister Anita and her husband John, they decided that whatever they decided to do, it needed to be high quality and say “Key West”… gourmet food and Key Lime fit the bill, and so began Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe. 
Meet Kermit 🙂
One piece just wouldn’t do…YES we bought a whole pie and YES we finished it!!!!
The starting point!!!
Roosters EVERYWHERE!!!!
I just had to have conch! ( to fight the depression that our cruise week is just about over)
Farewell Key West! It was a lovely day…
The last port of call and the last night on board the beautiful pearl. The sunset tonight was gorgeous!!!! How I will miss this!
Our last dinner…
And the show tonight was a mix of the week’s entertainment. No pics except for the tribute to the crew which we were allowed to film.
Our room steward Abel from the Philippines did an awesome job all week keeping everything in order in our stateroom. We had fresh towels all the time and each night he made a new towel animal. Very cool!
Here is a pic of a friend’s new baby. How sweet!!
Yesterday was “green day” and today is “red day” BECAUSE I am showing my support! We have a few friends who are RCMP and RCMP wives and this day is near and dear to their heart.
Just An East Coast Girl 