February 12, 2005: Florida Trip Day 8
	February 10, 2005: Florida Trip Day 6
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The Sea Isles Resort

Before we left the Sea Isles Guest House this morning, I thought I would take a few pictures to record what it was like. The guest house complex is basically a house at the right front, with the rest of the property being enclosed by a U-shaped series of buildings where the guest rooms are located. These buildings surround the swimming pool and a patio area, and the patio area has a small pavilion with a bar and small kitchen. There used to be a hot tub on top of this structure, but it had apparently been taken out.

This first shot shows the back right corner of the property; which is of course where the swimming pool is located. I walked a short ways down the side of the pool and then turned around to take a picture looking back towards the front of the property. This shot shows the pavilion; our room was between the pavilion and the main house, in just the direction that this photo is looking.

After Frank and Joe got ready, I asked them to come out to I could get a picture of them on the central patio. This is the area where breakfast was served each day. My last picture was taken from the parking area outside the front gate, looking at the main house.

We got all packed up and were just about to head out to the Key West Arboretum when Fred thought he should take a short movie of where we'd been staying. You can watch that movie with the player at right.

The Key West Botanical Garden

We started out for Fort Lauderdale in mid-morning, intending to stop at the Key West Botanical Garden which we discovered was just off US-1 at the very top of Key West. We found the road leading to it with no problem, parked and headed into the grounds.

Right away, Fred and Frank, and to some extent Joe, were in their element, finding one interesting plant or tree or flower after another. There was indeed lots to look at. There was a whole area full of yucca‑like plants, and Frank solved the mystery of where the name for the nature preserve north of Boca Raton- Gumbo Limbo- came from. There were lots of banyan trees, and a tree that none of us had seen before- the Short Leaf Fig.

The pathways and trails wound in and around various sections of the garden and there was a lot of interesting stuff to see. Unlike other botanical gardens we've been to, this one seems to be surrounded by development, and you could easily tell when you'd gotten to the edge of the garden.

It seemed as if the Botanical Garden was a volunteer place; we met an interesting guy who seemed to know a lot about plants, and right away he got into a conversation with Frank. Then Joe and Fred chimed in, and this was a perfect time to get a shot of the guys with the garden guide. I also made a movie so you could see what kind of conversation they were having, and you can watch that movie using the player at left.

Right at the entrance to the gardens, just behind where the garden guide was talking with Frank, Joe and Fred, there was a stone wall that had been built as a fountain, with water running over the face of it. This enabled the Botanical Garden to create some plant holders attached to the wall, put various kinds of water plants in them, and ensure that they would stay watered and moist from the constant dripping of the fountain.

It was a very nice arrangement and, if one had room, would be a beautiful addition to any garden. Here is another view of the planters in the wall; there were five or six of these semi-circular planters, I think. You can get an idea of how big the affair was, because you can see it as the backdrop for this picture of Joe, Fred and Frank.

And, like many of the things we see on our trips, still pictures really don't do this fountain justice, so I hope you will watch my movie of it using the player below:

Click on the Image Above to View the Slideshow

To conclude this section on our visit to the Key West Botanical Garden, I would like to put in a selection of the excellent pictures that Fred took of various flowers and flora throughout the garden. Many of these are very unusual, and I think that if you are at all interest in plants, you will want to look at many of them. The pictures are in the slideshow at right.

To view the slideshow, just click on the image at right and I will open the slideshow in a new window. In the slideshow, you can use the little arrows in the lower corners of each image to move from one to the next, and the index numbers in the upper left of each image will tell you where you are in the series. When you are finished looking at the pictures, just close the popup window.

Driving to Fort Lauderdale

The Botanical Garden was our last stop on our Key West outing, and so we headed back up US-1, retracing our route from the day before yesterday. We looked at all the pictures we took on the way down already, and we did not take many more on the way back.

The only pictures we did take were as we were traversing the Seven Mile Bridge; we'd already read about some interesting tidbits on the Internet. We had learned that when the new bridge was opened in 1982, a section was taken out of the old bridge to keep folks from trying to drive vehicles across it. As we were driving across the new bridge, Fred got a picture of the missing section of the old bridge.

Also as we were traversing the bridge, Fred took a couple of quick snapshots of some of the tiny islands that dot the area, and you can see those pictures here and here. And, lastly, as we were crossing the raised section of the bridge over the Weber Channel, Fred made a movie looking out the front window. It's just a view of the road ahead as we drive up and over the "hump," but it was interesting nevertheless. You can watch that movie with the player at right.

The only stop we made, other than for drinks or something, was at The Shell Man- the largest shell shop in the Keys. It is located in Key Largo, between the southbound and northbound lanes of US-1. That's it in the aerial view above left. Each of us got at least a few shells or coral or whatever as a souvenir of our trip down to the Keys.

At Riverview Gardens

We got back home about five-thirty in the afternoon, in plenty of time to make some frozen drinks and sit down by the dock. before dinner. I am glad we did, for we saw some boat traffic that I have not seen before or since- a boat in the shape of an airplane without wings. Take a look at it here. It looks for all the world like a fuselage with its wings removed, but I am sure it was not- the skin would be too think to support the weight, I think. Anyway, it was a really interesting sight, and I am glad that Fred made a movie of the "planeboat," and you can watch it with the player at left.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	February 12, 2005: Florida Trip Day 8
	February 10, 2005: Florida Trip Day 6
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