We docked in Key West for the day, which turned out to be a partial rainy day, but we still got a bit of sightseeing in. For someone that grew up in Southern Florida most of my life I've never been to Key West. I've been to the middle keys but not all the way down. I really loved the bohemian nature of the place and the houses were amazing. I kept telling Cindy that I wouldn't mind living there but probably the party atmosphere would get to me after a while. Not to mention the hurricanes. I do like my quiet time.
After waiting for the rain to end and watching the worst docking known to man. The Chief Boatswain's Mate in me wanted to go down to the pier and take over. Seriously, there were safety infractions every minute. At one point, they attached the mooring line to the hitch of a truck and drove it over to the bollard on the other side of the pier. Everyone was standing in a danger zone...almost gave me hives just watching 😬. We were at the Naval base, but the dock workers were civilian and not that good either. I'm stressing just typing this!
So onto the cemetery. It was so old but also flooded so there were a few spots we couldn't see. I noticed a few Whiteheads, Cindy's maiden name. Maybe one day I'll check them out to see if there are any relations of hers down there. Most of her Whitehead family came from New England but maybe some strays headed down to Key West to find their fortune. Old cemeteries never disappoint me. They always have such beautiful decaying statues. The baby graves are the heartbreaking ones and they usually have an angel on top. As in many places in the south that are prone to flooding, most of the graves are above ground.
After waiting for the rain to end and watching the worst docking known to man. The Chief Boatswain's Mate in me wanted to go down to the pier and take over. Seriously, there were safety infractions every minute. At one point, they attached the mooring line to the hitch of a truck and drove it over to the bollard on the other side of the pier. Everyone was standing in a danger zone...almost gave me hives just watching 😬. We were at the Naval base, but the dock workers were civilian and not that good either. I'm stressing just typing this! After that fiasco and the rain abated (rain in in Florida is intense but doesn't last that long) we headed out for the cemetery. Where else would I go? But first we stopped off to St. Paul's Episcopal Church which was on the way. What a beautiful wooden church. This version (there were four buildings) was built in 1912. The land was donated by John Fleeming's widow (he was one of the four original owners of the island) with the stipulation that the pews would be free! Isn't that amazing that they used to pay for their pews? The inside was as stunning as the outside especially the wooden ceiling. Here's the history of the church for your reading pleasure.
One that caught my eye was a grave with the name Goldsmith and a Celtic cross. That sure isn't a Scots or Irish name! Would love to know the history of that family.
We didn't have a lot of time to spend there as the ship was leaving in the late afternoon, so it was more photo and dash. On the way back I took some nice photos of the amazing houses. I love the Southern house with the big breezy porch.
But in Key West you also see a bit of whimsey and chickens. A lot of chickens.
So that was it for Key West. But one more photo of me and my best friend of 50 years! Cindy and I have had many good trips together over the years.
