What's A Body To Do?

Our buddy Gene isn't buying it! If he hears (or sees) anything else that makes it look warm and cozy here in the Florida Keys he's threatening to ....well, he say's "Don't look up; I don't want you to see it coming." He's in the Virginia Mountains under 4 feet of snow and has taken of late to building snowmen on a bench under a tree and placing a noose around its neck. Touchy, touchy.

And our friend Joan in Pennsylvania is back at her old game of blaming US for HER bad weather. Snow, Cold, Wind, Storms - once you're over the early on magnificence of the physical world- get real old real fast for many. Me among them. So while I hate to taunt these two intrepid talents, we do have some deep sand here but we don't have any snow- let alone deep snow. And it's cold. Still! I mean, ...you gotta put on a jacket just to walk the dog. In February! How ridiculous is that???

And as I've been trying to put into perspective the experiences of our friends, who are, thanks to our present gypsy life style- now all across this great land, I've begun to realize what I probably have always known but didn't think much about. Pictures don't show cold. Pictures don't show wind. And even snow looks pretty much harmless in a photograph. When was the last time you actually gasped aloud as some Weather Channel on-air personality had his or her hat blow off in a raging blizzard or even a hurricane. The hazard hides behind the image. Weather was never intended to be portrayed. No. It was intended to be felt. So when each of us sends the other a photo, we pretty much all think: "Yeah. So!" We have probably all experienced what our friends and family elsewhere are feeling. We might even have some fleeting recollection of their pain. No doubt we do care! But this is not a matter of "absence makes the heart grow fonder..." it's more a matter of telling someone else what you are challenged to endure (weather-wise) at this point in time.

For a blogger, the problem looms large (he said tongue in cheek). My friends want me to stop the painful onslaught of more and more pictures of seemingly magnificent and warm weather, bright sunshine, blue skies, birds flying carelessly (getting ticked yet?) Girls on the beach, dining on the sidewalk, a cocktail as the sun sets. Now? A paddle on flat salt water, hanging a fishing line over the side of the dock. Cry uncle?

OK. OK. I have more such photos today. Can't be helped. The story's gotta be told before it gets old. BUT! For what it's worth- if you watch the entire slide show, you will also see that even we get our comeuppance like all the rest. Look back a post or two first. See that still life shot of the conch horn, beer and plastic shot glass with tiny fish in the bottom, and the yaks and the bay in the background? Well, we went to bed at the end of the day...and in the morning came out to a deck that was covered with a million small fragments and slivers of glass- the wind I have been telling you about- the one you didn't believe me about- the one I told you was so cold- yes that one- well during the night it picked up the whole table, turned it upside down and slammed it into the pavers- making for trouble in paradise. Like you care! C'mon.

Here's what's in the show today. Our trip into Key West to see for the first time the new Florida Keys Eco Discovery Center. It was an excellent new facility, has potential for sure and I'm sure it will continue to develop. Touring on a budget? Admission is free. And the center features a 20 minute movie in its own theater that follows a young girl's introduction to the environment of the Keys. I must say it was one of the finest educational and top quality videos I have seen in a long time. That alone is WELL worth the visit.



The Eco Center is directly adjacent to the parking lot for Fort Zachery Taylor Park, which also is worth a visit. State Park rates apply unless you have a membership (we do) in which case it is free as well. The park also has one of Key West's most interesting beaches. Shelling and sponging are excellent here. Surf. Rock pier fishing. Out of the wind sun bathing. Water sports. Cafe. But quiet and almost private compared to the other more public and larger beaches.





Then off to the New York Pasta Garden at Duval Square. Lunch? Magnifico. The meat lovers' Stromboli was THE Best! And huge. Made several meals...



Don't forget to watch for the glass table that "Fall down, go boom."