A VISIT TO THE KEYS

It's been pretty busy around here, what with taking care of our granddaughter twice a week, selling tablets and generally trying to stay out of trouble.  So, we decided to take a couple of days out of the normal routine and enjoy a little getaway.

We chose to go to the Florida Keys, first to Key Largo (where the famous movie was made with Humphrey Bogart) and then on to Key West (once the largest city in the whole state of Florida (1905.)

We like to enjoy the ride down too, so we took Route 41 instead of Interstate 75 (Alligator Alley) and we saved all the tolls.  We were able to soak up all the beautiful scenery, saw where many of the Native Americans live now in south Florida and stopped at a visitor's center as we were nearing Route 1 heading for the Keys.

The photo ops were stupendous, both in the colors and the vegetation.  I took almost 500 pictures in 3 days, so you can tell I really enjoyed the scenery.  Key West, especially, was a treasure trove of architectural elements and color.  And a great chance to eat well and walk it off.  (It's 1.25 miles from one end of Duval Street where you see the marker for the southernmost tip of the United States to the other end where the big cruise ships dock and travelers go ashore for the shopping opportunities.)

We missed the 3-8 inches of rain they promised in Key West (Yeah!) and carried our umbrellas along with our ponchos, just in case.

It is off-season right now, so the room rate at our bed and breakfast was very reasonable and was located right in the middle of Old Town, full of history.  We saved $20 by not taking the tram which travels up and down the same streets that we walk on.  PTL that we can still get around really well.

Another great way to save money was with our new phone app:  Gas Buddy.  The app is free at the Google Play Store and when you click on it, it finds all the nearby gas stations and lists their prices and addresses.  You can sort by price.  We sometimes save 15 cents a gallon by using this new app!  That really adds up.

We also found a Denny's in Key West with their delicious menu.  AAA members get 10% off their bill and AARP get 20% off their bill after 4 pm.  All these little discounts really add up.

Our last evening there, we shopped at a local grocery store and heated our burritos in the microwave.  That, along with the giant chocolate chip cookies and soda chilling in our refrig, really hit the spot.

Here is Neal sitting in the "big chair" on Key Largo at the Visitor's Center and below is a typical house in Key West.