Thursday, April 16, 2009

We left Vero Beach and headed for the Keys. Ted tried to get us a spot in Key West but nothing was available. We had to settle for staying at Big Pine Key about 40 miles from downtown Key West. We tried to hook up with a friend of Ted...Nadine...but we just weren't able to connect.
I had to drive Ted to Key West to kick off his trip, then drive back to Big Pine Key to wait for his return. We went to Key West a little early so we could see some of the city.
We did make it to Fort Zachary Taylor which is on the point. The fort that dates back to the early 1800's had some pretty large armament. We did take some pictures that are included at the end.
We were privy to an interesting ceremony at the fort...just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
The Conch Republic was established by secession of the Florida Keys from the United States of America, on April 23rd, 1982 in response to a United States Border Patrol Blockade setup on highway U.S.1 at Florida City just to the north of the Florida Keys. This heinous act effectively isolated Keys Citizens from the U.S. mainland since the blockade was on our only land artery to and from the mainland. This roadblock portrayed Keys residents as non-U.S. citizens who had to prove their citizenship in order to drive onto the Florida mainland! Hardly an American thing to do!
When we arrived at the fort, they were in the process of rasing the flag to commemorate that day back in 1982. There were a large group of ladies wearing white blouses and black skirts with "CIA" scrolled on the back of their blouses. It turns out the "CIA" stands for "Cuties In Action."
Ted kicked off his ride and made it safely back to Big Pine Key.
On Saturday, Ted left again, this time heading for Key Largo.

click on the below link to see pictures (there are three pages, 25 pictures)
http://travel.webshots.com/album/571229022guAPMt