Florida Keys from 5/20th to the 24th

Ooopsieee!

We had too much fun and relaxed too much as well, so that I forgot to keep posting our pics from our Florida Keys Trip. Yep. Mea culpa! :o}

FL Keys deer

Pontoon???

Blimp!

Yes! It hurts here too... auch!

Coast Guard ship by Fort Zachary Taylor in Key West

You can visit it, but... today was closed. :(

Fort Zachary main wall

(still wondering if they had alligators in there, back then)

Chris, and his balls ;o)

Still figuring out how they can HANDmake a vodka... hmmm....

This one's for "The Other Ratzlaff's in Mayer"

Ratz's new boat

And Tsunamy's new toy :)

Via Carducci in Trieste???

Nope!

Just another street in Key West, FL

Chris "training" for our Everglades trip

Sunset from Mallory Square in Key West

Under a banyan tree

Too many tourists...

couldn't take a good pic, but it says 90 miles to Cuba!

We're closer here to Cuba then when we're in Vail going to Denver!!!

A "real" pirate at the Shipwreck Museum in Key West.

If you haven't yet been there, it's worth seeing it!

And same with the local Acquarium: it's wonderfull!!!

Honey & Bunny on top of the shipwreck tower

(you chose who's who)

Key West panorama from top of shipwreck tower

More panorama from the shipwreck tower

(notice the happy tourist, enjoying himself while lying "in the field")

Thinking of Matt & Jo

and wondering... is this true?!?

This one is for Gabry.

Can't remember when was the last time I drank one,

but it felt sooo gooood in this heat!!! :)

And this is a typical Key West tip for... well... Everybody!!!

Going to a new place today:

Chris is on the hunt already... before being hunted!

Still guessing where are we heading today?

We're visiting the Everglades National Park.

One more stamp on my "National Park's Passport" - yesss!!! :)

We really enjoyed it with the different birds...

An Anhinga drying its wings after a swim

And bugs and mosquitos (well, the latest two not as much) and...

the "local Park's keepers"...

the 'gators

Is this bridge sturdy enough?!?

And Chris thought I was being a pussy and that I was just making fun of him by

telling him NOT to park close to the vultures!!!

We still have a question: were they ever able to fine somebody who harassed the alligators?

Having fun on the boat trip with the Rangers

Is it Halloween already???

Training for the Koko ride while on one of the local "passes"

Chris didn't want to share his smoothie with this cute gotie

A rainbow eucalyptus

Yes. It's real/natural and not man-colored.

(It depends how the bark shed from the trunk, at different times.)

More blooming trees on the way to the airport

Bye - bye FL Highway!!!

And welcome back home... brrrr!!!

Chris checking the snow on Vail Pass

Our friends told us they had enough of the bad weather;

some of them went still skiing up to A-Basin with great Winter conditions.

Snorkeling in FL Keys

Part of the 7 miles bridge

Today we went to check the marina in Duck Hawks area, where we saw HUGE tarpons just swimming in the harbor by the docks. I just wanted to go out to watch fishermen pulling those guys in... well... ok... I wanted to try too, but then I'd have been just too sad doing so. And, maybe the fish would pull me in the water first, before I'd pull him out on the boat. They can be REALLY HUGE!!!

Since the snorkeling tour was more affordable then fishing in high sea, we (obviously!) went out with a motor powered catamaran to a reef just off Sombrero Beach and had a really great day with snorkeling out there.

Getting ready to leave

Chris with the lobster cages in the background

Getting closer to our snorkeling area by the lighthouse

Enjoying the sun and views

The first thing I saw was a freaking huge barracuda. Man! That thing was humongous!!! The reef was gorgeous too, with many different corrals and big corral fans too, and fishes of any color and sizes.

Having fun on the way back

And on the way back we saw dolphins too: the perfect way to finish a perfect day on the sea!

Afterwards we went to lie down on Sombrero beach. Chris went snorkeling again, while I started reading my new book. We both took a nap too, which gave us good energy to go grocery shopping. I wanted to make clams risotto, but they didn't have them, so... I bought mussels and scallops and made a yummy risotto with them instead.

It didn't last long at all.

I guess... either we were hungry, or it really was very good! :)

Florida Keys - Day #1

Hellooo!!!

All my school exams and the national/licensing exam went good, so... my husband took me to Florida, to look for the places his brother loves so much over here. We still didn't make it to Margaritaville though, nor to Key West, but they're on our list. :)

We got here yesterday afternoon, wiped out, but glad to be here and super happy to be escaping Vail's crazy weather, once again!!! The weather forecast says that it's going to snow or rain till Sunday up there.

From our bedroom window in Minturn (Sunday am)

At Fort Lauderdale airport:
Seminole indians' artifacts,
with Italian & Czechoslovakian beads.

Where are the snowmobiles?
Oh! I guess we're in "power-boats country" now!

On one of the many bridges through the Keys.
(Can't see, but they're long and in the middle of the freaking ocean!)

One of the bridges we'll be crossing soon.

Bahia Honda National Park

Local migratory bird.

A Coloradian migratory "Snow-bird":
Mr.Whitey!
He was making fun of me being under the sun-umbrella till past 4 pm today, and didn't want to listen to me and get in the shade... I guess that with his German origin, he also has some Kharst origin as well (Kharst is my area in Italy and is known for very hard-headed people!).
Well, tonight we were making a steak on the grill, but we should have just eaten him:
he looks like a nice red lobster now! :)

And his wife, Mrs.Whitey:
horsing around for the camera!
(As usual.)

Local lizard... a geiko?

Part of the old rail-road that connected Miami to Key West.
It was built in the early 1900th and a hurricane battered it in 1935, so they decided to built a highway instead of it. They used part of the old pillars in building the road, but some they left. Nowadays, you can still see pretty rotten parts, just standing in the middle of the ocean, while some others have been redone and are used as bike/walk-paths.

Other part of the old rail-road.

Palm tree.
Finally, no pine trees with snow!
At least for this week. They're forecasting snow and/or rain till Sunday up in Vail. Brrr!

Another key/island along the road.

Coming down from one of the bridges.
I guess ENEL (Italian electric company) would have plenty to do here...
connecting all these islands with electricity!
But then, as good Italians... they still wouldn't have electricity here, if Italians would be building it while looking at the "local beauties" on the many beaches. He-he-he!!! ;o)

Hope to take more pics tomorrow and post them.
We haven't taken as many these first 2 days, since we're finally really relaxing,
swimming and we both have almost finished reading our first book.
Yep! We've been really lazy!!!
And we're digging it!!! :)
But... yes, Benji... I promise I'll try hard to keep this Blog more up to date during this vacation.
Ciaooo!!! :)