Key West, Florida Part 1

Not sure if you know how much I like to make lists, but I really, really do! 📃 I like crossing things off that list even more! 😆 Joe, the kids, and I made a list of the things we wanted to see in the Keys. Some we could do in the time we were there, but others will have to wait until next time. We all decided to narrow our last Key adventure down to Key West. 🏖️

We have never been to Key West before, but the sound of the 7 Mile Bridge was daunting to me. We travel a lot and go over some bridges that quite frankly scare me. 🫢 After so many years of going over the Mackinaw Bridge to get to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, you’d think I would be used to that bridge, but it still bothers me. If we wanted to go to Key West, I’d just have to deal with it, so I did. I need to tell you that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It also helped that I wanted to see Fred the Tree! 😉 Fred the Tree is an Australian Pine that is over 30 years old that is growing out of the road on the Old 7 Mile Bridge.🌲Since I’m a plant geek, he was on my bucket list. Yes, I know that sounds crazy. 🤣

Here’s a video of Fred!

After we said Hi to Fred, our first stop on Key West was to the Southernmost Point in the Continental U.S.A. We had left rather early to avoid traffic, but there was already a bit of a line up of people wanting to take pics there. 📸 We met some wonderful people from Canada, who were kind enough to take our pics, as we took theirs. Most of the people we ran into were pretty friendly and relaxed. 👍

Our next stop was to the Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park which was built in 1845. Very affordable and neat to see, the admission was $2.50/person. We really enjoyed walking around the old fort, climbing up the stairs to the top level, and looking at the artifacts. This amazing fort was important in defending the waters of the Straits of Florida and Gulf of Mexico. Active in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II–the Fort’s service ended in 1947. Fun fact: even though this fort protected the harbor during the Civil War, it never fired one shot! 😲

We also found out another super interesting fact: in July 1865, Dr. Samuel Mudd was a prisoner for a short time in one of the fort jail cells for the assassination of President Lincoln. 🤯

We all enjoyed this beautiful old fort and the history we learned. We can definitely see why it’s a Registered National Historic Landmark. 🤩

Next on places we wanted to see was the Ingham Maritime Museum. According to their website https://www.uscgcingham.org/index.html, the USCCG INGHAM is “The only Coast Guard Cutter afloat today to receive two Presidential Unit Citations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy.” ⚓🪙

So much history on Key West, so little time! A few blocks over was the Harry S. Truman Little White House. ❤️🤍💙 The Little White House was used by Presidents William Howard Taft, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. Built in 1890 for Navy officers, it became a vacation home and functioning White House between 1946 and 1952. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and offers tours. The kiddos had enough of a history lesson, so we’ll save that tour for another time, but this is the outside of the Little White House:

A visit to Key West would not be complete for our family without a tour of the lighthouse. 🥰 The tour and climb to the top was very affordable. The Key West Lighthouse & Keeper’s Quarters Museum was pretty amazing! The grounds were beautiful and the lighthouse climb was quite an adventure! We climbed the 88 steps to get to the top. It doesn’t sound like that many steps, but when you get to the top you are 73 feet above the ground. For those of us that don’t like heights, it was definitely challenging. I don’t want fear to hold me or my family back from experiencing life, so I moved onward and upward (literally). The views from the top were incredible! My shaking hand held the phone mostly steady, while we looked out and walked around the observation deck. ☺️

After we climbed back down, we went over to the Keeper’s Quarters Museum. This beautifully restored museum was filled with unique memorabilia and nautical history. ⛵We learned about the first Key West Lighthouse that was destroyed by a hurricane in 1846, and also the building of the current lighthouse. They even have a wedding dress worn by Jennie Bethel when she was married in the lighthouse in 1911. 👰 We enjoyed learning about the women lighthouse keepers and I was amazed by the Fresnel lenses on display as well as the history of each one.

Leaving the lighthouse, we were greeted by a beautiful rooster that decided to show off for us for a while. 🐓 It was really cool that there were chickens wandering around everywhere!

What other adventures await on Key West? Stay tuned for the next edition of Traveling with the Trapps–Key West, Florida Part 2!

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