Dean &
Ginny's excellent adventures... Main
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Key
West--04/08: Part 1
Part
2 >>
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We started this adventure at the Anheuser-Busch
stockholders' meeting in Orlando, where we posed with their famous
team of horses before the meeting began.
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After the meeting we had passes to Sea World, but it was
so crowded that we didn't stay. We headed south to Key West to help celebrate
The Conch Republic's Independence Day. The next day we went
diving. The visibility was only 20 to 30 feet and the wind picked up
by the end of the afternoon, which reduces the visibility even more, so
this was our only dive day.
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The first dive was at a wreck, The Cayman, a salvage ship, that was 85'
deep. Lots of fish hang around wrecks for shelter and soft corals
and other organisms attach themselves to the old  ship.
<< The bow of the ship with
a line up to a mooring buoy.
The down staircase into the dark abyss... >>
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The second dive was to a reef called Nine-Mile Stake. The reef
was arranged in long lines called fingers with bare sand between them--all at about
20' deep.
<< A school of French
grunts gathers under the overhanging reef. Fan corals act as
further disguise.
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Squirrel fish with its huge eyes make it easy to
recognize.
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Below left a 6-foot nurse shark rested on the
bottom--one of the largest nurse sharks we've seen. Below
right a good sized (about 3 feet) barracuda cruises the reef.
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  We
rode our bikes into town that evening to watch the Independence Day parade.
It went all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of
Mexico! Or the length of Duval St.--about 2.5 miles.
Wacky would be one word you could use to describe
it.
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This guy in white lead the parade, which was an hour late in
getting started--but then Key West time is different.
Pirates of all types were plentiful, but their
marching was somewhat informal. >>
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Above, a guy playing a steel drum lends a Caribbean flavor to the
tropical evening. Above right, walking the dogs and other
beasts of burden.
There cars and trucks of all types carrying folks also of all
types--many of them threw beads or candy to the
onlookers.
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While there was a big show of officers and high
command, this cannon (below) appeared to be the only
armament.
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On to more of the
parade and then something entirely different >>
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