24/01: Around Marathon
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
Ed decided that he needed a geocaching day and I agreed but only if we went to some of the places I wanted to go to.
One stop was Sombrero Beach, a public beach on Boot Key, one of the several keys that make up Marathon.
Sombrero Beach is a beautiful beach and it's dog friendly. It was fun to watch dogs playing in the water.
The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys. Old Seven Mile Bridge is not only spectacularly scenic, it also brings you as close as you can to experiencing Henry Flagler’s historic “railroad that went to sea.” The bridge, an engineering marvel of its day, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One comment I read was the old bridge was really well built and will outlast the new bridge which was built by the bidder with the lowest price.
Unfortunately, the north end of the bridge is closed for repairs but you can still walk on this part of the south end of the bridge.
The new and the old. The bridge looks like it goes on forever.
Looking at an unmaintained section of the bridge. We could see some weeds growing on the bridge and lots of birds sitting on the railing. Apparently, when the rail bridge was converted to an automobile bridge the rail was used for side railings.
Not far from the bridge we saw several iguana.
We stopped to eat our picnic lunch at Veterans Memorial Park. Soon after we sat down, a couple of pigeons came over. Then about a half dozen or so Ruddy Turnstones (I think) and an Ibis walked around us and the picnic table in single file. It all seemed odd as we didn't see birds around the other picnicers. Just as we were about to get up to leave a fellow asked if he could join us and sat at our table. Turns out he comes to this table about five days a week and brings bread for the birds. Not only were we sitting at his table but Ed and the fellow looked similar.
The Ruddy Turnstones and
the Ibis.
I don't remember the name of the tree but I thought it looked interesting.
This Ibis was dancing around in front of us, almost as if he wanted to us to take his picture.
Leaving the park we drove a little further down the road to Bahia Honda State Park. Henry Flagler's railroad to Key West turned the remote island of Bahia Honda Key into a tropical destination. Today, the island is home to one of Florida's southernmost state parks, known for beautiful beaches, magnificent sunsets and excellent snorkeling.
Part of the old rail bridge that is in the state park.
People come to the park to fish, to relax on the beach and play in the waves, to snorkel, kayak or paddle on a board. This fellow brings his bubbles. His bubble water consists of blue dawn, corn syrup and a couple of other things. He makes huge bubbles or smaller ones depending on the wind. The photo doesn't show the iridescent colours on the bubble made by the sun light.
A view of the bridge looking west.
The sun was getting low in the sky as we walked the beach. High tide was fast approaching and the beach was quickly disappearing. In one area the surf was hitting against the stairs.
By the way, Ed found 10 geocaches today. Our reward was Key Lime Sherbet, yum.
One stop was Sombrero Beach, a public beach on Boot Key, one of the several keys that make up Marathon.
Sombrero Beach is a beautiful beach and it's dog friendly. It was fun to watch dogs playing in the water.
The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys. Old Seven Mile Bridge is not only spectacularly scenic, it also brings you as close as you can to experiencing Henry Flagler’s historic “railroad that went to sea.” The bridge, an engineering marvel of its day, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One comment I read was the old bridge was really well built and will outlast the new bridge which was built by the bidder with the lowest price.
Unfortunately, the north end of the bridge is closed for repairs but you can still walk on this part of the south end of the bridge.
The new and the old. The bridge looks like it goes on forever.
Looking at an unmaintained section of the bridge. We could see some weeds growing on the bridge and lots of birds sitting on the railing. Apparently, when the rail bridge was converted to an automobile bridge the rail was used for side railings.
Not far from the bridge we saw several iguana.
We stopped to eat our picnic lunch at Veterans Memorial Park. Soon after we sat down, a couple of pigeons came over. Then about a half dozen or so Ruddy Turnstones (I think) and an Ibis walked around us and the picnic table in single file. It all seemed odd as we didn't see birds around the other picnicers. Just as we were about to get up to leave a fellow asked if he could join us and sat at our table. Turns out he comes to this table about five days a week and brings bread for the birds. Not only were we sitting at his table but Ed and the fellow looked similar.
The Ruddy Turnstones and
the Ibis.
I don't remember the name of the tree but I thought it looked interesting.
This Ibis was dancing around in front of us, almost as if he wanted to us to take his picture.
Leaving the park we drove a little further down the road to Bahia Honda State Park. Henry Flagler's railroad to Key West turned the remote island of Bahia Honda Key into a tropical destination. Today, the island is home to one of Florida's southernmost state parks, known for beautiful beaches, magnificent sunsets and excellent snorkeling.
Part of the old rail bridge that is in the state park.
People come to the park to fish, to relax on the beach and play in the waves, to snorkel, kayak or paddle on a board. This fellow brings his bubbles. His bubble water consists of blue dawn, corn syrup and a couple of other things. He makes huge bubbles or smaller ones depending on the wind. The photo doesn't show the iridescent colours on the bubble made by the sun light.
A view of the bridge looking west.
The sun was getting low in the sky as we walked the beach. High tide was fast approaching and the beach was quickly disappearing. In one area the surf was hitting against the stairs.
By the way, Ed found 10 geocaches today. Our reward was Key Lime Sherbet, yum.