TagFlorida

Key West Garden Club

This is a Banyon tree that has grown over one of the archways.
This is a Banyon tree that has grown over one of the archways.

Have you ever visited the Key West Garden Club? I have lived here for 2 1/2 years and have never been inside. The Key West Garden Club is one of the island’s last remaining free tourist attractions. Plants are donated and maintained by members and volunteers. They are a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities for the community relating to tropical gardening and to the West Martello Tower, a National Historic site where the Club is located. They are open seven days a week and are a beautiful venue for weddings and other events.I want to take a good book some iced tea and just relax under a tree for a few hours.

The Butterfly Garden
The Butterfly Garden

I also had the chance to work on my photography skills while I was there. They have so many different types of plants and trees that I wanted to photograph. Some are a little abstract and others just show the simple beauty of a flower in bloom.

01 Banyon Tree - Key West Garden Club - Key West FL Silk Floss Tree - Ceiba Speciosa - Key West Garden Club - Key West FL - Tree with Spikes

Orchid Flower - Key West Garden Club - Key West FL Pink Flower - Key West Garden Club - Key West FL Pink Flower -Plumeria - Key West Garden Club - Key West FL

The history of the tower is very cool dating back to 1822 when the land was first surveyed by the US Navy. Please visit their website for a full history. Tower History

01 Higgs Beach View - Key West Garden Club - Key West FL Old Bricks - Brick Archway - Key West Garden Club - Key West FLHiggs Beach View - Key West Garden Club - Key West FL

Puck You Tampa!

00 Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Finals Tampa Bay Lightning Florida TORsAdventures

After driving 8 hours 1 way and spending over a thousand dollars to attend a game that no one wanted us at in the first place I am happy that the Blackhawks won. I am not happy that I didn’t get to see them do that. We got to town checked into our hotel and decided to go out to dinner somewhere around the arena. Once I spotted the first of many Blackhawks jerseys on the streets the knots in my stomach started to go away. I was really worried we were not going to have fun at the game and be able to enjoy the experience. We were yelled at a lot on the streets but we also met some really nice people. After dinner we entered the arena and found that in our section and row we were surrounded by Blackhawks fans. We were in seats 8 and 9 and seats 1-7 were filled with other Blackhawks fans who we became fast friends with.

Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Finals Tampa Bay Lightning Florida TORsAdventures

We all had issues from the beginning with the fans that were behind us. The moment we sat down one specific fan said the he was going to be a dick all night long. They also had some noise makers that they were shaking right next to our heads just trying to annoy us before the game started. The fans behind us tried to get one of the Hawks fans ejected from the game before it even started. Things were going okay until we scored our first goal late in the 3rd period. After we scored the second goal was when things got crazy! All of the Hawks fans in the arena were standing up and celebrating the fact that we finally took the lead with 4:30 left in the 3rd. I had brought a rally towel from a previous playoff game that I had attended. I did turn around and yell to the guy behind me to ask what now? He started saying some extremely derogatory comments to me. I turned back around in my seat and that’s when I saw the police officer motioning for me to come to the aisle. I went out and before I could even say anything I was being told that I needed to leave the game immediately. No one warned me that me behavior needed to be calmed down. I had not been spoken to by anyone that was on staff for the Lightning. We asked if we could just watch the final minutes from the aisle. I was then told that if I did not leave now I would be arrested. I kept asking the police officer to speak with the usher on the other side so that he could tell him that all of us had been having issues with the same people all night long.

08 Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Finals Tampa Bay Lightning Florida TORsAdventures

After knowing that this was not worth getting arrested over we did exit the arena and watched the final 30 seconds of the game from the Corona bar outside the arena. We also started talking to an employee of the arena and explained the situation. She said that I should not have been removed that quickly and that the situation was not handled correctly. She took our information and also gave me the name and number of her supervisor to contact. I called and left a message with the supervisor and I am still waiting for a call back.

We are happy to be home and I am going to watch Game 2 from my sofa where I can cheer as loud as I want!

LETS GO HAWKS!

 

24th Minimal Regatta – Key West

2432911162

This weekend we attended the 24th Annual Minimal Regatta in Key West, Hosted my the Schooner Wharf Bar. It was sure a sight to see! The teams were required to construct their boats from the following supplies: 1 Sheet 4×8 1/4 plywood, 2- 2×4 pieces of lumber, 1 pound of fasteners, 1 roll of duct tape and no caulking or adhesives can be used.

04 24th Annual Minimal Regatta in Key West, Florida, FLKeys, Schooner Wharf 01 24th Annual Minimal Regatta in Key West, Florida, FLKeys, Schooner Wharf 02 24th Annual Minimal Regatta in Key West, Florida, FLKeys, Schooner Wharf 03 24th Annual Minimal Regatta in Key West, Florida, FLKeys, Schooner Wharf

Each team seemed to have a theme and costumes to match their boat. It was a lot of fun. I hope to remember this event for next year so I can attend again. They even gave away a prize for the fastest sinking boat and it took about 3 seconds!