Sure, you can fly to Key West. Or drive. Or even arrive by boat, cruise ship, and ferry.
But swim?
Sometime this summer, when conditions are determined to be perfect, Diana Nyad will attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West - a distance of 103 miles, across the Straits of Florida and the Gulf Stream.
It is estimated that this unbelievable journey will take two days of continuous swimming and requires a specially-designed swim suit that minimizes abrasions.
Nyad, arguably the greatest endurance swimmer of all time, previously attempted this swim last year. But after nearly 50 hours of continuous swimming, strong winds and large seas had blown her far off course and she had to abandon the attempt.
So, can she do it?
If anyone can, it is this amazing athlete. In 1979, she made the longest recorded swim in history - covering 102 miles from Bimini, Bahamas to South Florida. She was 31 then. Today she is 61, and just as bold and determined as ever.
Key West wishes Diana fair winds, following seas, and the very best of luck.
You can read more about her and the upcoming attempt at her website www.diananyad.com.
A bill to designate the Schooner Western Union as the official state flagship has passed in the Florida Senate.
The magnificent ship is the current official vessel of Key West, its home port.
By unanimous vote on April 29, the Florida Senate passed bill SB726, detailed below:
Florida Senate - 2011 SB 726
By Senator Bullard
39-00897-11 2011726__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to state symbols; creating s. 15.0465,
3 F.S.; designating the schooner Western Union as the
4 official state flagship; providing an effective date.
5
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
7
8 Section 1. Section 15.0465, Florida Statutes, is created to
9 read:
10 15.0465 Official state flagship.—The schooner Western
11 Union, a 130-foot historic sailing vessel of the tall ship
12 class, built in Key West and first launched in 1939, is
13 designated the official state flagship.
14 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
This is the only sensible thing the Florida legislature has done since Rick Scott took office and launched Florida into the deep end of the tea party.
Who's up for hoisting him up the mast of Florida's next flagship?
Thankfully, it all came to an end before the beloved little island was consumed by the Real Estate Monster. After all, there really are many more interesting things to do in Key West.
Below is a chart showing the market mania and crash that happened in Key West, as measured by Median sale price (according to Zillow):
So where are we today?
Things are looking brighter for Key West residential real estate.
The glut of homes for sale has been greatly reduced, thanks to lower prices. And local workers, artists, and families are again buying homes.
If you are looking to buy a home in Key West, there are fewer on the market, as shown in this chart of data from the Key West Multiple Listing Service (MLS):
Location
Property Type
Properties for Sale - January 2009
Properties for Sale - February 2011
Key West
All Residential
922
635
Key West
Single Family
417
277
Key West
Condo/Townhouse
400
206
Key West residential real estate sales continue to increase. Here is the data for Key West only, from the Monroe County Property Appraiser records:
year 2010: 317 sales of residential single family property (minimum price of $5000)
year 2009: 286 sales of residential single family property (minimum price of $5000)
year 2008: 273 sales of residential single family property (minimum price of $5000)
year 2007: 252 sales of residential single family property (minimum price of $5000
If you are looking to avoid snow there is only one state in the United States without the white stuff on the ground: Florida!
This map is from the NOAA website - showing current snow coverage for the United States. Check out all-green Florida. Doesn't it just look warm and inviting.
As a result, Key West is categorized in USDA's Hardiness Zone 11, a subtropical climate where the average minimum temperature is above 40 degrees.
The only other place in the US in Zone 11? Hawaii. Where today it is predicted to snow 12-18 inches at elevations above 11,000 feet on the big island. Making Hawaii the 49th state to have snow on the ground.
Hearing of Michelle Casasola's severe injury while snorkeling is so sad and unusual.
Locals and visitors have snorkeled countless times - nearly all without incident.
So what happened?
The family claims that the crew was throwing food, namely bagels, in the water to attract fish. Allegedly as a result, a three-foot barracuda attacked the nine-year old's hand - likely mistaking it for a yellowtail snapper.
What's it look like when you throw food in the water at the reef?
Check out this family video posted on YouTube on December 24, 2009 showing a family snorkeling in Key West with Fury.
During the last 20 seconds of the video notice the large school of yellowtail snapper in a feeding frenzy at something repeatedly tossed into the water near snorkelers.
The point is this: snorkeling in Key West is safe, fun, and rewarding - so long as people aren't throwing food in the water to attract fish.
First off, you really just have to watch it for yourself. This video is so full of vague and strange statements, one has to wonder is he serious. Most of what he said/read sounded like it was produced by the tea party, Sarah Palin, and Glen Beck. Or maybe Tina Fey lampooning all three.
Declaring at an Upper Keys Republican Club that he was the candidate to take us "backwards", Morgan McPherson stiffly read from a prepared speech that often seemed foreign to him while frequently mispronouncing the text and often reading from it sentence by sentence.
There is little doubt that McPherson is sincere in his drive to take Florida backwards. His solution to the state's problems? Cut taxes, cut spending, remove state and federal regulations on business, and lower the corporate tax to the lowest level in the country. He thinks we are facing an abyss. He wants to "take scissors to Tallahassee" - the same scissors he states households have been using to trim their budgets.
Morgan wraps up his speech by going biblical, declaring "we need to take on that Philistine that sits in this seat", referring to Ron Saunders - the current state representative.
Philistine, huh?
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary:
Main Entry: Phi·lis·tine
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia
2 often not capitalized a : a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values b : one uninformed in a special area of knowledge
Hmmm. Ron Saunders was born in Key West. So definition #1 is out - he is not a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia.
So Morgan must be referring to definition #2: a : a person who is guided by materialism and is usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values b : one uninformed in a special area of knowledge.
Yet Saunders has consistently exhibited genuine concern for the Florida Keys above materialism, and supporting protecting the Florida Keys as a state area of critical concern, the arts community, and the diversity of Key West. He is especially informed about our issues and constantly fights on Key West's and the Florida Keys' behalf in Tallahassee.
Having been ousted by the electorate in the previous election, McPherson somehow feels its time to take losing to the next level.
The "Green Flash" is an atmospheric phenomenon which occasionally occurs at sunset in Key West - when the last bit of sun disappears below the horizon and a brief green glow is observable. This is usually explained by the refraction of light at that angle appearing green and is only visible during specific atmospheric conditions.
Or, you could believe something else causes it.
XKCD, the online comic dedicated to uber-techie humor, posted their own humorous explanation.
(Be sure to hover over the image to see XKCD's embedded joke text)
The dance between Cuba and the US continues further.
With a little Cuban cooperation the Obama administration just might reconsider the embargo.
All that is required is a gesture by the Cuban government that gives a not to democracy and freedom of expression.
That news may have just occurred. According to reports, Cuba is preparing to free 52 of their 150 political prisoners.
The pending release is the result of talks between Cuba's Catholic church and international pressure - especially from Spain, who sent a foreign minister to meet with Raul Castro and the Church.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already weighed in, saying: "We welcome this. We think that's a positive sign. It's something that is overdue but nevertheless very welcome."
The pieces are falling into place for a respectable change in US policy.
With the recent news that a House panel has voted to ease Cuba travel restrictions, one has to wonder how long it is before ferry service from Key West to Cuba.
Sure, you can fly to Key West. Or drive. Or even arrive by boat, cruise ship, and ferry.
