The Casa Marina Hotel, nowadays part of the Waldorf Astoria chain (though they don't call it a chain which is probably a very gauche term).
Henry Flagler increase his oil drilling fortune (Standard Oil) by coming up with the excellent idea of building resort palaces along Florida's sunny east coast and pushing his railway line from New York to meet them. He had found that a rail line with no destination wasn't attractive so when his east Coast Railway Extension (which never turned a profit) arrived in Key West passengers had the choice of staying at the Casa, as it is now universally known in Key West, or hopping the ferry to Havana for some prossies and gambling. And fresh tropical fruit; don't forget the pineapples as they are always listed in the literature as the real reason the connection to Havana was so important. Under age prostitution came later with Meyer Lansky and now the implosion of civil society in the Socialist Paradise. This is an actual, unstaged picture of my dog sniffing a fire hydrant.
In a free market paradise where mention of toilets in polite society is cause for swooning the cliché of dogs sniffing hydrants is rampant. Yet in real life I never see it. Until now. I wanted to take a quick whiz on this but if he does win he will be removed to the safety and impotence of the US Senate instead of running for governor where he could wreak severe havoc on a State that has done quite nicely under moderate Republican rule.
Rubio is a 38 year old son of Cuban immigrants whose idea of social tolerance is putting leftists like me into hard labor camps and then using us as front line sacrifices on a remake of the Bay of Pigs. Florida term limits Governors so Charlie Crist, the closeted gay married Republican moderate feels obliged to seek other employment though he has been doing a good job of not tipping into radicalism. I doubt he will win as an independent this Fall though he gets my vote over the fatuous Democrat Meeks, he of the Democrat Bubba System. Where was I? Oh yes, hurricane shutters. These people are clearly away and one hopes they haven't forgotten to lock the front door as their absence is rather obvious. Even to a dog.
This house in it's own forest I find rather appealing. The wall screams "Bugger Off !" Just how I like it. 
The Casa Marina district is the wealthy neighborhood in Key West, located roughly between Higgs Beach and the Varela Street more or less. You'll know it when you are in it. 
This is the intersection of Reynolds and South looking north toward United Street. Turn left here at the light and the Southernmost (More Or Less) Point is a few blocks...south.
Casa Marina deals, not exclusively but a great deal in large homes, expansive lots and many trees.
Because this is Key West, paying millions for a vast spacious home on several lots gives you no guarantee that your neighbors will be likewise equipped. 1960s homes survive in their more modest, though no less expensive,proportions.
However planting lots of fast growing banana "trees" provides all sorts of luscious cover. 
This rock home is a bit of landmark. 
More privacy walls. Around here No Trespassing signs are not as necessary. Walls speak louder than cheap plastic placards.
The Spottswoods will be happy to take your deposit for this slice of paradise. Act quickly before prices plunge again! 
Mind you, when prices plunge from several millions to a few millions it's not like most of us notice too much.
My home has dropped from better than half a million to a recent appraisal of $330,000 though I doubt Wells Fargo could find a buyer at that price if I decided to seek my fortune elsewhere. An empty lot on my street (30 miles from Casa Marina) sold for $136,000 last month so there are still fools ready to be parted from their money. Welcome to the club I say, as the owner of home that will never see a half million dollar price tag on it again.
Henry Flagler increase his oil drilling fortune (Standard Oil) by coming up with the excellent idea of building resort palaces along Florida's sunny east coast and pushing his railway line from New York to meet them. He had found that a rail line with no destination wasn't attractive so when his east Coast Railway Extension (which never turned a profit) arrived in Key West passengers had the choice of staying at the Casa, as it is now universally known in Key West, or hopping the ferry to Havana for some prossies and gambling. And fresh tropical fruit; don't forget the pineapples as they are always listed in the literature as the real reason the connection to Havana was so important. Under age prostitution came later with Meyer Lansky and now the implosion of civil society in the Socialist Paradise. This is an actual, unstaged picture of my dog sniffing a fire hydrant.In a free market paradise where mention of toilets in polite society is cause for swooning the cliché of dogs sniffing hydrants is rampant. Yet in real life I never see it. Until now. I wanted to take a quick whiz on this but if he does win he will be removed to the safety and impotence of the US Senate instead of running for governor where he could wreak severe havoc on a State that has done quite nicely under moderate Republican rule.
Rubio is a 38 year old son of Cuban immigrants whose idea of social tolerance is putting leftists like me into hard labor camps and then using us as front line sacrifices on a remake of the Bay of Pigs. Florida term limits Governors so Charlie Crist, the closeted gay married Republican moderate feels obliged to seek other employment though he has been doing a good job of not tipping into radicalism. I doubt he will win as an independent this Fall though he gets my vote over the fatuous Democrat Meeks, he of the Democrat Bubba System. Where was I? Oh yes, hurricane shutters. These people are clearly away and one hopes they haven't forgotten to lock the front door as their absence is rather obvious. Even to a dog.This house in it's own forest I find rather appealing. The wall screams "Bugger Off !" Just how I like it. The Casa Marina district is the wealthy neighborhood in Key West, located roughly between Higgs Beach and the Varela Street more or less. You'll know it when you are in it. 
This is the intersection of Reynolds and South looking north toward United Street. Turn left here at the light and the Southernmost (More Or Less) Point is a few blocks...south.Casa Marina deals, not exclusively but a great deal in large homes, expansive lots and many trees.Because this is Key West, paying millions for a vast spacious home on several lots gives you no guarantee that your neighbors will be likewise equipped. 1960s homes survive in their more modest, though no less expensive,proportions.
However planting lots of fast growing banana "trees" provides all sorts of luscious cover. 
This rock home is a bit of landmark. 
More privacy walls. Around here No Trespassing signs are not as necessary. Walls speak louder than cheap plastic placards.The Spottswoods will be happy to take your deposit for this slice of paradise. Act quickly before prices plunge again! 
Mind you, when prices plunge from several millions to a few millions it's not like most of us notice too much.My home has dropped from better than half a million to a recent appraisal of $330,000 though I doubt Wells Fargo could find a buyer at that price if I decided to seek my fortune elsewhere. An empty lot on my street (30 miles from Casa Marina) sold for $136,000 last month so there are still fools ready to be parted from their money. Welcome to the club I say, as the owner of home that will never see a half million dollar price tag on it again.
The Navy warehouse was glowing in the sunset on the waterfront. A short walk from here hundreds were gathered to buy and sell and juggle and entertain in the name of commerce as the sun went down.
On our travels people have told us in various towns that scooters "are really big right now." Not like Key West, where scooters are everywhere and in daily use. 
Nine months into her new ownership Cheyenne has lost none of her desire to make up for lost time by chasing down every last smell on the streets.
Bahama Shutters on Conch Cottage. 
I also noticed the current owner is following a fad from my youth of making a simple and inexpensive "café racer" out of a perfectly nice motorcycle. Instead of buying clip ons he just turned the standard bars upside down to decrease maneuverability and increase the cool factor. 
Not actually that private when you consider it sits alongside Highway One buggering up the view of the horizon as nature intended it. Billboards are their own form of poison, though perhaps not as pointed as that of Haggerty's former "friends." I hope whatever he did was more interesting than the usual sex, lies and faithlessness of the unimaginative.
We joined Chuck and Pauline dockside with a gorgeous view. 
We were under close observation. I'm guessing they are used to soft hearted tourists yielding to their charms.
It was an entirely splendid afternoon until these two Cuban refugees showed up to spoil the fun. 
As I watched them paddling in toward the marina I noted, out loud how odd is this new fad of paddling a surf board. I thought nothing more of it as we sipped our tea and enjoyed the afternoon peace. One big thing about this place is the blessed absence of canned outdoor tinny muzak.
Butcher came to Key West not so long ago and I couldn't be there so my wife did me proud. My camera is not the old fashioned tripod mounted machine,obviously. I don't get $38,000 for my mural pictures either. 
It is no surprise that he is compared to Ansel Adams but what I prefer about Butcher's pictures is that for some reason they exude more warmth than the famous Adams pictures of the West. Perhaps it is the subject matter, or Butcher's technique but I like his photos far more.
I started thinking about Butcher one morning when i was walking Cheyenne and found myself taking pictures with no essay subject in mind. 
A one lane street is a test of driver's manners. Imagine how often they fail the test.
