Big Decision Time

Some times you have to make decisions in life, right? They can be small decisions or bigger ones, for us just now, they were pretty BIG.

We have been living almost 7 years in Key West and had a wonderful time playing and working in paradise. We fell in love with this island from the moment we came down here from South Carolina in 2001 and decided to make it home.

Since last year the economy of this island seems to be going down hill drastically - our accounting numbers are showing that the tourists are not buying as much art as they did before and the prices of everything are going sky high - so, we had to think of alternatives of how to sell our art and make our living in a different way.

Believe me, we have been thinking long and hard and didn’t make quick decisions. Our thoughts have matured over a long period, starting months ago.

One of the main criteria for us was: We just don't want be "stuck" on this rock and not be able to get away at all - like many others we see here already in this situation because of financial reasons. We don't want to have a feeling of just living from day-to-day and be worrying all the time how to pay the horrendous prices to live in a little run-down shack or a room with no space to work.

To make a long story short: we are leaving Key West for good this month and we will be moving up to the mainland of Florida's peninsula. We found a nice little house in a very arty town on the west coast - and we are very excited about starting our life anew there!

I will be not online for some days after the 20th of January while getting ready for the big move. I hope you all will not forget me in the meantime....LOL...and I'm excitedly looking forward to being back here blogging with new inspiration and new photographs about our new living place.

I’ll be back for sure! Will you? :-)

Isn’t this a good way to start a new year?? We are very excited, both hubby and I – so stay tuned please!

The Beach and a Great Restaurant

Dog’s Beach – Louie’s Backyard

OK, its a small chunk of beach right beside Louie's Backyard, but its a great place to let your dog swim. You will meet many locals who bring their pets for a daily swim. This land is city owned and cleaned only by the responsible pet owners who use it - so remember to clean up after your dog and maybe after someone else who forgot :-) !

NOTE: Louie's Backyard bar called the Afterdeck is pet friendly up until 5pm when dinner is served. This is my favorite Sunday afternoon cocktail hangout! Enjoy!

Read more about here

Louie's Backyard or The Afterdeck

Nestled amid blooming bougainvillea on a lush slice of the Gulf, Louie's remains one of the most romantic restaurants on earth. Famed chef Norman Van Aiken of Norman's in Miami brought his talents farther south and started what has become one of the finest dining spots in the Keys. As a result, this is one of the hardest places to score a reservation: Either call way in advance or hope that your hotel concierge has some pull. After dinner, sit at the dockside bar and watch the waves crash, almost touching your feet, while enjoying a cocktail at sunset. You can't go wrong with the fresh catch of the day, or any seafood dish, for that matter. The weekend brunches are also great. If you can't stay for dinner, go for lunch; this is one dining experience you won't want to miss.

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A visit to the Beach

A visit to the Beach

Higgs Beach in Old Town Key West is a favorite hangout for locals. Although it is probably not the best swimming beach on the island, it has all the other nostalgic charm of a laid back Key West setting. There are beach chair and umbrella rentals available. There is also a bar and restaurant on the beach, volleyball courts, grills for cookouts,
famous sunning pier and free tennis courts.

The Old 7 Miles Bridge - Pigeon Key

Pigeon Key - Cayo Paloma

On old Spanish charts, Pigeon Key was known as Cayo Paloma (dove or white pigeon). Many believe this 5.31-acre island located beneath the Old Seven Mile Bridge, just west of Marathon, was named after the white-crowned pigeon of the Florida Keys.

Nobody had much use for Pigeon Key until Henry Flagler needed it to complete the Seven Mile Bridge, which was part of the Florida East Coast Railroad . At that time, the bridge was known as "Knights Key-Pigeon Key-Moser Channel-Pacet Channel Bridge".

Work began on the island in the spring of 1909, and by the beginning of 1912, it held four bunkhouses, each designed to hold 64 men; an engineering/office building, which also held sleeping quarters for the men who worked there; and numerous tents set up over wooden floors on stilts for the laborers. Food was good and plentiful and strict cleanliness was the law.

Originally, the design for the portion of the Seven Mile Bridge in the Pigeon Key area called for it to be a rock-filled causeway, as the water in the area was shallow enough to build it that way. Of course, the final decision was to make the entire span a bridge.

When the railroad was completed all the way to Key West in 1912, Pigeon Key was transformed from a construction camp into a bridge tender maintenance camp. Some of the original buildings were replaced with more permanent structures, some of them homes. In an attempt to attract and keep more married personnel, a school was opened in 1923. A post office was established the same year and remained open for 10 years. After the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, Pigeon Key became the southern base for rescue, relief, and evacuation operations.

As a result of the damage to the Overseas Railroad caused by the 1935 hurricane, the railroad bridges were transformed to the roadbed for part of the new Overseas Highway . Pigeon Key was headquarters for the construction of this roadway, which was a toll road until 1954. After the tollbooths were dismantled, land title for Pigeon Key was transferred to Monroe County.

In 1960, Hurricane Donna damaged two of the buildings so much that it was decided to burn them down. A few years later, the University of Miami leased the land for a marine biology project. This lease was cancelled in 1987.

In 1992, the Pigeon Key Foundation was formed as a joint venture between the Monroe County Environmental Education Task Force and the Mote Marine Laboratory of Sarasota, Florida, and a 30-year lease was granted. Today, seven historic structures remain alongside a few more structures added over the years.

A multi-use educational and meeting facility is housed in the restored Section Gang's Quarters. PKF offices are located in the Assistant Paint Foreman's House. The Assistant Bridge Tender's House now serves as a museum dedicated to the railway and early highway history. The Bridge Worker's Dorm and Negro Quarters have been restored and are used as sleeping quarters. The rest of the historic buildings and the additional structures have all been restored.

The Pigeon Key Foundation, a non-profit organization, has transformed this island and its buildings into a world-class educational center; a place to teach visitors about the splendor of the cultural and natural resources of the Florida Keys, and a nationally recognized concert and event location.

Read more about Pigeon Key here: http://www.floridakeys.com/marathon/pigeonkey.htm

I Love Palm Trees

Somewhere up in the Keys

Dog's beach in Key West

Single palm at Smathers' Beach or the last sunbeams with raising moon

Palm group at Smathers Beach, where I am doing a lot of weddings

Single palm on a hot summer day


I have many of palm tree shots in my archives and I would like to share these pictures with you - I hope you'll enjoy!

The "Blue Lagoon"...

This is one of my favorite pictures and one of my best sellers at the pier, where I'm putting up my little booth (almost) every night - selling my photography to the tourists from all over the world.

I call it "The Blue Lagoon" and you will find these inviting place at Smather's Beach on the Atlantic side.