66. 48 Hours in Key West: Breakfast, Butterflies and Beaches (and the Southernmost Point)

WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:10.720
The Shark Deck. I'm Johnny mc
and travel is back. Welcome to Part

2
00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:14.839
four of Key West road Trip.
In episode one, we made the drive

3
00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:19.120
from Miami to key West. Episode
two, it was sunset at Mallory Square.

4
00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:21.960
Last week we walked up and down
and checked out all the bars.

5
00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:26.199
Today we're at the southernmost point in
the contiguous United States. That we're gonna

6
00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:28.760
hit the Butterfly House and then we're
gonna hit a couple of beaches. What

7
00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:34.320
a wonderful Saturday afternoon at key West. Good morning. It is a beautiful

8
00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:38.119
Saturday morning and Key West temperature probably
around the seventeen. The sun is out,

9
00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:41.399
and so were the roosters. Just
walking down the street, which is

10
00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:46.000
past the Southernmost Cafe. And here's
the southernmost surf shop right next to the

11
00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:49.600
Lobster Shock. And we're making our
way to the southernmost point. So we're

12
00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:53.520
now walking up to line up to
take our touristy picture with the marker of

13
00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:57.880
the southernmost part content to the United
States. Gotta do it. Line's only

14
00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:00.880
about twelve deep, not too bad. Marker reads public ninety miles to Cuba,

15
00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:04.000
southernmost Point. Content enough of the
USA Key West, Florida, home

16
00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:08.319
of the sunset. Nice etiquet here
whoever is the second online takes the photo

17
00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:19.239
for the person who wants it to
pass your camera backward. Very nice,

18
00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:25.840
Thanks a lot, awesome. You
need what's taken paid forward? Good?

19
00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:30.959
You're good, all right, Thanks
everybody. Plaque October tenth, nineteen ninety

20
00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:33.959
three, In honor of the generosity
of the people of the United States of

21
00:01:33.959 --> 00:01:37.400
America. It's the people of Cuba. This memorial is dedicated in honor to

22
00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:41.159
the thousands of Cubans that have lost
their lives to see looking for freedom and

23
00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:46.760
social justice in this great melting pot
America, the leader of democracy. It's

24
00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:53.159
the second plaque kind of washed out. Here's the cable hut right next to

25
00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.840
the Marker concrete structure built on the
mainland, transported by Flagler's Railroad to its

26
00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:00.319
current location in nineteen seventeen. It's
perfect was to protect the connection between the

27
00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:05.239
land line and the one hundred twenty
five mile long underwater telegraph cable lines.

28
00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:10.159
Thinking Key West and at Manna,
I just got distracted. I found out

29
00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:15.680
walk away, Let's leap through the
beach. Welcome to de ball Pocket Park.

30
00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:19.719
Wow, that's this. Yeah,
this looks amazing. Okay, you've

31
00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:28.120
got the Miles zero Fest the Southernmost
Beach Cafe. We might have to eat

32
00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.879
here. Yeah, this does look
good. We have found a really cool

33
00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:36.120
looking coffee shop right on the water. You can imagine. It's crowded.

34
00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:38.680
There's a menu. They sell pancakes. I'm in. I'm not gonna find

35
00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:44.719
a much better location. So the
mile zero Fest is actually here today when

36
00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:46.360
I'm here, So if I come
back at twelve twenty, Johnny Chops is

37
00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:51.759
playing Somo Beach one forty three bagwell
three o'clock to damn quails. By the

38
00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.360
time you're hearing this, you missed
it. Good morning too, please Thanks

39
00:02:55.759 --> 00:03:01.120
here at the Southernmost Beach Cafe,
a little early drinking peanut colata fifteen bucks.

40
00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:07.680
Not at nine in the morning.
I'm going to get the pancakes chocolate

41
00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:12.479
chip thirteen Bucks. It's also twenty
four hour French chast was my jam?

42
00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:29.240
No pun this works. Good morning. Do you have a nice coffee?

43
00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:38.319
Okay? Is that a right?
Or yeah? Oh great, great?

44
00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:42.840
Thanks? You have to go to
the Yeah, to the coffee shop there.

45
00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:50.400
Hi, Good morning, You're like
a stealth Starbucks didn't notice Ventis coffee.

46
00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:55.000
Please thanks good. I vote heavy
yes on the Southernmost Beach Cafe.

47
00:03:55.800 --> 00:04:00.719
I like everything is southernmost, southern
Most, southernmost. We made our way

48
00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:04.680
to devolish me in the daytime.
No drunks he had at ten thirty in

49
00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:17.079
the morning. Rooster's one drunk,
zero up butterfly Place. I mean,

50
00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:21.720
destiny has brought us to the butterfly
place. We have to go right.

51
00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:25.839
So for everybody in line, I
have a cell phone, please try it

52
00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:30.000
onto silence. Please do not read
crab or touch any of the birds,

53
00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:33.000
plants, whoever's more butterflies. If
our plans on things, you enjoy the

54
00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:39.079
experience. If you're not fucking won't
handle them. Please take all the pictures

55
00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:45.639
and video you like while you're in
that. Every conscience except Antarctica, and

56
00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:54.560
over seven hundred tons of butterflies in
most cases. How butterfly's life is very

57
00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:58.959
short, lasting for me a few
weeks. But from the first day to

58
00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:05.319
the last it is my street at
one beer. Yeah, let's do it.

59
00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:19.519
Thank you. Amazing this one right
there. I love this. Yeah,

60
00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.160
this is my favorite. One of
my first things in Australia. I

61
00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:29.160
watch that guy there so This is
amazing. It's just greenery and butterflies everywhere.

62
00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:32.000
It was fifteen dollars to get in. I did this in Australia.

63
00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:35.000
It was my favorite thing there.
They'll land on you. It's cool.

64
00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:55.360
This is just beautiful. I even
love the sounds now, it's amazing.

65
00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:00.639
This is just amazing. The Flamingos
are Ret and Scarlet born two fourteen twelve,

66
00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:04.319
one of the oldest bird families.
Flamingos date back fifty million years.

67
00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:09.360
We lived twenty to thirty years in
the wild, sixty years when kept in

68
00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:15.120
captivity. Wow, it's mating season, so Rhetts is trying to get Scarlett's

69
00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:19.800
attention. Interesting. It's also a
plate of food with a watermelon and a

70
00:06:19.800 --> 00:06:29.079
banana. I guess that's what butterfly
is eat and a lemon peel. It's

71
00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:34.160
just pretty good bunch. Yeah,
it's really awesome. That was the Butterfly

72
00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:40.839
Place. The Key West Butterfly Nature
Conservatory twenty anniversary established January twenty fifth,

73
00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.600
two thousand and three. We just
missed the twenty anniversary by a couple of

74
00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:47.439
days. Heavy Yes on this open
nine to five thirty fifteen bucks. Gonna

75
00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:57.720
make you smile, do it?
From its cleared turquoise waters to beautiful sandy

76
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.920
beaches and tropical vegetation. Higgs b
offers a Civil War era Fort Fort West

77
00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:05.639
Mortello, home of the Key West
Garden Club. It's also a beachside cafe,

78
00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:11.120
the African Refugee Memorial and Burial site, and aids memorial. Activities at

79
00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:15.759
Higgs Beach include swimming, snorkeling,
sunbathing, beach volleyball, tennis, pickle

80
00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:18.920
ball, and a children's playground.
Higgs Beach Park also hosts the only shore

81
00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:23.439
accessible underwater marine park in the United
States and is at the end of the

82
00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:28.319
Florida Overseas Heritage Trail, one of
only thirty one nationally designated All American highways

83
00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:30.839
in the United States. A beach
concessionaire. They'll brank you some chairs,

84
00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.360
umbrella's, kayaks, paddle boards,
whatever you need. I did not make

85
00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:40.279
it to Dry Tortugas National Park.
That's seventy miles west of Key West.

86
00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:43.439
Yeah, well, how do you
get there by boat or seaplane? I

87
00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:46.399
just didn't have the time. But
the extra effort is definitely worth it.

88
00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:48.959
The beach is stunning. There's an
old military forts explore. There are plenty

89
00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:53.439
places to spread out for picnic.
There are four areas of the park designated

90
00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.920
for swimming, and it's one of
the best spots to see fish in all

91
00:07:57.040 --> 00:07:59.680
of Key West if you want to
go snorkeling. And this is what I

92
00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:03.000
would have done if I had another
day there. But I did make it

93
00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:05.959
to Higgs Beach a little before noon. Out of Saturday. We've made our

94
00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:11.680
way to Higgs Beach. Free parking
at least I hope I don't see any

95
00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.600
sides. I think we're good here
all right, Higgs Beaches, two volleyball

96
00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:24.879
courts player myself, enjoy that nice
white sands, proper bathroom, silly always

97
00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:30.879
key It's a public beach. It's
great. It's not a nice little beach

98
00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:39.039
cafe. Have some lunch while it
will look into sand. Pretty good volleyball

99
00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:45.759
game going. I'm usual to get
in. It's nice little playground here.

100
00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:48.960
All day we did much better than
the forecast was supposed to be. It

101
00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.039
was supposed to be cloudy and breeze. This is a light breeze. This

102
00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:56.960
is not the windy that we thought
it was going to be. And sunny

103
00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:03.799
hounds showing the beach for a little
bits. I've been in the water twice.

104
00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:09.919
Now air it tampature. Good value. Just water is slightly colder than

105
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.320
the air. But seriously, walk
right in all the way up to your

106
00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.360
neck. Doesn't even think twice about
it. There was this cool pelican here.

107
00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:20.919
I'm looking for the pelican. I
guess he took off. I was

108
00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:22.559
hanging out of the beach and this
pelican landing in the shallow part of the

109
00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:26.759
water and wrote a waving kind of
got a little toss, and then he

110
00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:31.720
was just hanging out on the beach. This is really fantastic for a public

111
00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:35.320
beach. Nice clean, proper bathroom
of silities, volleyball courts, playground,

112
00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:43.759
sometimes a pelican. I'm gonna walk
over here around this corner. See what's

113
00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:48.200
over here. So I think they
did a really good job on this beach.

114
00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:52.080
I went around the corner and the
wind is whipping. But here's a

115
00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:56.080
bit of a brick wall on the
park on top of it. They're probably

116
00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:58.879
built up here and built this brick
wall to break the wind, which makes

117
00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:03.039
beach just not have that strong breeze
coming across. It makes a huge difference.

118
00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:09.480
Wow, looking the other way here, this is a pier actually went

119
00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:13.919
from the ocean and walked up the
stairs, the stairs leading into the water,

120
00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:16.879
and went up on the pier.
It's metal pier, not the most

121
00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:22.440
barefoot friendly thing. We have shoes. I'm sure it's pretty awesome. So

122
00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.279
I went back in and went back
to the beach. But it's not a

123
00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:26.799
thing you check out here at the
beach. I'm gonna put the record away

124
00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:30.480
and go catch them sand No.
Catch up with you guys in a bit.

125
00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:35.200
So we had a great time at
Higgs Beach, and then we wanted

126
00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:39.960
to check out Smathers Beach, which
was much windier. I did record audio

127
00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:43.399
there, but I feel like the
audio is unusable for the podcast. You're

128
00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:48.399
just gonna hear the wind drowning me
out. Smathers Beach is the largest public

129
00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:52.720
beach. It's about half a mile
long. It's located on the island's south

130
00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:56.240
side along the Atlantic Ocean and State
Road A one A. It begins at

131
00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:58.960
mile marker zero. There you will
find beach, volleyball, jet ski rental

132
00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:03.480
bathrooms. That's always good to know. Volleyball courts. Marking is five dollars

133
00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:09.240
an hour. But what I did
is I went down to the eastern end

134
00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:13.120
and it was like just past the
meters and then we walked back to the

135
00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:16.879
eastern edge of Smathers And let me
tell you about this dog. I became

136
00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:18.320
obsessed with this dog. I'm sitting
there with my daughter, I'm just listening

137
00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:22.080
to music whatever, and this dog
it's just like hanging out on the beach

138
00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:24.519
and I'm like, this dog is
awesome. And he's hanging out with somebody

139
00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:28.200
else's blanket, and then he comes
over to us and I'm like, oh,

140
00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.759
this dog is so awesome, but
he doesn't seem to be with anybody.

141
00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:35.240
And I started feeling really, really
worried for the dog. It's like

142
00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:39.240
the friendliest dog you could ever meet. Then another dog came by, and

143
00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.639
this friendly dog went over to say
hi to the other dog, and they

144
00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:43.519
went off with some other blankets.
And I'm looking at him, like,

145
00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:48.360
is this a homeless dog? And
I'm telling you, if I had been

146
00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:50.600
home, I would have tried to
rescue this dog. But I'm like,

147
00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:52.879
I'm eleven hundred miles from home,
and I rented the car and I got

148
00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:56.519
a plane, and I can't do
anything for this dog. And I caught

149
00:11:56.519 --> 00:12:00.720
myself down and I was like,
all right, this dog clearly is healthy

150
00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.279
and happy and eating. It was
not like a skinny stray dog. And

151
00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:07.480
it's probably better off just living on
the beach doing whatever it's doing every day.

152
00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:11.080
It's seventy five and sunny, and
it seems happy. Better that than

153
00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:13.519
me calling somebody and it winds up
in a cage and a shelter, and

154
00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:18.840
then who knows what happens. So
I left the dog there and we went

155
00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:20.759
home, and I kept thinking about
the dog, and the next thing I

156
00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:22.000
was thinking about the dog, and
I had a picture of the dog,

157
00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:24.879
and I went on the Key West
Lost and Found site and I posted a

158
00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:28.279
picture of the dog and boy,
within five minutes, people were like,

159
00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.759
no, that's we're over the dog. We know that dog. The owner

160
00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:37.559
is out windsurfing, so a really
happy Nala. The dog has a cool

161
00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:39.919
owner, cool dog, love you
and be boy. That would have been

162
00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:43.639
awful if I'd try to rescue the
dog. The dog had no collar,

163
00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:46.000
had no idea. I mean,
well, anyway, I didn't steal the

164
00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:48.480
dog, and the dog isn't homeless, so the story ends well, the

165
00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:52.960
dog is happy and as a windsurfing
owner. One more place. I did

166
00:12:52.039 --> 00:12:56.480
not make it to Fort Zachary Taylor
Historic State Park on the southern edge of

167
00:12:56.559 --> 00:13:01.080
key West. Fort Taylor predates the
Civil War and is a National Historic monument

168
00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:07.080
housing the largest cash of Civil War
armament in the world. You can walk

169
00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:11.320
the RedBrick orders of Fort Zachary Taylor
pass cannons and gunboards. On the third

170
00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:16.639
weekend of each month, local reenactors
conduct historic at demonstrations. All right,

171
00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:20.360
next time we're gonna get Cuban food
and we're gonna hit the nightlife again.

172
00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.919
Had a really great time Saturday night
and Key West. So follow the show

173
00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:28.039
for free on Apple, podcast,
Spotify, wherever you get your shows.

174
00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:35.159
And I'm meeting here next week.
Did you know you can name a cockroach

175
00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:37.360
after your ex lover and have it
fed to the animals at the zoo.

176
00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:41.879
Hi, I'm Johnny Mack with Five
Good News Stories. It's a podcast twice

177
00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:46.480
a week where I tell you five
good news stories, five fluffy stories.

178
00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:48.120
I just want to make you smile
to start your day. I can tell

179
00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:52.200
you about a cat and a rabbit
that fell in love, or I can

180
00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:54.639
tell you how Porto potties are about
to be a lot less horrible. What

181
00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:58.120
kind of show is this? It's
called Five Good News Stories. The number

182
00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:03.080
five Good news Stories. Follow it, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, wherever

183
00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:05.440
you get your shows. Five number
five five good news Stories.