A Florida Keys Album

Just back from an all-to-brief working vacation in the keys, shooting for a pictorial book called "Florida's Fabulous Historic Places."

The shotlist included sites in both Key West and Islamorada, so I got a room inbetween, in Marathon. I'd intended to stay at the Hidden Harbor Motel, a quaint combination hostelry and sea turtle hospital, but Hurricane Wilma put the motel part out of commission, most likely for good. So I stayed at the cheap, cheerful Yellowtail Inn. It was quiet and comfortable until the last night, when the Fraternal Order of Water Buffaloes held an impromptu blowout in the next room. Or maybe it was just an earthquake- hard to tell. Thank god for MP3 players.

The first day of the trip was pretty much a washout. As I boarded the 7 Mile Bridge shortly after dawn a heavy squall blew up, pounding the islands for two solid hours, then intermittently the rest of the day. Here's a shot taken that morning, looking north from Spanish Harbor Key, showing the rusted remains of Flagler's Overseas Railway partially obscured by the rain.

The second shot -same subject- was taken that evening, looking southwest from Bahia Honda State Park.

Once the storm let up, everything was Jake. I'll add more shots and text over the next several days.