Checking Key West Off Our Bucket List

We spent the last two weeks travelling from Virginia to the Florida Keys and back. Our ultimate destination was Key West and, while we enjoyed our three days there, I'm not in a hurry to go back. The Keys are a coral beach and they have to import their sand. There are lots of stones and few sea shells although I did pick up a sponge on the beach. I decided not to take it in the car. Sponges have a reputation for really stinking.

What I liked best about our visit to Key West was the time we spent at Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church. They have a perpetual adoration chapel which is lovely and we stopped to say our rosary and then visit the gardens and grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes. The Church is the second oldest in Florida (I think the first is St. Augustine) and it was recently raised to basilica status, the fifth in Florida.

While we enjoyed walking around in shirt sleeves for our trip, I'm not sold on becoming snow birds. I kind of like cold weather. For one thing, it makes one really appreciate those unseasonal warm days that come as little mid-winter surprises. Besides, Florida is filled with old, and I mean really old, people. We went to Mass at one church and among about five hundred worshipers, I saw ONE elementary age child with an older teen I presume was his brother. Now CCD was the next day, but still that has to be a record. We certainly have more children at our vigil mass in our tiny parish than that. So we'll happily stick with our Virginia winters. It really is my favorite place of all. No matter where I go, Virginia is home.