Before Chris Robinson became a Lower Keys fishing guide, he co-owned the All-Breeds Hot Dog Pound, tended bar for some 20 years at Key West’s landmark Chart Room and Louie’s Backyard, and shared adventures with Jimmy Buffett and other notables.

As a young Key West bartender in the 1970s and early '80s, Chris met writers, actors and musicians fleeing the “real world.” (Photos courtesy of Chris Robinson)

In fact, when Chris arrived in Key West in 1972, the 24-year-old from St. Augustine, Fla., found himself in a renegade seaport town. Politicos ran the government largely from the Chart Room Bar (where Chris captured a coveted bartending job), hobbyist pot smugglers were admired as romantic outlaws, and local treasure hunters drank rum with Pulitzer Prize–winning escapees from the literary mainstream.

Tall and spare, with long hair and a luxuriant moustache, Chris displays a storyteller’s wit, easygoing attitude and lively enjoyment of the absurd. During his early Key West years, those traits served him well in an offbeat venture begun with buddy Tommy Hicks.

“We opened the world-famous All-Breeds Hot Dog Pound on Greene Street,” said Chris. “Our motto was We Relish Your Buns.”

The business didn’t last long, but old-time Key Westers still wax nostalgic about the “pound’s” juicy hot dogs nestled in soft Cuban rolls.

At that time, Key West’s ramshackle charm and end-of-the-road atmosphere made it a magnet for writers, actors and musicians fleeing the “real world.” Among them were novelist and poet Jim Harrison, “Ninety-two in the Shade” author Tom McGuane and struggling singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who later memorialized the Key West lifestyle in song and earned enduring fame.

Chris (at left holding a freshly-caught permit) eventually became a Keys fishing guide.

“He was not a star then,” said Chris. “He used to sit with his little guitar and amp and play in the Chart Room.”

The two became friends when Buffett moved into the oceanfront apartment above Chris’s beside a bar and restaurant named Louie’s Backyard.

By 1986, Chris was tending bar at the Afterdeck at Louie’s, an open-air cocktail deck on the edge of the Atlantic, whose clientele combined local fishermen, upscale tourists and visiting celebrities. It was a position he would hold for 18 years.

Yet while he enjoyed the Keys’ partying pursuits, Chris also was drawn to life on the water. An angler since his childhood, he bought a boat shortly after arriving in Key West and learned flats fishing tips from Tom McGuane.

In action on the Florida Keys flats, Chris guides anglers to tarpon, bonefish, permit, barracuda and the occasional shark.

Eventually he got his captain’s license and began guiding. In 2004, he retired from Louie’s Backyard and began chartering full time on his 18-foot Action Craft, fishing the flats for tarpon, bonefish, permit, barracuda and the occasional shark. He called his business Big Kahuna Charters.

Unlike some of his contemporaries, Chris enjoys guiding novice anglers as much as he does seasoned pros.

Poling through the shallows, he also shares his love of the diverse and vibrant Keys environment with his clients — pointing out sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, stingrays and manatees.

“I tell people it’s an eco-tour with a chance to catch a fish,” said Chris.

It might be a long road from the bartending high life to the natural realm of the flats, but Chris Robinson has traveled it with grace — and few regrets.

Some years back, while guiding a Chicago office worker on a February fishing escape, he realized just how lucky he was.

“It was about 80 degrees, the water had three different colors and the sky was that big, high-pressure clear deep blue,” said Chris, “and he looks at me and he goes, ‘Nice office’.”

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Florida Keys, Highlights, Key West, Keys Environment, Local Color, On the Water, Profiles

Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? In Key West, nobody. And while Key West’s Wolf is certainly big, it’s only bad in the slang sense, where “bad” means seriously terrific.

The Schooner Wolf under full sail is a magnificent reminder of Key West's seafaring heritage. (Photo courtesy of the Schooner Wolf)

That’s because Key West’s “wolf” is the 74-foot gaff-rigged topsail Schooner Wolf, a majestic tall ship that’s been headquartered in the island city for some 25 years.

The flagship of the Keys’ Conch Republic, the Wolf is patterned after the 19th-century blockade runners that once plied the waters of the Florida Straits. The classic schooner has appeared in several movies, stars in Key West’s annual Pirates in Paradise festival, and is renowned for its humanitarian relief sails to needy Caribbean and Bahamian island communities.

But the Wolf is most notable for something else entirely: its owner and skipper, Captain Finbar Gittelman.

Captain Finbar Gittelman, a master seafarer with a roguish sense of humor, is the builder and skipper of the Wolf. (Photo by Rob O'Neal)

The epitome of an old salt, Captain Finbar bears a slightly unnerving resemblance to the wicked Barbossa in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” He has lived in Key West since the early 1970s and built his classic schooner in the early 1980s.

As admiral-in-chief of the Keys’ picturesque Conch Republic Navy, Finbar presides over the navy’s yearly sea battle with “federal invaders” — a highlight of the annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration. (By a strange coincidence, the navy ALWAYS wins). He’s also a legendary pirate king who, with his lady Julie McEnroe (a.k.a. Blossom), oversees Key West’s rollicking Pirates in Paradise festival.

However, there’s more to the captain than the personas he assumes with devil-may-care enthusiasm. In 1980 Finbar survived a deadly Caribbean hurricane at sea, spending three harrowing days in a tiny life raft after the ship he was piloting sank in the storm.

Shortly before the Wolf's departure for Haiti, volunteers load a portion of more than 10 tons of relief supplies destined for earthquake victims. (Photo by Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau)

He has since sailed the Wolf on several missions of mercy after hurricanes and other natural disasters, carrying cargoes of relief supplies to desperate people in stricken Caribbean regions.

On Feb. 20, the Wolf departed Key West’s Historic Seaport for earthquake-ravaged Haiti, carrying more than 10 tons of food, water, medicine, tools and other supplies donated by Florida Keys residents and businesses.

Finbar and Julie expect the crossing to Haiti to take between five and seven days. Their final destination is a remote coastal area not accessible to larger relief ships, where members of the local fishing fleet will paddle their dugout canoes out to meet the schooner.

As the Wolf sets sail for Haiti Feb. 20, Finbar blows the conch horn in farewell while Julie waves goodbye to friends on the dock. (Photo by Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Not only will the Wolf bring these people lifesaving supplies — it also carries the good wishes of hundreds of Keys residents, and a part of the island chain’s vital spirit.

“People keep asking me why we’re doing this, and my answer is simple,” said Finbar. “We’re islanders, and we need to take care of our fellow islanders.”

So raise a glass in salute to the Wolf, to Finbar and Julie and the rest of the Haiti-bound crew. May they find fair winds and smooth seas, and a safe journey home.

Topics: Florida Keys, Highlights, Key West, Keys History, Local Color, On the Water, Profiles

The Loch Ness Monster spent the winter in Key West a couple of years ago.

Actually, a lot of celebrities have wintered on the subtropical island where daytime temps in January and February generally exceed 70 degrees.

New York artist Cameron Gainer settles the Loch Ness Monster into its winter home in a Key West pond at the beginning of the 2008 Sculpture Key West exhibition. (Photo by Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Robert Frost, for one — the renowned poet abandoned New England for a cottage on Key West’s Caroline Street each winter from 1945 to 1960.

But until a couple of years ago, though Key Westers had seen plenty of snowbirds flocking to the southernmost city to escape the northern cold, they’d never seen anything like the Loch Ness Monster.

Nessie journeyed south on a boat trailer with New York artist Cameron Gainer, who was participating in the 2008 Sculpture Key West exhibition. The annual juried exhibition features work in many types of traditional and experimental media, displayed beside the island’s Civil War-era forts and public gardens — and in several other “surprise” locations around Key West.

Nessie, who turned out to be quite a surprise indeed, was destined for a winter home in a local pond at the entrance to Key West’s picturesque Old Town. But installing the 12-foot by 12.5-foot foam-and-fiberglass monster in the pond was no easy task.

Nessie isn't the only sculpted creature to visit Key West during the annual Sculpture Key West display. Here, artist Doug Makemson introduces "Henry," a nine-foot steel dog that starred in a previous exhibition. (Photo courtesy of Sculpture Key West)

Cameron was inspired to create Nessie by a 1934 photo that supposedly showed its humped back and long curving neck rising out of Scotland’s Loch Ness. To settle the monster in its warm-water winter home, he donned a wetsuit and jumped into the pond to guide the installation.

A Bobcat tractor, a small floating platform and a thick rope “leash” were required in the effort, which drew double-takes and laughter from passing drivers.

For the rest of that winter, much to the delight of absurdity-loving locals, Nessie startled unsuspecting passersby as they entered the historic Old Town district.

The 2010 Sculpture Key West exhibition doesn’t feature any legendary monsters — but that’s perfectly okay, because it includes plenty of other intriguing examples of artistry.

A sailboat is framed by the wood sculpture "Forest of Souls" on display at Sculpture Key West 2010. The wooden hoop by artist Jonathan Schork is composed of buttonwood, Brazilian pepper and Australian pine branches. (Photo by Rob O'Neal/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Thirty-some artists hailing from Paris, Berlin and 11 American states are showcasing their work in three venues at this year’s exhibition: the waterfront grounds of Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, the tranquil and inspiring home of the Key West Garden Club at West Martello Tower, and the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden near the entrance to Key West.

Favorite sculptures include an 18-foot-tall wooden hoop-shaped memorial, a commentary on consumerism crafted out of recycled plastic bags, and an interactive “musical chairs” installation made (believe it or not) from discarded brass instruments that people can actually play.

At all three locations, the sculptures will remain on display through April 16.

Take a tip from a longtime Keys local who’s seen many previous Sculpture Key West exhibitions — Nessie might not be lurking around, but even so this is a “monstrously” good show. If you’re in the Keys, don’t miss it!

Topics: Animal Ambassadors, Arts, Festivals, Florida Keys, Key West, Keys Quirks, Local Color

Harry Truman slept in a double bed in Key West in a room that, by day, was warmed by the subtropical sun. Close to his bed was the simple desk where he wrote daily letters to his wife Bess. Downstairs, on a sun porch overlooking a broad sweep of lawn, stood his discreetly-covered poker table.

Harry Truman's former "little White House" in Key West is now a world-renowned museum. (Photos courtesy of the Little White House Museum)

Harry Truman could relax in Key West. From 1946 to 1952 he spent 11 working vacations on the island — taking brisk morning walks, playing poker, swimming and fishing, and making some of the most important decisions of his presidency.

Truman first visited Key West when his doctor ordered rest to fight a bad cold. Entranced by the island, he quickly adopted the one-time commandant’s quarters on the Key West naval station as his “little White House.”

Today, that West Indian structure is a noteworthy American historic site known as the Harry S. Truman Little White House Museum.

Florida’s only presidential museum, it’s located on the former Navy base in an enclave now called Truman Annex. There, visitors can tour airy, comfortable rooms that look much as they did in Harry’s day, listening to guides tell tales of his presidency and Key West sojourns.

During his Key West sojourns, Truman made momentous decisions and conducted important meetings away from the pressures of Washington.

The house’s easygoing atmosphere offers no hint of the momentous issues decided there. According to Bob Wolz, the museum’s executive director, it’s believed that Truman decided to adopt the Marshall Plan to aid postwar Europe while he was in Key West — as well as deciding to relieve General Douglas MacArthur of his command and to forego running for reelection.

Bob should know. Seemingly born to nurture and guide the Little White House, he’s a passionate historian and an expert on all things Truman. He even co-wrote a book about Harry’s Key West years.

The end of those years certainly didn’t mark the end of the Little White House’s role in politics. Since then, the house has hosted former presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter and Clinton — and even the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan during a historic four-day peace conference.

The Little White House has also hosted other former presidents and political leaders -- including Bill and Hillary Clinton, seen here chatting with the museum's guiding spirit Bob Wolz.

Last May, a rededication ceremony commemorated a seven-year, nearly million-dollar research-intensive restoration that brought even greater historical authenticity to Harry’s one-time headquarters.

For example, all the interior walls were repainted to match the 1949 colors revealed by a detailed paint analysis, and the foyer’s original wallpaper was recreated and hung. The living room draperies and upholstery were replaced with fabric that matched the original, located after an Internet search.

The restoration team even found (and had reproduced) 18 oil paintings and prints that were displayed in the 1949 Little White House. Outside, the Truman gardens were replicated based on site plans and their appearance in vintage photographs.

Even small details weren’t overlooked. Volunteers searched industriously until they found and obtained duplicates of the lamps that graced Harry and Bess Truman’s bedside tables — and flower arrangements were recreated from photographs showing the rooms in the late 1940s.

Today, visitors to the Little White House seemingly step back in time to view the property just as the late president did.

Each May, the museum co-hosts a Key West symposium that examines Truman’s legacy.

During the opening reception on the grounds, attendees can hear nationally recognized speakers and meet VIPs like former Truman aide Ken Hechler, who later became West Virginia’s secretary of state. In past years, many reception guests have chatted with the late president’s grandson Clifton Truman Daniel.

Not surprisingly, he seems right at home in the Little White House his grandfather loved.

Topics: Florida Keys, Highlights, Key West, Keys History

There are bars in Key West that open and close in a season, with no one realizing they’ve been there at all. And there are bars that almost effortlessly make a place for themselves in island history, that live on in the collective memory forever, their characteristics affectionately exaggerated with the years. The Full Moon Saloon was a bar of the latter sort.

Sid Snelgrove (left) and Vic Latham were the guiding spirits behind the legendary Full Moon. (Photo by Richard Watherwax)

The Full Moon opened its doors to the rowdy, raucous Key West of the late 1970s, and it could never have succeeded without owners Vic Latham and Sid Snelgrove. Big men with lived-in faces, they dispensed drinks and careless hospitality while carefully asking no questions of their patrons. Although they were joined by other managers in time, and even other partners, Vic and Sid were the Moon’s guiding force.

Key West in the late 70s and early 80s was a magnet for adventurers of all sorts — whether they were transporting dubious substances, heading for Afghanistan in search of a story for “Esquire,” or seeking the treasure of the Spanish Main. As the Moon’s popularity grew, its freewheeling atmosphere made it a natural gathering place for people in such irregular professions.

Ultimately, the Full Moon Saloon came to exemplify a wry, raffish, outlaw era in Key West. Over the years, it was mentioned in more than 20 novels and the pages of “Playboy,” “Esquire,” “Mad Magazine,” “Rolling Stone,” “People” and “National Lampoon.” Its patrons included gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson, poet Jim Harrison, “pirate laureate” Jimmy Buffett, and novelists Bob Stone and John Leslie and Phil Caputo.

In my mind, the Full Moon Saloon will always be associated with Phil Clark. He introduced me to the place half a lifetime ago, when I was a shy 22-year-old naive in the ways of the world. A larger-than-life character who had then been on the island for more than a decade, he not only imbibed and socialized at the bar, but also used its convenient pay phone for low-voiced conversations about questionable enterprises.

Phil Clark, whose life inspired Jimmy Buffett's "A Pirate Looks at Forty," was a regular patron of the Full Moon Saloon. (Photo © 2009 Tom Corcoran from the book “Jimmy Buffett — the Key West Years”)

Immortalized by Buffett in “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” Phil was one of the daring Keys renegades who always seemed on the brink of metamorphosing into a living legend. Seeking adventure, he had tried almost every hazardous occupation known to man — from mercenary soldier to gentleman smuggler to New York City advertising executive. The last, it must be said, gave him the largest twinges of conscience.

He and his cohorts drank at the Moon, argued about philosophy at the Moon, held uproarious birthday parties at the Moon and even, on occasion, dozed off at the big horseshoe-shaped bar.

Years later, when Phil died in Sausalito, donations from the Moon paid for his cremation and brought his ashes home. That’s the kind of place it was.

Like most denizens of the island’s old days, the Moon weathered many changes: moving from its original United Street home to new quarters on Simonton Street, finding its niche in a suddenly chic Key West, struggling to become a “serious” business. Nevertheless, when the 70s scammers evolved into the slightly bewildered survivors of the 90s, the Moon was still the place they went for a generous drink, a well-cooked meal, and a chance to ponder the legacy of their lives.

"Roy's Dead Now," painted by Key West artist Martin Laessig, hung in a place of honor at the Full Moon Saloon.

Yet in July of 1993, the Moon abruptly closed its doors. Sadly, Vic went to Chicago. Sid went to Costa Rica and other faraway locales. The long-time customers scattered.

Tax troubles, some said, led to the Moon’s demise. Others blamed the inexorable march of progress, or the zealous federales who had put much of its regular clientele behind bars of a different sort.

Although the property’s later leaseholders tried to capitalize on the Full Moon’s popularity by opening the “New Moon,” the attempt (predictably) was a failure.

Today, the Moon’s former building on Simonton Street sports pink awnings (!) and houses a wonderful restaurant called Camille’s. All outward traces of the bar are gone.

But that doesn’t matter at all. The essence of the Full Moon Saloon, like the essence of the era that spawned it, remains alive in all of us who were lucky enough to be part of it.

Topics: Highlights, Key West, Keys History, Keys Quirks, Local Color

Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore.

While most visitors to Key West catch on to that fact fairly quickly, the island city’s New Year’s Eve celebration should provide definitive proof for anyone still in doubt.

Sushi, a.k.a. Key West resident Gary Marion, stars in the "drag queen drop" that welcomes the New Year in Key West. (Photos by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Granted, the festivities include a ruby slipper. But instead of adorning Dorothy’s dainty foot, the sparkling shoe is a supersized power pump — and it serves as a chariot for legendary drag queen Sushi.

For more than 10 consecutive years Sushi, otherwise known as Key West resident Gary Marion, has starred in the New Year’s Eve festivities at the Bourbon Street Pub/New Orleans House complex at 724 Duval St. — while perched in a gigantic red high heel suspended high above the street.

This year will be no exception. Seconds before midnight on Dec. 31, the shoe bearing the lavishly gowned and coiffed Sushi will be lowered from the second-story balcony of the complex toward thousands of cheering spectators below.

Sushi reaches the end of her descent to Duval Street during the revelry welcoming 2009.

As midnight strikes and 2010 officially begins, she will land and pop the cork on a ceremonial bottle of champagne.

Even if you can’t make it to Key West this year for America’s southernmost New Year’s Eve celebration, you can still share in Sushi’s “shoe-nanigans” through the magic of cable TV.

In what has become a tradition over the past seven years, CNN plans to be in Key West with correspondent John Zarrella as a facet of the network’s live New Year’s Eve coverage hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin.

While Sushi presides over the revelry from her “throne” in the second-story shoe, the unflappable John Zarrella, a favorite of Key West audiences, will offer street-level commentary.

Appearances on CNN are just one high-profile outlet for the multitalented Sushi. She’s also the leader of an acclaimed troupe of drag performers called the 801 Girls who strut their stuff at the 801 Bourbon Bar on Duval. A skilled costume designer, she’s even been prominently featured in a book titled “Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret.”

CNN correspondent John Zarrella provides live on-air commentary each year from the Key West festivities.

But it’s her role as a New Year’s Eve icon that has earned Sushi the most widespread fame. For starring in the island city’s “drag queen drop” — an offbeat take-off on New York City’s traditional New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square — she has even been mentioned in the “New York Times.”

“I never thought, growing up, that I’d be on television in a giant red heel,” confessed Sushi. “That’s not something that a young kid aspires to. But I’m so thankful that we live in a country that lets us do whatever we want to do as long as we don’t hurt anybody else.”

Topics: Events, Florida Keys, Highlights, Key West, Keys Quirks, Local Color

Sixteen Florida Keys women are giving the term “naturist” a new meaning — proving their commitment to nature and community environmental efforts by posing au naturel for a 2010 fundraising calendar in some of the Keys’ most picturesque green spaces.

The "Women Sustaining the Earth" calendar showcases the Keys' natural beauty and its models' environmental commitment. (Photo by Sheelman)

The models for the calendar, titled “Women Sustaining the Earth,” are not typical cover girls. Their chronological ages range from 44 to 78, though their grace is timeless, and the calendar combines their images with thought-provoking statements on nature and the environment.

Among the women who posed for the project are hotelier Kate Miano, proprietor of Key West’s Gardens Hotel, organic restaurant owner Charlie Wilson and former Florida Keys Mayor Shirley Freeman. Some are draped in fabric or foliage, but they all display a comfort in their own skin — plus the courage to put themselves on the line to support the Keys’ natural world.

Calendar model Rosi Ware, one of the guiding spirits behind the Key West Garden Club at West Martello Tower, was photographed in the club's lovely secluded garden. (Photo by Carol Tedesco)

That natural world is one of the calendar’s enduring beauties. Locations for its mostly black-and-white art photographs include Nancy’s Secret Garden, a secluded Key West enclave nurtured by a local artist/environmentalist; the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, home to countless rare trees and plants; the Key West Garden Club’s historic waterfront haven at a former Civil War fort; the lush and lovely grounds of the Gardens Hotel; and a remote locale called Geiger Key that was named to honor a friend of John James Audubon.

The calendar was the brainchild of Erika Biddle, host of the Key West radio show “The ECOcentric View,” who poses with recycling groundbreaker Lucy Carleton on one of its pages. She drew inspiration from a statement, credited to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, that the environmental movement needed to get sexier to garner more participation.

Calendar creator Erika Biddle (left) is pictured in its pages with fellow environmental activist Lucy Carleton. (Photo by Richard Watherwax)

For Erika, the calendar’s elegant sensuality was a means to an end: raising awareness and funds for earth-friendly Keys initiatives. The first printing of 500 calendars, which sold out almost instantly, benefited the local Green Living & Energy Education community garden effort. The second printing benefits the Mana Project, a nonprofit organization striving to sustain Nancy’s Secret Garden.

“The whole calendar is a collaboration of people who are working for a cause,” said Erika. “I’m just trying to connect the green dots.”

Like Erika and the women who posed for the calendar, the photographers who shot them — Carol Tedesco, Richard Watherwax, Lynne Bentley-Kemp and Sheelman — donated their time, energy and passion.

“The women featured in this calendar are each outstanding advocates for planet earth,” said Carol Tedesco, whose goal was to communicate their unique spirit in her photographs.

Find out more about the 2010 “Women Sustaining the Earth” calendar at www.keywestcalendargirls.com — and order one to support Mother Nature and her valiant “daughters” in the Florida Keys.

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Florida Keys, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Keys Environment, Local Color, Marathon

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is renowned for a picnic area shaded by towering Norfolk pines and cooled by ever-present breezes — and a 1,000-foot Atlantic-front beach that Key Westers regard as one of the best-kept secrets on the island.

The beach at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is Key West locals' favorite for its clear Atlantic Ocean waters and near-shore snorkeling.

Snorkeling fans love the park’s relatively deep water and rocky promontories close to shore — which means snorkeling off the beach can bring encounters with tiny, colorful tropical fish that seem eager to make eye contact.

“Fort Zach,” as the place is affectionately called, is a popular site for sunset weddings, remembrance ceremonies and lively picnics. One of the most memorable weddings at the park was set in a shady area overlooking the water. Dolphins played in the bay, an eagle watched the ceremony from the branch of a tall pine, and — I observed this firsthand as a member of the wedding party — a couple of boaters in the channel offshore hollered to the groom (or was it the bride?), “It’s not too late to save yourself! Jump and we’ll pick you up!”

No matter how appealing the park’s recreation and wedding areas are, it’s the fort itself, once nicknamed “Fort Forgotten,” that really makes it unique.

Civil War re-enactors dressed in period clothing demonstrate preparations for battle within the fort walls.

Its construction was begun in 1845, not long after Florida became a state. In 1850, after former President Zachary Taylor died in office, the structure was named in his honor. Work on it proceeded slowly, with setbacks and hardships ranging from materials shortages to yellow fever.

The fort was still unfinished when the Civil War broke out, but nevertheless it served as the home base for a Union blockade of Confederate ships. Though Key West was the southernmost port in the United States, oddly enough it remained in Union hands throughout the war — and scores of blockade-running ships were captured offshore.

In 1866, construction on the fort was finally completed. Surrounded by water and connected to land by a causeway, the three-story structure featured a granite foundation, brick walls five feet thick, and remarkable vaulted ceilings.

Located on the edge of Key West, Fort Zach was built to last, with a granite foundation and brick walls five feet thick.

Fort Taylor later saw duty during the Spanish-American War and both World Wars — but, despite attempts at modernization, advances in weaponry and defense tactics eventually made it obsolete. Unneeded and remote, it fell into disrepair.

In 1968 a restoration effort began, spearheaded by a Key Wester named Howard England. Slowly and carefully, the fort and its armament were excavated — revealing an astonishingly large collection of Civil War cannons.

In 1971, the “forgotten” fort was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two years later, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Today, thousands of people enjoy the park and beach each year. The fort is the site of a popular annual festival that features Civil War re-enactors in authentic camps, re-creations of historic military maneuvers, period merchandise and artisans’ demonstrations of skill.

Military re-enactors stage a sea battle between two historic tall ships in the waters off Fort Zach.

Even pirates and wenches have discovered the place. For the past several years, it has been the setting for a buccaneer encampment, complete with a marketplace and lively revelry, during the annual Pirates in Paradise gathering.

Now far from forgotten, the structure is watched over by a citizens’ support organization known as the Friends of Fort Taylor — and rightfully recognized for the role it played in Key West’s rich history.

Topics: Florida Keys, Highlights, Key West, Keys History

Not long ago, Penn Alexander realized the balance of nature in his Old Town Key West neighborhood was definitely out of whack.

Armando Parra, left, formerly the official chicken catcher of Key West, shows an indigenous fowl to Penn Alexander and a lovely "chick." (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)

One evening, when he was listening to a vintage Eagles CD in his hundred-year-old cottage, Penn glanced down at the plastic cat crate that housed a wounded Key West chicken he’d rescued from a marauding hawk. There on top of the crate snoozed his large gold tabby cat, clearly uninterested in the feathered inhabitant and what should have been their predator/prey relationship.

In Key West, however, most relationships involving chickens transcend traditional boundaries. The island’s indigenous poultry, probably descended from roosters bred generations ago for cockfights and hens kept for eggs, roams historic Old Town at will. Private cars and taxis stop to let chickens and their babies cross the road, visitors coo and cluck as they snap photos of the meandering fowl, and roosters can be heard crowing not just at dawn, but whenever they feel like it.

While most Key Westers accept the chickens as part of the egg-ccentric island they love — and some, like Penn, feed or shelter them — a few anti-poultry proponents claim the population is too noisy and growing too fast.

Joe Liszka, one of the Key Westers who hatched ChickenFest, appears at a city meeting with a feathered friend. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)

In fact, in 2004 city officials hired a chicken catcher to round up and relocate almost half of the city’s estimated 2,000 birds to a mainland farm. Armando Parra, a third-generation island resident, barber and amateur ornithologist, caught eight chickens in humane traps during his first day on the job — but his new career was thwarted by the efforts of poultry lovers, who freed trapped fowl at every opportunity.

The resultant commotion led to (I am not kidding here) a four-day festival that was quickly dubbed ChickenFest — hatched by some local event coordinators to give chicken lovers something to crow about.

Fowl fanciers flocked to participate, dressing in full-body yellow chicken suits and feathered headdresses, covering their noses with vinyl rooster beaks and donning red and yellow plush chicken-head caps.

“The Original Chickens,” the brainchild of a Key West accountant, cavort during the “Fowl Follies” costume competition that took place during ChickenFest Key West. (Photo by Mike Hollar/Florida Keys News Bureau)

The highlight was a Poultry in Motion Parade that featured 10-foot-tall dancing chickens, a Colonel Sanders look-alike, a flock of renegade roosters staging a “coop d’etat” against hapless humans, and a 12-foot “Chicken Caesar” — a toga-wearing rooster reclining on a chariot-drawn chaise and waving a regal wing to parade spectators. In the face of that kind of support, the poultry population’s “hard-boiled” detractors didn’t stand a chance.

Today, although ChickenFest is no longer held, chickens rule the roost in Key West. The island’s hens and roosters have become the subject of oil paintings and watercolors, giant sculptures in neighborhood parks and locally published children’s books.

If you’re seeking chicken companionship during a visit to the island, stop by Key West’s funky Blue Heaven, a renowned eatery whose fans include famed singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett.

Blue Heaven’s  “breakfast with the roosters,” served in an outdoor courtyard where resident hens and chicks wander freely, features items ranging from lobster and shrimp benedicts to sinfully good homemade pancakes and banana bread.

Or, if you know Penn Alexander, just head over to his place. The little hen he rescued, now named Henrietta, has become a pet whose daily treat is a smidgen of cat food filched from Penn’s orange tabby.

The cat doesn’t seem to mind a bit.

Topics: Animal Ambassadors, Events, Festivals, Key West, Keys Quirks, Local Color

I know a lot about fish. I know hogfish is the best tasting fish in the entire universe, particularly when cooked with olive oil, capers and a squeeze of lime. I know dolphin (the fish, not the mammal) should be broiled with garlic, herbs, butter and maybe a dollop of pesto added at the last minute. And I know that, once you’ve tasted tuna salad made with fresh Keys tuna, you’ll never touch the canned stuff again.

Knowing how to "cook the catch" is a valuable skill ... but it leaves you dependent on those whose skills center on catching something for you to cook.

What I don’t know about fish is how to catch them. Fortunately, the Florida Keys are home to a breed of experts who can teach even a novice like me — as this essay by guest blogger Bob Serata, a local journalist and angler, attests.

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Sometimes being around one of the experienced charter captains or backcountry guides of the Florida Keys can be spooky.

Twenty-five miles from shore, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, the captain will call from the bridge, “Get those lines in.” Before long, a dolphin leaps or a wahoo starts its high-speed run.

Deep in the backcountry, on a shallow flat, the guide says, “Relax, the bones won’t be here for another 10 or 15 minutes.” Ten or 15 minutes later, three schools of bonefish cruise by.

Captain Sandy Moret, shown here with a bonefish, is an unparalleled angling expert who teaches eagerly-anticipated classes in the Upper Keys.

After shaking their heads in wonder, wise anglers realize that much can be learned from the offshore captains and backcountry guides of the Keys.

A primary subject of discussion is fish behavior — and the lessons come in one- or two-sentence factoids.

For example, dolphin congregate under schools of bait fish. Bait fish seek cover, so they school up under floating weed or debris. The bigger dolphin will be below the smaller “schoolies” near the surface.

Troll fast for tuna — faster for big tuna. Drop down for wahoo and kingfish (king mackerel).

Lower Keys flats guide Chris Robinson treats his anglers to a fishing experience, easygoing instruction and world-class stories.

Cast in front of the bonefish and be very, very quiet about it. Bow to a tarpon. Hang on for dear life when a permit runs.

Work the bottom for speckled trout. Or, work the surface for speckled trout. Sometimes the information seems contradictory, but that’s just because conditions change.

The captain’s job is to give anglers shots at catching fish. But the teaching goes on all day, even when the captain isn’t thinking about teaching.

Conversations during rides to fishing sites are good times to get questions answered. At the site, a “what’s that?” or “why stop here?” elicit an answer that encapsulates years of hard-learned experience.

Some backcountry guides specialize in teaching casting technique, especially with beginning fly anglers. But it’s important for the angler and guide to agree on the day’s objective.

Top tournament captains win tournaments because (a) they know where to find fish, (b) they work very hard, and (c) their anglers know how to cast. So novices or anglers who fish just a few times per year might be better served by finding a guide who welcomes the inexperienced caster.

Rick Berry, left, and mate K.J. Zeher show off a beautiful bull dolphin Rick caught while fishing on the Catch 22 off Islamorada. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)

Still, for Keys offshore captains and backcountry guides, teaching — or better, “coaching” — is an almost unconscious act.

Set the hook as hard as you can. Be gentle. Reel now. Reel as fast as you can. Slow down. Keep the rod tip up. Lean to your side. Let the fish run. Wait. Hurry. Cup it.

Advanced anglers will find support in their captains’ calls. The novice or vacation angler will find comfort in a steady stream of advice.

The problem for the angler is trying to remember all the information that’s been imparted.

Or worse, hearing that most feared of all comments on casting — “No, your other left.”

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With such skilled instruction available, maybe someday soon I’ll catch the catch I cook. But meantime … you’ll find me in the kitchen, seasoning a fishing friend’s dolphin with garlic and herbs.

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Districts, Florida Keys, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Marathon, On the Water, Topics