Vol. 2, No. 9

July 2006

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Brides and grooms can now get married with dolphins present at Hawk's Cay Resort in the Keys.

Weddings Amid Dolphins Among What's New for Florida Keys Visitors

By Carol Shaughnessy and Bob Serata
Florida Keys News Bureau

FLORIDA KEYS — "Congratulations. You may now kiss...

The dolphin?"

The Florida Keys has become one of the United States' top locations for destination weddings. But leave it to the innovative people at Hawk's Cay Resort, mile marker (MM) 61 on Duck Key, to offer something unique to brides and grooms.

Couples can take the plunge in the resort's natural saltwater lagoon with resident dolphins of the Dolphin Connection program.

The exclusive Dolphin Wedding Package lets the couple and two guests join the resort's dolphins for an in-the-water ceremony. The dolphins seem to approve — to date, no dolphin has offered just cause to prevent a couple from being married.

A close-by viewing deck brings the wedding party and guests close to the scene.

For more information, costs and reservations, contact Hawk's Cay at (888) 443-6393 or (305) 743-7000, or visit the resort's Web site at www.hawkscay.com.

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Snorkeling a pristine, shallow reef in the Florida Keys while the sun sets is a unique experience, perfect for an entire family or a honeymoon couple. Keys Diver, MM 99.6 bayside in Key Largo, hosts a sunset snorkel cruise seven nights a week. Departures are at 5:30 p.m. so there's still a lot of light to show off the reef life in the Keys.

Guests snorkel inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The park has been a protected site for more than 40 years so there's always a healthy population of tropical fish.

Sunset snorkel trips are priced at $26 per adult and $23 per child (age 13 and under). All equipment — mask fins, snorkel and snorkel vest — is included.

For reservations or more information, call (888) 289-2402 or e-mail info@keysdiver.com.

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Photo by Dylan Kibler/MFHS Mel Fisher Maritime Museum archaeologist Corey Malcom, left, and executive director Madeleine Burnside unwrap a rare silver filigree artifact that will be spotlighted in the exhibition.

The Nuestra Señora de Atocha and Santa Margarita, among a fleet of ships carrying New World gold, silver and other riches home to Spain, were shipwrecked in the waters off Key West in a 1622 hurricane. The silver bars, coins, ingots and other silver objects they carried are the focus of an exhibition debuting July 1 at Key West's Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, named for the late salvor who discovered the shipwrecks and their cargoes.

"La Plata del Mar: Silver of the 1622 Galleons" uses the vast collection of silver artifacts, coins and ingots recovered from the shipwreck sites to explore subjects including the Bolivian "silver mountain" of Potosi and its mining culture, how silver bars and coins were made, Spanish trade routes and colonial organization and the impact of the loss of the galleons' treasure.

Exhibition visitors can view rare silver artifacts including a never-before-shown 17-inch silver filigree tray found on the Atocha shipwreck site, a 15-inch-tall Renaissance silver salt, an Incan plate and beaker, bowls, place settings, candlesticks, inkwells and devotional objects such as incense burners and religious medallions.

Located at 200 Greene St., the museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $11 per person for adults and $6.50 for children.

For information, visit www.melfisher.org or call (305) 294-2633.

The exhibition debut preludes a scheduled broadcast segment on ongoing Atocha search and salvage operations set to air July 13 on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." "Tonight Show" contributor Mo Rocca and a camera crew accompanied divers from Mel Fisher's Treasures, Inc., on the salvage boat J.B. Magruder, went diving on the Atocha shipwreck site and shot artifacts and treasures recovered from the galleon at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum.

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TransFloridian, a luxury motorcoach company with service between the Florida Keys and multiple mainland Florida cities, has announced that its new Key West boarding and disembarkation location is the Doubletree Grand Key Resort, 3990 S. Roosevelt Blvd.

As of June 1, the luxury carrier is operating three daily departures from and arrivals in Key West through the Florida Keys, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Mainland pick-up and drop-off locations include the Sheraton Miami Mart Plaza Hotel, with a free connection to Miami International Airport, and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport.

Service also is available from pick-up and drop-off locations in Marathon, Islamorada and Key Largo.

Starting July 1, the carrier plans to offer additional service connecting the Keys and Orlando.

For more information and transportation schedules, visit www.transfloridian.com or call (877) 246-4786.

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US Airways is to initiate service between Orlando International Airport and Key West International Airport beginning Sept. 6, 2006. Plans call for US Airways Express service carrier Republic Airways to operate the route using 72-passenger Embraer 170 jet aircraft. Daily flights are scheduled to depart Orlando at 10 a.m. and arrive in Key West at 10:59 a.m. Daily flights from Key West are to depart at 5:15 p.m. and arrive in Orlando at 6:09 p.m.

For information, visit www.usairways.com.

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The Hilton Key West Resort & Marina, 245 Front St., is to become the Westin Key West Resort & Marina on Aug. 1, 2006. In addition to the 178 guestrooms and suites of the hotel, the conversion also includes the Sunset Key Guest Cottages, 37 residential-style accommodations situated on a private island just 500 yards offshore in Key West Harbor.

Ocean Properties Ltd. will continue to own and manage both properties.

Located on the waterfront just one block from Key West's Duval Street and Mallory Square, the new Westin Key West Resort & Marina incorporates more than 16,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space, multiple dining options, a heated pool and a full-service 36-slip marina with a complete range of watersports.

For reservations and information, call (305) 294-4000.

Reservations for Sunset Key Guest Cottages can be made on-line at www.sunsetkeyisland.com, through a professional travel agent or by contacting the resort directly at (888) 477-7SUN. As of August 1, reservations for both properties also can be made at www.westin.com or (800) 598-1864.

Originally conceived in the Keys, Key lime pie is now the official pie for the state of Florida.

Key Lime Pie Now Official Florida Pie

FLORIDA KEYS — It's official.

A signature Florida Keys dessert has been named the official state pie by the Florida legislators.

Key lime pie becomes the sanctioned pie for Florida on July 1.

According to the owner of Key West's Curry Mansion Inn, a woman named Aunt Sally — the cook for estate owner William Curry — made the first Key lime pie.

On the other hand, Key West historian Tom Hambright surmises that Aunt Sally likely perfected a delicacy that was the creation of area fishermen.

Today, each Florida Keys restaurant places its individual hallmark on this special dessert, but its primary ingredients are condensed milk and tiny yellow Key limes. Often nestled in a graham cracker crust and smothered in whipped cream, Key lime pie is a sinfully indulgent finale for any island meal.

By Bob Serata
Florida Keys News Bureau

KEY LARGO, Florida Keys — A United States Postal Service stamp that lauds the Florida Keys coral reef as the "Longest Reef" in America was recently dedicated in a special ceremony at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

The stamp is one of 40 in a commemorative series released by the postal service and dubbed "Wonders of America."

"It's exciting that the postal service has recognized one of America's true natural wonders and treasures, and that is America's only living barrier coral reef here in the Florida Keys," said Billy Causey, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The stamp features a gray angelfish swimming alongside coral, illustrating the longest contiguous coral reef in America that is the centerpiece of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Louisiana photographer Randall Sanders shot the photo of the angelfish swimming by the coral some 20 years ago. An artist hired by the postal service created the rest of the image of the longest reef by using Sanders' photo for the foreground and an unknown photographer's photo for the background.