Vol. 3, No. 5

March 2007

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Photos by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau

Passengers get set to board Delta's first flight to Atlanta from Marathon.

Commercial Air Service Returns to Florida Keys Marathon Airport

An almost seven-year void was filled Feb. 15 when commercial air service returned to the middle Florida Keys, with the first arrival of Delta Connection's daily, nonstop roundtrip service from Atlanta to Florida Keys Marathon Airport.

Previously, Key West was the only airport in the Keys that offered regularly scheduled commercial service. Situated at MM 52, the Florida Keys Marathon Airport terminal is centrally located between Key Largo and Key West and is not more than a 90-minute drive from any Keys resort or attraction on the Overseas Highway.

Passengers arriving on the first inbound flight were greeted by a huge conch shell.

"When I was coming down before, we were flying in to Miami and had to drive in," said Katie Maginn of Atlanta. "This is so much better and I can start my vacation earlier."

The approximately two-hour flights are to depart Atlanta daily at 10:19 a.m. Return trips from Florida Keys Marathon Airport to Atlanta are scheduled to leave each day at 12:50 p.m. On Fridays, Delta adds a second flight that leaves Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. That aircraft is to remain overnight in Marathon and serves as a second departure Saturdays, leaving the Keys at 9 a.m.

"Delta Air Lines' main hub is in Atlanta," said Keys Mayor Mario Di Gennaro, also a member of the region's tourism council. "So anybody, anywhere around the world, can fly into Atlanta and get a connecting flight directly into Marathon."

For reservations, visit www.delta.com.

A crowd gathers at Mallory Square in 1982 to witness the birth of the Conch Republic.

Conch Republic to Celebrate 25th Anniversary April 20-29

Stale Cuban bread, a federal border checkpoint and a request for $1 billion in foreign aid played major roles in the Florida Keys' 1982 secession from the United States and the formation of the independent Conch Republic.

The republic will mark its 25th birthday Friday, April 20, through Sunday, April 29, with the offbeat Conch Republic Independence Celebration.

The secession was prompted by a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint set up on the only road into the Keys that virtually stopped traffic on the Overseas Highway.

Local officials protested by staging the secession. After proclaiming the Conch Republic, they declared war on the United States, pelted federal agents with stale Cuban bread, surrendered after 60 seconds and requested foreign aid.

Today the royal blue flag of the republic, whose motto is "We Seceded Where Others Failed," is flown throughout the Florida Keys and the anniversary of the secession prompts an annual 10-day party.

Former Key West Mayor Dennis Wardlow declares the Conch Republic secession in this 1982 photo.

Other traditional festival highlights include a charity "drag" race featuring female impersonators, an open-air bed race billed as the most fun you can have in bed with your clothes on, the Conch Republic Naval Parade and Great Battle in the waters of Key West Harbor, and the so-called world's longest parade down Duval Street from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The festivities also include more than 20 other events showcasing the Florida Keys' independent and eccentric spirit.

For more information and a complete festival schedule visit www.conchrepublic.com.

High-speed ferry service between Miami and Key West is now available, offering a waterborne alternative to air travel or driving the Keys' Overseas Highway.

The Big Cat Express travels between Miami and Key West.

The ferry departs at 8:30 a.m. Thursday through Sunday from 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway, adjacent to the Miami Seaquarium on Key Biscayne. It arrives approximately four hours later at the Key West Bight Ferry Terminal at Caroline and Grinnell streets in the island's picturesque Old Town district.

Departures from Key West are scheduled for 5:30 p.m., with arrival in Miami set for approximately 9:30 p.m.

Round-trip passengers can choose a same-day return or schedule their return for a later date.

The 7,200-horsepower jet-powered catamaran ferry can travel at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. The vessel features three passenger decks, including an open-air top level for sunning, and comfortable indoor and outdoor seating. Amenities include flat-screen satellite televisions, onboard food and full bar service.

Round-trip tickets cost $98 per adult, $66 per child 12 and under and $79 per person for senior citizens and college students with I.D. All one-way fares are $49 per person.

For information and reservations, visit www.seakeywestexpress.com.

Soulful jazz in a subtropical setting is to characterize the sixth annual Lower Keys Jazz Festival, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 25, and continue into the evening.

Presented by the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, the event is to be staged at Dolphin Marina, mile marker 28.5 oceanside on Little Torch Key.

As well as sultry jazz by favorite regional musicians, the festivities are to include a juried art show, food provided by acclaimed Little Palm Island and a waterfront martini bar. Music lovers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets, or sit on the beach to listen to jazz wafting through the property.

Ticket price is yet to be determined.

For information about the jazz festival and accommodations in the Lower Florida Keys, call the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce at (305) 872-2411 or (800) 872-3722, or visit the Florida Keys Web site at www.fla-keys.com.

Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau

Wyland stands next to his latest mural, after completing it Feb. 24.

Key Largo Gets
Massive Marine Life Mural

Divers and snorkelers visiting the Florida Keys can now view a mammoth panorama of the region's living coral reef even before donning their fins and mask.

A 7,500-square-foot representation of the reef, recently completed by marine life artist Wyland, wraps around a four-story, four-sided building at mile marker 99.2 in the median of the Overseas Highway that bisects Key Largo.

The mural is the 95th in a series of 100 planned "Whaling Walls" painted by Wyland, who has created massive marine life scenes around the world to promote ocean conservation.

"This is a mural that is really the gateway to the Florida Keys," said Wyland. "You can choose not to go into a gallery or a museum, but you can't ignore a giant mural. If people see this beauty, I know they'll want to get involved in protecting it."

Wyland has spent more than 20 years diving in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and credits the Keys reef, the only contiguous coral expanse in North America, for inspiring much of his work.

The mural features islands, a sunset, manatees, manta rays, corals, sea turtles, indigenous fish and bottlenose dolphins. Like Wyland's previous walls, the Key Largo mural is designed to motivate environmental awareness and stewardship, particularly in children.

The Florida Keys have been the focus of several recent morning network television shows.

Both Key Largo and Key West were featured on ABC's Good Morning America's weekly "Weekend Window."

In Key Largo, ABC examined the destination's beauty above and below the water. Interviews included Joe and Ronnie Harris, New York transplants and owners of Kona Kai; underwater photographer Stephen Frink and Pat Wells, manager of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

To view the Key Largo segment, click here .

Then, Good Morning America weekend anchor Bill Weir traveled to Key West to produce a segment there. Weir interviewed 1999 "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike winner Rick Kirvan at the Hemingway House, caught and released a sailfish with Captain Mike Weinhofer, snorkeled off the Lower Keys at Looe Key Reef with Strike Zone Charters and enjoyed sunset with veteran sunset performer Will Soto.

To view the Key West segment, click here .

The CBS Early Show's correspondent Tracy Smith highlighted diving in Key Largo; art and fishing in Islamorada with artist Stacie Krupa; swimming with dolphins, Keys cuisine and the Turtle Hospital in Marathon; and sunset, the Hemingway House and Key lime pie magnate Kermit Carpenter in Key West.

Click here to see and hear about Smith's sojourn in the Keys.

For more travel information on the Florida Keys:
www.fla-keys.com