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Show West to Key West , By LEAH FOERSTER (An interesting report of the recent trip of Mr. and Mrs. Dick Foerster to Florida). Our travel by train through to Chicago was uneventful and far from scenic. Most of the country was wasteland until we reached the corn belt, and from then on we saw nothing but endless corn fields. Even the farm houses were as practical and staunch and common as the corn fields surrounding them. Occasionally, huge grain elevators broke the skyline. After two days and two nights of travel we were greeted at the C. & N. W. station with the announcement: announce-ment: "No hotel rooms available in Chicago." We were faced with a 12-hour layover. While we were trying to "kill time" we saw two big buildings build-ings near the station. We discovered discov-ered we were at the Chicago Natural Nat-ural History Museum, located on the shores of Lake Michigan. We spent several hours of very interesting inter-esting "just looking." We were particularly interested in the display dis-play of several passenger pigeons, row extinct, and also the "health hen." Later, we walked to the John G. Shedd Aquarium, a short distance from the museum building, build-ing, and spent several hours in this beautifully decorated building, getting get-ting a most complete view of the "finny world." Our leave from Chicago was late in the evening, and one more day and night of travel brought us to Jacksonville, Fla. As we traveled by the big, colorful Indian river, mile after mile, palm trees and palmettos came into view, we were greatly excited for this was near-ing near-ing our destination. And after four years absence, the sight of this country, with its tall, scraggly pines and handsome shrubs was truly inspirational. We had our first drink of sweet orange juice in Daytona Beach, and knew we were surely in Florida. Flor-ida. Our little girl was amazed that she didn't have to wear a coat and that it was so pleasantly warm. Near the orange juice stand she picked her first big, beautiful red hibiscus blossom. Our first few days in Miami we spent in visiting frends, shoppng, and looking the city over in general. gen-eral. We were amazed to see so many huge theaters, apartments, homes and shopping districts in the process of construction. We also saw causeways and bridges joining j small island to island for conven- ience of travel. We saw in progress prog-ress an island on either side of the bay being filled in, upon which homes were to be built. Either of the islands was as large as Milford. Before we left, lots were already being surveyed for beautiful homes that are typical of Miami. We planned our first trip with the family to Key West Key West is described as the "southernmost city in the U. S. A., where the sun rises and sets in the sea, with the Atlantic Oceon on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other." We traveled on huge bridges linking one key to the other until we reached Key West. There we watched "Conch" fishermen bring in their catch and remove the conch from the shell. Negro boys standing around the pier waited for the conch meat, which they ate raw with real enjoyment. Raw conch salad is served in the best "eating places" there. The shells were very pink, the most colorful we had seen of these particular shells. We also visited the green sea turtle slaughter house, featured in Life Magazine. A few weeks later Dick had green turtle steaks but I, being a bit squeamish on the subject, had fried jumbo shrimp. After visiting several other historic his-toric points of interest we headed for Miami, across the beautiful waters spanned by bridges to the mainland. As a closng event to this trip we had home made lime pie made from the famous Key limes, at a roadside tavern. This completed a round trip of 340 miles. (Continued Next Week) |