Keys City News, the unofficial Florida Keys News site

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Key West Toy Factory One of a Kind Specialty Toy and Souvenir Shop.  Key West has its share of attractions, but there's only one place in town where you can walk through a tropical rain forest and emerge in an underwater shipwreck surrounded by exotic fish and spoils of toys, books and other treasures.

The Key West Toy Factory recently opened in Clinton Square Market, beckoning adults and children alike through its doors into a Key West-inspired fantasy land on the building's second floor.

While oversized sharks and colorful fish hang from the airy ceilings, a giant waterfall, 48-foot Spanish galleon and cargo nets dominate the rest of the interior. The various rooms are lined with a unique assortment of toys, games and books.

 

Discovery Undersea Tours

251 Margaret Street, Key West, FL 33040-6639
+1 305 293 0099 / +1 800 262 0099
info@discoveryunderseatours.com
Open Hours: Cruise departure time: Summer: 11:30a & 2:30p, Winter: 10:30a & 1:30p (Call to check for Sunset departure timings) -- Departing from the Key West Historic Seaport, the Discovery Undersea Tours allow you to ride the waves in comfort. Enjoy the view, not only of the

Located in Islamorada (Upper Keys) is an educational and entertaining marine animal park where shows are up close and personal and the animals live in natural salt-water lagoons. The lagoons and lush, tropical gardens at the facility are home to Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, California sea lions, sea turtles, tropical and game fish, sharks, stingrays, crocodiles, alligators, marine invertebrates, and birds-of-prey. While some of our animals were collected and others were born here, many are non releasable as a result of imprinting and/or injuries sustained in the wild. The health and well being of the animals takes precedence over all other interests and their care and maintenance is supported by patronage alone. Theater of the Sea is open 365 days a year. Ticket counter hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST daily, except on Christmas when we open at 10:30 a.m. 84721 Overseas Highway - Islamorada, Florida 33036, Phone: 305-664-2431 Fax: 305-664-8162.
 
Dolphins Plus in Key Largo is a dolphin research and education facility located in sunny Key Largo, Florida. Dolphins Plus houses 12 Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins and 2 California Sea Lions. Our focus is to educate the public about dolphins and their environment, and to give our guests the opportunity to swim with dolphins in a natural setting. Our dolphin swim programs give swimmers the opportunity to interact with our dolphins in a way other "dolphin encounter programs" do not, “up close and personal.”

Dolphins Plus offers Dolphin Swim Programs and Sea Lion Swim Programs daily. More than a waist deep dolphin encounter offered at other facilities, Dolphins Plus gives you the opportunity swim with dolphins and have true one-on-one interactions. 

Our Structured Dolphin Swim is a dolphin interaction program with opportunities to touch and interact with our dolphins in a session lead by one of our experienced dolphin trainers.

During our Natural Dolphin Swim program, wearing mask fins and snorkel, you will be freely swimming with dolphins at our facility. This is an unstructured experience in which the dolphins are free to have as much or as little contact with swimmers as they wish.

For those interested in learning more about the dolphins, our Dolphin Research and Education Department. offers 3, 4, and 5 day classes, kids camps, shadow a trainer for a day, and an extensive internship program. info@dolphinsplus.com 31 Corrine Pl., Key Largo, FL 33037, Toll Free: 1-866-860-7946 Fax: 1-305-451-3710

Blue Heaven. 729 Thomas St. Key West, Florida 33040. The overall favorite place in KeyWest, of parents and kids alike, is a restaurant/community center/playground/art gallery called Blue Heaven. Unlike Ripley's, Blue Heaven is unmistakably a local establishment, dripping with ramshackle charm. We often think about eating elsewhere, but we keep coming back to the table under the Spanish lime tree in Blue Heaven's garden. The kids love the roosters, the swing, the bouncy rocking horse. We all love the reasonably priced food, which runs the gamut from grilled-cheese sandwiches to sophisticated preparations of fish. When a bougainvillea blossom drifts onto my plate and our friendly young waitress is revealed to be a poet named Kathleen, I consider moving to Key West and taking all my meals at Blue Heaven for the rest of my life.

 On the Gulf of Mexico side of the road, at about mile marker 72, is a rope swing over the water. After nosing around a bit, we find the swing. It's as perfect as described. You can go on swinging out over the ocean, letting go, and dropping in for hours and hours.