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B2 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 27, 2002 With all the important things you've got going this holiday season , who wants to worry about getting the house clean? Key West home to remarkable characters (Continued from page B1) rresn Greens Boughs to visit the charms of Key West during the day. Ernest Hemingway loved Key West and he wrote some o f his best known A Gift for the novels from the peaceful oasis of his second floor study. His home, now a Woman Who Does Everything museum, offers a fascinating glimpse into the works and often tumultuous adventures of this larger than life icon The last thing she needs is a new vacuum ... give her a gift of American literature. Over the years, she'll really love - surprise her with a gift certificate from Key West has been home to a number M em Maids! of remarkable characters including pirates, musicians and visionaries. Untold fortunes in Spanish gold includ ing the fabulous treasure of the Atocha Del Nuestro now on exhibit in Key West have made the waters off the Florida Keys as legendary as the sun sets. There's something for everybody in fOneless thing to worry about. this southernmost town and in a way it reminded me of Dawson City, thou sands of kilometres and several time zones distant in Canada's Yukon. At America's south ernmost point I Everlasting was reminded that just over a year before two of the Stems same students in Choose fro m our group and a va riety chaperone Ross o f colours. Macdonald had been part of the expedition that accompanied me E ach to Canada's spec tacular `Land Of Pre-Lit, Everlasting The Midnight Sun.' Like Key West, Dawson City is a small town, with a histo ry of characters F eatures 6 8 8 tip s an d G arden G a llery has a g r e a t se lec tim * larger than life. 4 0 0 lights. 7-1/2'. o f #1 Q u a lity C a n adian Christmas Reg. i 99.99 For a brief time trees. Choose fro m : B a lsa m , during the Save $30 F ra ser Fir, D o u glas Fir, P in e & Klondike Gold Spruce. See in-store fo r pricrkfr. Rush, it played a larger role in his tory as adventur ous souls pursued fortunes and A B eautiful, life-like *" dreams. As Key 36" w reath. P ine West stands sen cones extra. tinel over a special wilderness and Reg. 29.99 fragile environ V isit G arden G a llery fo r a fa n ta stic ment at the bot P r i c e d F r o m .. selection o f fre sh green s a n d w in ter tom of our conti decorations. Ideal f o r m antels, nent, Dawson City centerpieces o r outside on ban isters, in sits perched on the urns, o r arou n d doors. See in-store fo r Everlasting edge of North in d ivid u a l pricing. America's vast northern reaches. Are the mountains and tundra border We c a rr y a w id e a sso rtm en t o f fresh ing our vast Arctic boughs, inclu ding pine, balsam , A d d y o u r own decorations not a perfect com dou glas fir , w h ite pine, B C cedar, f o r a person alized look plement to North m ountain hemlock, noble fir, Reg. 12.99 America's sub silver f i r & m ixed. tropical Florida? Fresh Pine Bough Rare and fragile ecosystems sur vive in both B ea u tifu l a n d festive, po in settias a lw a ys b u n ch extremes of lati m ake the perfect g ift. We have dozens tude supporting o f colours a n d varieties a va ila b le to 10" T apers some of our plan choose fro m , p r ic e d F r o m R ed or white. B ox o f 12 et's most incredi in clu din g w hites, We c a rr y a w ide a sso rtm en t o f fre sh 6" Scented Pillar ble creatures. pinks, m a rb le rope, including cedar, pine, b alsam Pine, C innam on o r V anilla Could there be a va rieties a n d & m ixed. scent. 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Indeed, we Holland Park Garden Gallery's design experts. Mon. - Wed. 9am - 6pm Mon. - Fri. 9am - 9pm must all embrace We offer a unique selection of Christmas Thurs. & Fri. 9am - 9pm Sat. 9am - 6pm the role and decorations imported from around the world. Sat. 9am - 6pm, Sun. 10am 5pm Sun. 10am - 5pm together, play our Come In and talk to us today! critically impor Full Service Floral · 7 Day Floral Delivery tant part as stew M M0 ^am a b°nus |T coupon when you ards of our truly Available At Both Locations _ accumulate $400.00 Ofcfcflora sacred earth. I I in purchases. W e accept: Gord Phippen, See in-store for 0 :1 \ isit us o n wwu h o lln n Jp a rk .c o m principal o f West for the GREEN complete details. Wind Montessori School, is an avid G arden G allery G ift C ertificates photographer and Prices in Effect November 27 to December 3, 2002 M ake H ie Perfect Gift E very T im e! travel writer. my mauls. (905) 847-2210 We did however witness ever pres ent construction cranes along our route and it may well be the competition for space between humans and nature that eventually turns the tide against Florida's wildlife. Leaving the `River Of Grass,' we entered the Keys, a wonderful chain of islands sweeping like a necklace for a hundred miles into the turquoise waters of the Florida Strait in a southwest arc from Miami. Some terrific camp grounds can be found here and we found a wonderful home base at the Sunshine Key Resort on a small island known as Ohio Key near Marathon. Here we slowed down and enjoyed our time amongst groves of coconut trees near the beach. For the adults, a quiet picnic table near the dock and for the boys a pool and even vending machines. Our young campers had become adept at preparing meals on the road although dish duty was not always popular with the lads. A highlight of our stay in the Keys was a snorkeling trip we took on a dive boat operated from the marina at the Sunshine Key Resort. Together we spent an unforgettable afternoon explor ing Sombrero Reef about six miles off shore in the beautiful blue depths bor dering The Gulf Stream. Tropical fish of all descriptions darted in and out of the impressive coral formations and our young snorkelers were awed by the beauty of the experience. Having fought off a bout of seasick ness, chaperone and teacher Cameron Peck made the sighting of our marine expedition spotting a large octopus. Usually nocturnal by habit its beautiful undulating movement and instant ability Gord Phip pen · S p ecia l to the B ea ver Alex Wilson and Nick Lorbetskie aboard a dive boat in the Florida Keys during a snorkeling trip. In the water behind the boat is Cameron Peck. to change colour in an attempt to cam ouflage its appearance was memorable. Almost as memorable as the large but entirely benign 8 ft. nurse sharks we saw sunning themselves about 20 feet below us on the white sand. Their olive green skin and ragged toothed jaws were a sight rivaled only by the shoal of several dozen Atlantic Bottlenose dol phins cavorting in the waves on our way home from a perfect day on the water. That evening, we visited Key West, the southernmost point in continental America. Just ninety miles from Cuba, this is the end of the road, literally. Mile 0 of U.S Route 1, marks the magi cal origin of one of America's best known highways. From Mile 0 you can make your way to nearby Mallory Square to witness spectacular sunsets looking back across Florida Bay towards the distant Everglades. 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