The blimp as seen from the Overseas Highway

When we arrived in continental U.S. paradise, there up in the sky… a balloon, an advertising balloon, a blimp??? After seeing this guy in the sky day after day, Russ finally did the Google thing and we learned (once again) more than our brains could hold. Yes folks, we have Keys Disease. 🙂

Blimpie, otherwise known as “Fat Albert” floats tethered above Cudjoe Key except for when he comes down for high winds, re-fueling or routine maintenance.

Fat Albert is a large white blimp that’s tethered to a truck at the blimp base on the backside of Cudjoe Key. It’s named for the cartoon character by the same name. It’s actually a Tethered Aerostat Radar System or TARS. Nine other TARS exist throughout the country. Their primary mission is to provide low-level radar surveillance along the southwest border of the United States and Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Caribbean in support of federal agencies involved in the nation’s drug interdiction program.

A close-up photo of the blimp at rest

The secondary mission is to provide North American Aerospace Defense Command with low-level surveillance coverage for air sovereignty in the Florida Straits. The aerostat radar data is available to NORAD and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Basically I think this means Big Daddy is watching!! As in monitoring suspected drug smuggling flights, fast boats smuggling Cubans, weather, any low flying plane and other potentially harmful activity. The cost to operate is more than $500 dollars per hour.

Fat Albert is helium filled. He can be raised to a maximum 15,000 feet, but stays at 10,000 feet tethered to the blimp base by  cables with a maximum breaking strength of 26,000 pounds. He measures 175 feet long, 58 feet across and the tail wing from tip-to-tip is 81 feet. It can lift a payload weighing 1,200 pounds.

Look closely, you can see the tethers

We have a great view of this guy, being on Cudjoe Key and all. We’d seen him before, in our Nov 2007 trip to Key West. Looking through our bazillion photos we found a folder named “Key West Trip- Benj’s” and there was one of the blimp. 🙂

Some may recall that we are donut hunters, searching out the best local donuts to take us to donut heaven. The tiny bakery we’d seen on our first visit vanished and try as we might, even asking around, we couldn’t find the darn place. So much for Cronuts. But as we walked down Whitehead after visiting the Shipwreck Museum, toward our car and the Impossible Things Bead Emporium, on Eaton Street sat “Glazed Donuts”. If that name doesn’t spell it out for you then welcome Martians to Earth! With a look and feel lifted out of NYC tempered with Keys ambiance, the classy joint sat conveniently next to the Tropic Theater with a Marilyn Monroe statue on the sidewalk.

Next door to Glazed Donuts

Open 7am to 3pm, we just made it at 2:30. Ten to twelve standard offerings are individually displayed in clear cubbies on the counter to allow for pondering and drooling on yourself, not the donut. A metal bakery rack sits off to the side with fresh donuts. I got a glazed to go and we each chose one for the next morning. Oversized so you don’t feel too bad about paying $1.50 (others cost more!) the dough of the glazed donut reminded me of Britt’s slight egg-y flavor, but these were larger and not quite so close to a French cruller texture.

Maple brown sugar with candied bacon was excellent; the Chocolate Lovers disappointed

Even better fresh on-site a few mornings later. A couple about our age sat at the window table. When I got up to buy a third one, the man asked me, “is this the best donut you’ve ever had?” To his credit he didn’t crumble when I told him “no” but it was darn close. But when he asked if I thought the place was franchise-able; well that was an easy, Yes!! When we left he had a few more questions for us; so be watching for a Glazed Donut shop in your town someday. 🙂